Families and Family Policies in Sweden

Abstract

Sweden is known as a social welfare state, whereby the people who reside in Sweden are entitled to certain public benefits at little or no cost to the individual. Over the past century, Sweden has reshaped its culture, growing from one of the poorest nations in Europe to a flourishing country that others emulate, especially with respect to their family policies. Sweden has developed several foundational family policies that have helped to encourage equality, while establishing a sense of individuality. Sweden has created similar rights for cohabiters/married couples, as well as for same-sex/opposite-sex couples. Parents receive a generous parental leave package, have flexible employment choices, and a low gender wage gap, while children have high quality childcare, free healthcare, free dental care, and free mental health services, and a substantial child welfare program. Swedish family policies encourage both parents to work and to help each other with household and childcare tasks. Despite the public benefits that Sweden provides for mothers, fathers, and children, there is still a need for further improvements regarding policies on domestic violence, poverty, and child welfare. Assessments of Sweden’s family policies are discussed.

Full text

Families and Family Policies in Sweden
Authors: Michael B. Wells & Disa Bergnehr
Michael B. Wells, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University,
Uppsala, Sweden.
Disa Bergnehr, Department of Child Studies, Tema Institute, Linköping University,
Linköping, Sweden.
Corresponding Author: Michael B. Wells, Inst. för kvinnors och barn (Institute for Women
and Children), Barnhälsovården (Child Health Services), Box 609, Uppsala 751 25, Sweden,
Uppsala University, michael.wells@kbh.uu.se
The authors wish to thank Ann-Zofie Duvander, Linda Haas and Anna Sarkadi for reading
and commenting on earlier drafts of this chapter.
Abstract:
Sweden is known as a social welfare state, whereby the people who reside in
Sweden are entitled to certain public benefits at little or no cost to the individual. Over the
past century, Sweden has reshaped its culture, growing from one of the poorest nations in
Europe to a flourishing country that others emulate, especially with respect to their family
policies. Sweden has developed several foundational family policies that have helped to
encourage equality, while establishing a sense of individuality. Sweden has created similar
rights for cohabiters/married couples, as well as for same-sex/opposite-sex couples. Parents
receive a generous parental leave package, have flexible employment choices, and a low
gender wage gap, while children have high quality childcare, free healthcare, free dental care,
and free mental health services, and a substantial child welfare program. Swedish family
policies encourage both parents to work and to help each other with household and childcare
tasks. Despite the public benefits that Sweden provides for mothers, fathers, and children,
there is still a need for further improvements regarding policies on domestic violence,
poverty, and child welfare. Assessments of Sweden’s family policies are discussed.
Key Words: Sweden, family policy, parental leave, marriage, family-work balance, child
welfare, families at risk

Introduction
Sweden, a Northern European country with a population of 9.5 million, is part
of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and borders Norway to the west, Finland to the east, and
connects to Denmark in the south via the bridge over Öresund. Sweden stretches far north
above the Arctic Circle, but the majority of its inhabitants reside in the central and southern
parts of the country, within or close to urban areas. Sweden has 1.1 million families with
children between 0-17 years old (URL 1) and 18 percent of all children are of foreign origin
(URL 2)1. People living in Sweden tend to have a long lifespan, with the average life
expectancy being 81 years old (URL 3). The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is
around $46,000 USD and Sweden’s unemployment rate is around 7 percent (URL 4). Sweden
spends 20 percent of its GDP on welfare services that are either free or inexpensive for the
individual, thus adding to the individual’s disposable income (Statistics Sweden, 2012).2 Free
education, free healthcare, housing allowances, social benefits, parental leave, and support for
persons with functional impairments are only a few examples of Sweden’s welfare services.
During the past decade, families have increased their disposable income, and today, 41
percent of children live in families with high bracket incomes3 (Barnombudsmannen, 2010).
However, monetary equality has changed in Sweden, as there are increasing gaps between
different household structures (Fritzell, Gähler, & Nermo, 2007; Rädda Barnen, 2012).
One of the main reasons why more children are growing up in higher income
families is for feasibility reasons because most parents in Sweden work and are well
established in the labour market prior to having children. In fact, women with permanent
employment are 20 percent more likely to become parents compared to those who are either
1 Foreign origins meaning either the child or both of the child’s parents were born in another country.
2 Among the OECD countries, only Denmark spends more on individual public consumption: 22 percent. The
US spends 7 percent (Statistics Sweden, 2012).
3 A family with ‘high bracket income’ has the means to support another family while maintaining their living
standard at a comparatively high level (Barnombudsmannen, 2010).

