Ever wondered what growing up in Finland is really like?
On this week's episode of All Points North, we tag along at a forest daycare in central Helsinki, where toddlers spend their mornings exploring the woods instead of playing with toys. In these forest kindergartens, kids learn by counting mushrooms, noticing the seasons and developing motor skills, all through nature.
Families who move to Finland often point to the country's closeness to nature as one of the biggest perks of living here.
But Finnish parenting also raises questions: how much independence is too much? We explore the debate around children making their own choices, screen time, and parental boundaries with insights and stories from foreign parents navigating Finnish ways of raising kids.
Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We also dive into uniquely Finnish customs, from the Saturday-only candy day to the family sauna.
Joel Willans of the Very Finnish Problems franchise explains why communal nudity and sauna culture are surprisingly beneficial for children and families.
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Zena Iovino presented this episode of All Points North. The sound engineer was Matias Puumala.
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