The Scandinavian Way

When we were babies my mom would put us outside to nap in the cold in our buggies. She bundled us up and would always keep an eye on us. The first time she did it, my dad came home from work and was freaking out that she left the baby out in the cold. When she went to get us, we were toasty & warm and everything was fine. It's a Scandinavian philosophy. It's actually recommended in the Finnish Ministry of Labour (pg 24). People can't believe it when we tell them, but that's the Scandinavian way. When you travel to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland or Norway you will notice buggies outside of cafes, restaurants that have sleeping babies in them. When my dad first traveled to Finland, he asked my mom why people don't steal the buggies, and she simply responded "Why would they? There are babies in them." I think times have changed a little bit since then and people are definitely more cautious, but there are many Scandinavians who still do it.

I obviously wouldn't put a baby outside to sleep in the city of Chicago, but if I lived in a rural area or Scandinavia I totally would.

Would you leave your baby outside to sleep?