temporarily employed or unemployed, and very few become parents before the age of 20
(Barnombudsmannen, 2010; Statistics Sweden, 2002). The present mean age for first-time
mothers is 29 and for fathers is 31 (Barnombudsmannen, 2010), but Sweden enjoys one of the
highest fertility rates among industrialized countries, with 1.8 children per woman.4 With
both parents connected to the labor market, most parents go back to work after having
children.
The Swedish welfare state is part of what can be called a social-democratic
model, which is characterized by having universal benefits and emphasizes equality for all
(e.g. gender, economic classes, racial/ethnic groups, and children) (Esping-Andersen, 1990;
Estes, 2011). The current welfare system was initiated in the 1930s, but took off after World
War II with the Social Democrats leading the government for the past 70 years,5 where they
enlarged the welfare state, while embracing capitalism to stimulate the taxes and revenues
needed to fund the welfare programs. Using other countries as models, such as the USA,
Sweden adapted new policies and streamlined them to not only be culturally relevant, but also
to function more easily. By doing so, people in Sweden prospered, living healthier lives,
attending higher quality schools, and increasing their disposable income due to both genders
participating in the paid labour force, with the state providing available high quality childcare
(Sandin, 2012).
This chapter starts with highlighting Sweden’s socio-historic, economic, and
political contexts. Then we explore family characteristics and family policies under three
themes: family policies targeting marriage, the family-work balance, and policies supporting
families at risk. The ways in which Swedish family policies are implemented and assessed are
embedded within the three policy themes so that a fuller picture emerges on the importance
4 Around 86 percent of women become mothers in Sweden (Statistics Sweden, 2009), which is higher than most
other European countries (Sobotka, 2004).
5 Right wing governments led the country from 1976-1982, 1991-1994 and from 2006 to the present. During
World War II a government consisting of left and right wing political parties was in charge.

and effect those policies have on those living in Sweden. The chapter ends with a discussion
about Sweden’s family policies, recommendations for future family policy research, and with
a short conclusion.6
Historical, socioeconomic, and political context
In the 19th century, Sweden was one of the poorest nations in Europe, and a
large proportion of the population sought a better future in North America. Emigration, high
infant mortality, and decreasing fertility rates alarmed the ruling classes, and several political
reforms were implemented and laws passed to secure the population stock. For instance, a law
was passed in 1900 that prohibited women factory workers from returning to work earlier
than four weeks after childbirth, with the aim being to provide some time off for the mother,
as well as to help decrease infant mortality by trying to increase breastfeeding. The
contraceptive law of 1910 prohibited sales of and information about contraceptives, but in
1938 the Swedish government repealed the law because it was not effective. Fertility rates
continued to decline, and in the 1930s, Sweden had the lowest fertility rates in the world—a
problem that came to engage all political parties, intellectuals, and debaters (Hatje, 1974;
Hoem & Hoem, 1997). Other laws still in effect today from the 1930s include the prohibition
of dismissing employed women due to marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth, free childbirth
services and health care for mothers and children.
After World War II the nation prospered. Sweden grew from one of the poorest
countries in Europe to a strong, vibrant nation with its commodities, industries, and
infrastructure, all enabling the production and sales of necessities to a war-struck Europe
(Therborn, 2004). Pre-war plans to foster birth rates and public health through universal
reforms that supported childbearing and families with dependent children were expanded in
the post-war era of affluence, constituting the foundation of the Swedish welfare state and
6 Naturally, this chapter does not aim to be comprehensive, as entire books (i.e. see Lundqvist, 2011) have been
written about Swedish family policy and even those books leave information out (Haas, 2012). However, it is the
aim of this chapter to provide a coherent basic understanding of Sweden’s family policies and their influences.

