Hi friends! If you follow my Instagram or TikTok account—or Scary Mommy account—you have likely seen this. If not, here’s the video that, as of me writing this, has close to 214k views on (my brand new) TikTok with 427 comments, along with 222 comments on ScaryMommy’s Instagram, on top of more views and comments on other social platforms.
When we lived in Finland last fall, I put my youngest son Jonas, then 1.5, into a daycare in Helsinki, Finland. I was so blown away by the educators, the facilities, the playgrounds and outdoor time, the meals, and what it costs for Finns, that I wanted to show it—to everyone.
If you liked the video, tap the heart-shaped button at the end of the post!
I asked the daycare if I could go in with Jonas, after all other kids had left for the afternoon playground session, and film the daycare experience with him. They agreed: click above to join the tour with us.
What I hadn’t expected, was the massive response my video got, especially on TikTok, with moms all over the world commenting, and Finnish parents chiming in too. I also definitely didn’t expect the sadness many American moms displayed after ScaryMommy picked up the post—because it just made them feel depressed.
But, Americans did have daycare not unlike the Finns, during WWII, and currently seem to be one of the only 1st world parents—at least according to TikTok comments—without affordable, high-quality daycare.
So, curious, do you think affordable, high-quality daycare should be a basic “human right”? Can it come back in the US? Does seeing other parents and kids enjoying this right cause depression or inspiration? Or, like one mom said, is the problem in the US already solved, because “moms are and should be the affordable, high-quality daycare”?
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
x Annabella
#031: This went viral: Daycare in Finland vs. US