I'm a Finnish mom in the US. I let my kids schedule their own playdates and allow them to skip homework to get playtime outside.

Tue, 07/09/2024 - 04:23

Finnish mom standing with her three American sons — The author moved from Finland to the US, raising her kids to be independent.
Courtesy of the author

I moved to the US to build my dream media career and then had three boys, ages 10, 8, and 3.
Combining work and family is a struggle Finnish women don't have.
Parenting norms in the US are more all-consuming than in the Nordics.

I'm originally from Finland, and after a decade of ticking off my career goals in the US, I fell for an American man, my neighbor in our Brooklyn apartment building. It seemed like I had just about reached everything I had wished for when my life took a turn.