contemporary family policies. During that time period, several reforms were introduced that
are still in effect today—reforms intended to facilitate childbearing; combining paid work
with caring for a child, to promote public health through free school meals, and a general
child allowance (1940s); three months of paid maternity leave for all mothers (1955) with
remuneration based on the mother’s previous earnings (from 1963); the introduction of the
parental leave program (1970s); and the creation of available and high quality childcare
facilities at a reasonable cost for working parents (1970s and 1980s) (Björnberg, 2004; Hatje,
1974; Ohlander, 1994). These reforms laid the foundation for and are part of current family
policies.
Historically, Sweden has led the way for many countries regarding family policy
issues. Sweden has a history of passing reforms that were radical in their day, such as the
abortion law of the mid-1970s that granted pregnant women the right to abortion up to the
18th week, the divorce law of 1974 that permitted divorce without a particular reason and
without mutual consent, changing parental leave insurance in 1974, granting fathers the same
rights as mothers to remuneration for leave from work to care for a child, and completely
banning any person from using corporal punishment (1979). More recently, laws allowing
homosexuals to adopt and receive insemination were passed as well as legalizing same-sex
marriage.
State of research on families
Sweden greatly invests in family research, and politicians use that research to
inform their policy decisions. In 2009, Sweden spent 3.59 percent of their GDP on research
and development, making it second only to Finland in spending money on research amongst
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries (URL 5)7.
Family policy research is conducted in multiple arenas, such as in the social sciences,
7 In 2009, Finland spent 4 percent of its GDP on research and development, while the USA spent 2.8 percent.

medicine, and the public health fields. In doing so, the Swedish government puts forth effort
in promoting and preventing children’s and parents’ health and well-being, while at the same
time broadening the public’s knowledge about the topic.
Family policies targeting marriage
Swedish Family Law is a composite of three groups of laws, which are based
around the Code relating to Parents, Guardians, and Children [Föräldrabalken] the Marriage
Code [Äktenskapsbalk] and the Joint Homes Act [Lag om sambors gemensamma hem] The
Marriage Code supports the rights of couples who are married, and the Joint Homes Act
supports the rights of cohabiters (Björnberg, 2001). These codes are quite similar as marriage
and cohabiting unions are widely accepted in Sweden (Duvander, 1999). Whether married or
cohabitating, about three out of four children 0 to 18 years old grow up with both original
(biological or adoptive) parents (URL 1). Of those who live together, Sweden is about evenly
split between those who marry and those who cohabit, making it the country with the highest
percentage of cohabiting unions (Kiernan, 2004). Many Swedish couples will cohabit, have
their first child, and then marry, in that order (Björnberg, 2001; Duvander 1999). For
example, according to Statistics Sweden in 2011, while the average age for marriage is 33.1
for women and 35.6 for men (URL 6), the average age of having their first child is 28.9 for
mothers and 31.5 for fathers (URL 7). Despite Sweden’s acceptance of cohabiting unions,
marriages last longer (Duvander, 1999). In fact, of those couples with children, cohabiting
couples are almost twice as likely to separate/divorce as married couples (URL 8).
If parents do divorce or separate,8 Swedish social services try to engage the
parents in discussing custody and contact issues For the most part, children who reside
primarily with one parent meet regularly with the non-resident parent, encouraging divorced
parents to share custody and childcare tasks, thereby creating a divorced-nuclear family
8 For parents with dependent children, there is a trial period of six months after first filing for divorce. For the
divorce to go through, one of the parties has to send a written confirmation to the authorities six months after the
initial filing.

