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A Finnish mom on TikTok, Annabella Daily, shared details about what Finnish daycare is like for a child, and honestly, my mind is blown. Not only does it seem that Finnish daycare truly takes a deep investment in their children, but it’s also affordable. What a dream!
“Here kids are encouraged to be independent and their educators are not called ‘teachers,’ but specialists in early childhood upbringing,” she explains while filming her son toddling through one of the daycare rooms.
Daily explained that kids attend Finnish daycares from ages of one to six where the process of learning comes through in the children’s play time. Every day, the kids are provided warm meals and healthy snacks prepared and served to the kids in their “dining room.”
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Another aspect of Finnish day care that will make American parents weep into their checkbook is the fact that daycare is considered “every parent's and child's right” with a maximum cost of $325 a month. Daily notes that private daycare may cost a bit more.
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Daycare costs in America have grown so astronomically high in the U.S. that many families decide to have one parent stay home by default because the budgeting just does not make sense.
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According to The Center For American Progress, President Biden’s Build Back Better plan could help lower the costs of childcare in the United States.
The Build Back Better Act, which was signed into law in August 2022, includes two investments in early childcare and education: 1) two years of universal preschool and 2) a sliding scale limit on child care costs for families. In 32 states, a typical family would save more than $100 per week on child care.
In March 2023, President Biden called for renewing enhanced child tax credit payments for parents as part of the family policies in his latest budget proposal. Biden’s plan calls for raising the current maximum child credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6 or to $3,000 per child ages 6 and up.
Until then, maybe we just all live vicariously through Finnish parents who have it made!