All this creativity in figuring out child care uses up vast amounts of everyone’s energy and brainpower, and steals away many hours and days that could be better spent. It always seems to me a surprising waste of time and potential. For citizens of Nordic societies, for the most part, these problems simply don’t exist. A simple and universal commitment at the national level to paid parental leaves of a realistic length alleviates much of the financial stress and workplace demands on families with babies.
