Winter? Put the baby outside to sleep!

When you think of a Nordic winter afternoon, "Good time for a baby to take a nap outside" may not be the first thought to spring to mind. But this is not just a tradition in Nordic countries, it's practically an institution. To the extent that many parents are surprised that parents in other countries WOULDN'T put their babies outside to sleep.

Babies in countries like Finland and Norway are routinely swaddled up and left outside in their strollers to nap while their parents do housework, or sit inside at the café and sip coffee. At preschool, children will be lined up in their strollers outside during naptime. The BBC also reports that if you visit a friend's house and your baby needs a nap, you're likely to be offered the back porch instead of a spare bedroom.

Parents in other countries may be horrified to hear about babies left unsupervised to sleep in below-freezing temperatures. (One daycare worker helpfully explains that when the temperatures drop to around 5 degrees Fahrenheit, "we always cover the prams with blankets.") But parents in Nordic countries feel that it's healthier for their children than having them spend all of their time indoors. Parents believe that their children are sturdier, less prone to catching colds and other illnesses, and that they sleep longer and better outside compared to indoors.

Everybody knows someone who's a fresh air maniac, always flinging open the windows and insisting that "kids spend too much time inside these days." But this is that ethos taken to an extreme. Even if the health claims are true, I sincerely doubt that parents in America will adopt this particular parenting habit. (Not least because most parents don't feel safe leaving their baby unsupervised and unmonitored out in public!)

Image courtesy Flickr/pamhule