(Barnombudsmannen, 2010; Eriksson, 2002; URL 9). Although this is a newer phenomenon,
the sharing of parental responsibilities is made easier for most couples since 85 percent of all
separated/divorced parents live within 50 kilometers (approximately 31 miles) from the non-
resident parent. Of children with divorced or separated parents, two-thirds reside mainly with
the mother, around one-fifth primarily with the father, and one-fifth spend an equal amount of
time living with their mother and father (Barnombudsmannen, 2010). Seven percent of
Swedish families with children below 18 years of age live with step-families where children
reside with one of their biological/adoptive parents and a stepfather or stepmother (URL 1).
Same-sex marriages have been legal in Sweden for several years, but as of May
1, 2009, same-sex couples were granted the right to marry either with the civil authorities or
in a religious institution (i.e. church), so long as the religious leader agreed to marry the
couple. At the end of 2011, around 4000 women and 3400 men were registered as official
partners in Sweden, while around 2500 women and 1700 men were married in same-sex
relationships. Around 1000 children reside in homosexual families where the couple is
married or legally registered as cohabiting (URL 10). Same-sex marriage is accepted by the
mainstream culture, although GLBT-individuals may still face adversity from varying fringe
groups.
Domestic violence
Domestic violence was historically viewed as an unseen issue that researchers
knew little about but starting in the early 1980s Sweden saw a boom of information and help
for women who had experienced domestic violence. Women seeking refuge could find
sanctuary in the shelters that sprang up throughout Sweden, while newspapers highlighted the
dramatic impact of domestic violence (Peter, 2006). In 1993, the Ministry of Health and
Social Affairs created a Government Commission to address the domestic violence issue
(Nylen & Heimer, 2000). A year after its creation, the Commission took a reactive approach

to the current problem by recommending and securing the funds for the National Center for
Battered and Raped Women which provided medical and social services, as well as police
protection and legal support to battered women (Peter, 2006). Swedish family policy
acknowledges the gendered bias of domestic abuse, as primarily women are victims of abuse
(Eriksson, 2002).
In 1997/1998 a new proactive bill was passed called the “Violence against
Women” bill, which brought about a new penal code offense called the “gross violation of a
woman’s integrity,” reflecting the State’s commitment to gender equality This meant that in
addition to charging any accused offender with any domestic charge, such as assault,
coercion, sexual molestation, or sexual exploitation, the courts could also charge the accused
with a gross violation of a woman’s integrity, thus not only protecting the woman physically,
but also protecting her individual integrity Attacking from these fronts, the Commission
successfully made available needed funded agencies to help women re-establish themselves
and move forward with their lives, while publically condemning domestic violence (Peter,
2006). During this same time, the World Health Organization (1997) declared that violence
against women is a health and human rights issue that needs to be dealt with decisively.
Sweden is fighting against domestic violence (Edin & Högberg, 2002), viewing violence
against women as a social problem (Eriksson, 2002) that needs to be tackled from multiple
arenas so that each person’s health and human rights are fully protected (Peter, 2006).
Around the world, on average, one in four women has been sexually or
physically abused by a man (Edin & Högberg, 2002). In a survey on around 15,000 people in
Sweden, during the course of one year, around 2 percent of the women and 3 percent of men
said that they had been physically abused one or more times.9 Two-thirds of the women said
they knew the abuser, while a little more than a quarter of the men stated the abuser being
9 However, other studies looking at people’s lifetime abuse rates show much higher numbers: for example, in a
study on 2755 separated or divorced women in Sweden, 35 percent stated that they at some point were abused
either through physical violence, threatening, or sexual violence (Lundgren et al., 2002).

known to them Not surprisingly then, more women said they had been abused in their home
(31 percent compared to 12 percent of the men) (Brottsförebyggande rådet, 2011). 10
Family policies regarding child-rearing and family-work balance
Swedish family policies aim to support individuals rather than families, so as to
create a more gender equal country; therefore, women are encouraged to seek employment,
while men are encouraged to contribute their fair share of housework (Bergman & Hobson,
2002). In Sweden, women and men participate in the paid labor force in near equal numbers
(Statistics Sweden, 2011), and the wage gap is among the lowest in the world (Peter, 2006). In
fact, Sweden strives for its citizens to be fully employed so that the individual is financially
self-reliant (Haas, 1996). Additionally, women constitute a majority of those enrolled in
higher education (The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education and Statistics Sweden,
2007), with around half of all government seats being occupied by women (Peter, 2006). Over
the past 20 years, women have decreased the time they spend on household chores and caring
for children and relatives, and now spend more time on work in the paid labor market.
Alternatively, men’s time on paid work has decreased, and their time spent on unpaid work
has increased slightly. In total, although both men and women work and help with household
tasks, women spend approximately 45 minutes more per day on unpaid household duties
(Statistics Sweden, 2011).
To help create a more equal division of labor, the Swedish government has
incentivized the sharing of parental roles (Daly, 2011). For example, in order to help reduce
the work-family conflict, Sweden has provided its citizens with a generous parental leave
package, as well as providing subsidized high quality childcare (Stier, Lewin-Epstein, &
Braun, 2012). Moreover, many businesses in Sweden have flexible work schedules, allowing
people to work from home and have flexible working hours, and having businesses typically
10Women tend to report abuse less often than men because more often than men, they know their abuser
(Brottsförebyggande rådet, 2011).

