What Swedish Dads and Nordic Dads Have That We Don't

In the 1970s and 80s, when Nordic countries first introduced shared parental leave , it was rare to see a father take advantage of it. Staying at home with kids was viewed as women’s work; men who did so were viewed as unmanly. In Sweden, those who did stay at home were called “velour dads,” a slang term for men who dressed in pajamas. A few decades later, Nordic dads, proudly pajama-clad, have become shining examples of involved fathers. Swedish dads, in particular, are lovingly known as “ lattes pappas” — a term synonymous with a hip young father seen sipping small coffees and munching on baked goods ( fika ) while supporting a sleeping kid strapped to their chest. The mythos mostly holds up: A survey about the state of paternity leave among Nordic dads confirms their place at the front of the pack of modern, involved dads. But it also reveals that they have work to do in terms of fully embracing their roles. Conducted by Promundo, the “State of Nordic Fathers” report is based on a survey of 7515 people, evenly distributed between Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, and Norway. It was done in partnership with Promundo’s 2019 “State of the World’s Fathers”, a massive report on fathers from 40 countries about fatherhood, gender identity, and paternity leave, and contains responses from more than 3,099 fathers and 1,646 mothers. The aim of the survey was to compare the attitudes and opinions of parents who took different lengths of leave. Views on leave have certainly shifted s…