Eight kilos of goodies for a baby...

[Paivi T Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Paivi T]

I needed to check something at the website of Kela, the Social Insurance Institute of Finland. While there, I couldn't resist a look at the contents of this year's maternity package -- that eight-kilo package of goodies a Finnish baby is entitled to, should his/her parents choose the package instead of a lump sum of cash.

To see the photos of the contents of the 2004 maternity package, do as follows:

* Navigate to www.kela.fi
* Choose the English user interface
* Select "Families with Children"
* In the short textual description titled "Maternity and child care",
click on the "Photos" link
* The Finnish description appears. In the menu on the left,
click on "Äitiyspakkaus 2004 kuvina"

This message is probably very, very off-topic, but I thought that perhaps some mothers might be interested in seeing those photos... and reading about maternity and child care in Finland.

Päivi T, recipient of two maternity packges, models -00 and -02

[Claire Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Claire]

Hello Paivi:

How nice to hear that Finland values mothers and childrearing! I can't say the same for Canada.

When my first child was born I received "maternity leave" for 3 months and the money received was not half of my salary I was missing. I certainly did not receive any gifts.

To add insult to injury, my baby arrived 2 weeks early so the "paperwork" had not been completed. Later,I had to take my newborn with me to the government office to apply for maternity leave. After standing in line for a considerable amount of time, I discovered that I did not have the correct forms to "prove" that I had indeed produced a baby. The woman at the desk said that the baby I was carrying in the carseat "could be anybody's baby". It was altogether a very unpleasant experience. I was left feeling like some kind of criminal trying to scam the system.

Cheers for Finland for stressing the importance of mothering and children!