not schedule meetings in the early mornings and late afternoons so that parents can tend to
their family, if needed. In fact, parents overwhelmingly stated that if they had to tend to
family affairs, then it was not a problem to refuse working evenings, weekends, or overtime,
and many said they were not even asked to do so if the employer knew they had small
children (Hobson, Fahlén, & Takács, 2011). By implementing these family policies that affect
both public and private lives, Sweden has developed a welfare model where parents can better
manage their career and their family (Andersson, 2008).
Parental leave
Sweden has one of the most comprehensive and parental leave programs in the world (Haas,
1996; Ray, Gornick, & Schmitt, 2010). Wanting to create a gender equal society, expand
individual freedoms, and balance the family-work conundrum for both mothers and fathers
(Bygren & Duvander, 2006; Thomas & Hildingsson, 2009), parental leave was introduced in
1974. Sweden then became the first country in the world to allow both parents to take time off
of work to care for their child, promoting men to increase their involvement in childcare and
mothers to work in the paid labour market. Initially, the leave comprised of six months but it
has been augmented and extended further up to the present. From 1975 onwards, the parental
leave days and remuneration could be used part time, thus enabling parents (who can afford
it) to extend their period of leave. Parental leave is tied to previous earnings, but offers a low
flat rate for those who did not work prior to having the child11 (Bergnehr, 2008; Wells &
Sarkadi, 2012). Parental leave permits the parents to take a maximum of 480 days off from
work. The remuneration is tied to their previous earnings (the salary) for the first 390 days of
leave and consists of a low flat rate for the last 90 days (in total for both parents). Parents are
eligible to receive 80 percent of their salary if they have either worked for 6 months prior to
11 At the present, the low flat rate for parents who did not work prior to having a child is 5400 SEK per month
before tax. However, the government has proposed a raise to 6750 SEK per month, being introduced in January
2013.

their child’s birth or for 12 full months over the past two years12 (The Swedish Social
Insurance Agency, 2012), A person that has been away from work due to parental leave has
the right to return either to their same or a comparable position, while receiving the same
salary.
Swedish parental leave is particularly flexible. During the first two weeks after
the birth of their child, both parents are entitled to parental leave, so that they can both help
manage and be there for their new child as the mother recovers (Fägerskiöld, 2008). After the
first two weeks, only one parent may utilize parental leave at a time,13 but they are entitled to
use some parental days until the child’s first year at school.14 Additionally, parental leave can
be used in different increments such as taking off of work in full days, three-quarter, half,
one-quarter, or one-eighth (The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, 2012). Consequently,
parents can choose who uses parental leave and for how long they use it for. However, two
months out of the 390 days of the higher remuneration cannot be passed on to the other
parent. These months were added to the insurance in two steps, in 1995 and in 2002, and are
informally referred to as the ‘daddy months’ since the political aim was to increase the
fathers’ parental leave take-up.
Swedish fathers of today use 23 percent of the parental leave days; fathers who
have a higher education take more parental leave than fathers with a lower education and vice
versa for mothers (The Social Insurance Agency, 2011a). Although the fathers take-up could
be seen as rather high compared with other countries, the discussion in Sweden continues on
12 There is a cap of 440,000 SEK per year (approx. $65,170 USD). Therefore people earning a higher yearly
salary than this will only be compensated during their parental leave at 80 percent of this amount (The Swedish
Social Insurance Agency, 2012). However, due to agreements between many unions and employers, the
employers add remunerations to that the insurance which give parents on leave a higher percentages of their
previous salary then 80 percent.
13 When the child is under a year old, parents may take “double days” up to 30 days, where both parents are
using parental leave at the same time. However, once the child is a year or more, only one parent can use
parental leave at a time (The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, 2012).
14 As of January 1, 2013, parents have to use 80 percent of their parental leave days by the time the child is four
years old (or they lose those days), but are permitted to use the remaining 20 percent until the child is 12 years
old.

how to achieve a more even division between mothers and fathers. In 2008, the gender
equality bonus was introduced, aimed as an incentive for parents to divide the insurance more
equally. For the first 390 days of parental leave parents can receive a 50 SEK (approx. $7.40
USD) bonus for every parental leave day they use that is over the two non-transferable
months (the ‘daddy days) (The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, 2012).15 However, at the
present, few parents have claimed the bonus, and it appears to have had a minimal impact on
fathers taking more parental leave (Duvander & Johansson, 2012).
Work-family balance
For the past four decades Swedish family policies have actively promoted dual-
income, dual-carer families (Allard, Haas, & Hwang, 2011) and gender equality. That is that
men and women should have equal rights to education, paid work and career (i.e. financial
independence), and that parents should share household tasks and caring for children equally.
In part, the political goal has been realised – women attend higher education to the same
extent as men and work almost as many hours in the paid labour market. Of parents who have
children under the age of 18, 91 percent of fathers and 81 percent of mothers are employed
(Barnombudsmannen, 2010), and women have some of the lowest wage gaps in the world,
receiving 94 cents on the dollar compared to men, after controlling for occupation, education,
age, and working hours (Ekberg, 2008). In 1979, the right for parents with preschool children
to decrease their work by 25 percent was introduced and is still in effect. This reform helps
parents to balance the duties of everyday life, that is, paid work and caring for children. About
half of the mothers with preschool children decrease their working hours in paid labour due to
this reform, while only a small percentage of men do (Statistics Sweden, 2009); therefore, we
can still see a gender difference despite the family policies. But Swedish family policies do
15 For example, if one parent took 160 days of parental leave, and then the other parent took 70 days of leave,
that family would receive a 50 SEK per day bonus for ten days (bonus = 500 SEK), as the first 60 days were
guaranteed to that parent to begin with. Since you can only receive the bonus for 390 days of parental leave, if
all days were used and split completely evenly (195 days per parent), the maximum bonus would be (195 days –
60 guaranteed parental leave days) * 50 SEK = a bonus of 6750 SEK.

support families in combining paid work and parenthood. For instance, the parental leave
insurance, the right to work part-time when children are young, the right for parents to take
time off from work to care for sick children with governmental remunerations compensating
loss of salary, and by providing subsidized and available childcare are all ways family
policies support the work-family balance16 (Allard, Haas & Hwang, 2011; Andersson, 2008).
Sweden offers subsidized childcare when children are between 1 and 6 years old
and free public schooling through university. Not only are childcare programs subsidized, but
each child is guaranteed a spot in a childcare setting (Daly, 2011). If parents do not want to
use childcare, municipalities can offer a child home care allowance that entitles one parent to
stay home with their preschool child. If families take the child home care allowance, the
family would receive a tax-exempt payment of up to approximately $387 USD per month to
provide childcare for their child. However, very few parents have done this because the
money they receive does not compete with their salary from full-time employment. Also, this
reform has been criticized for encouraging mostly the unemployed and low-paid women to
stay at home to care for their household and children. This runs counter to the gender equality
policies that promote the participation of mothers in the paid labor market (Duvander, 2008).
Children’s rights
Several countries in Western Europe, including Sweden, view children as their
own person with their own rights (Daly, 2011). In 1979, Sweden became the first country in
the world to completely ban corporal punishment. Known as the aga-law, the ban aimed and
later achieved its goals of reducing the use of physical punishment towards children, offering
16The municipality receives government funding to keep the childcare fees down. The fees to the families are
wage/income-related, but the state directives/regulations are that a family/household should never pay more than
1260 SEK/month ($188 USD/month) for the first child in childcare, 840 SEK/month ($125 USD/month) for the
second child and 420 SEK/month ($63 USD/month) for the third childcare, and never more than 3 percent of the
household income for the first child, 2 percent for the second child and 1 percent for the third child. The fees for
children in after school childcare is lower. The maximum fee the municipality can charge is 2 percent of the
household's income and 840 SEK/month ($120 USD/month) for the first child, 1 percent and 420 SEK/month
($63 USD/month) for the second and the third child. (URL 13).

parents and professionals a set of acceptable parenting practices, and detecting child abuse
more quickly (Durrant, 1999). To further help ensure children’s rights, the Swedish
government has created a law entitled the Code relating to Parents, Guardians, and Children
(Föräldrabalken) (1983), which states in Chapter 6 paragraph 1 that “children are entitled to
care, security, and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person
and individuality and may not be subjected to physical punishment or any other injurious or
humiliating treatment.” Children’s policies in Sweden are aimed at creating equality between
children by ensuring that they receive proper health care, adequate housing, good parenting,
suitable education, and assistance if they have a special need (Haas, 1996).
Children living in Sweden have a right to receive a strong education throughout
their lives. From the year that the child turns three, children receive up to 15 hours of free
early childhood education (förskola) per week (URL 11). Moreover, Sweden’s childcare
programs are said to be of high quality, due in part to considerable policy efforts over the last
forty years (Andersson, Duvander, & Hank, 2004; Andersson, 2008). In 2010, with these
policies in place, 83 percent of children between 1 and 5 years old were enrolled in childcare
in Sweden (almost 95% of all 4-5 years were enrolled) (URL 12). These Swedish policies not
only make it possible for all young children to receive a high quality early childhood
education, but also serves as a backdrop to Sweden’s social-democratic welfare system by
promoting the family’s fertility rates, as well as the dual-earner model and therefore
encouraging gender equality (Andersson, 2008). In fact, in the United Nations Children’s
Fund of 2008, Sweden ranked first in early childhood education and care (Bremberg, 2009).
Additionally, Sweden also has high rates of youth independence, where, for instance,
affordable and available public housing and free higher education have enabled an early

departure from the parental home (Therborn, 2004). Moreover, parents are obliged to
financially provide for their child up to the age of 18, or 21 if they are still in high school.17
Swedish children’s rights expands into divorce as well, as these family policies
state that the courts must do what is in the best interest of the child and that the child’s views
should be considered (i.e. for living arrangements). Joint custody is the current interpretation
of what is typically considered in the child’s best interest. The Code relating to Parents,
Guardians, and Children adheres to divorced parental collaboration, aiming to create a
divorced-nuclear family paradigm (Eriksson, 2002). However, failure to include the child’s
views is shown in investigations of matters concerning custody and the child’s living
arrangements after divorce/separation (Dahlstrand, 2004; Eriksson & Näsman, 2008; Rejmer,
2003). In 2006, the child’s right to express his or her views were emphasized in the Code
relating to Parents, Guardians, and Children, but there is no indication of an increase in cases
where children are allowed to state their views in family law proceedings (Röbäck, 2011). In
addition, many children with divorced parents appear to face recurrent conflicts between the
parents, which in some cases leads to the child and residential parent (most often the mother)
not receiving the entitled child support by the non-residential parent (i.e. the father) (The
Social Insurance Agency, 2011b).
Family policies supporting families at risk
During the past century, Swedish family policies have been centered on
universal health-promoting services, the goal of which is to decrease social stratification and
to promote the prosperity of each individual and the nation as a whole. A general child
17 Swedish high school ends at age 19 for most students.

allowance,18 wage-related childcare fees, free education, free healthcare and dental care for
children below 20 years of age, free healthcare check-ups at child health centers, free
counselling for parents, student health services including vaccinations for school children,
free parental cooperation talks offered by the Social Services in case of divorce or separation,
and free child and adolescent psychiatry are all important parts of the Swedish welfare
support system for families. In addition, families with special needs can receive aide for in-
home care of children or adult family members who suffer from long-term illnesses, as well
as handicap benefits and disability pensions. Sweden’s family policies also protect children if
their parent’s die before they turn 18 years old by providing them with a children’s pension
(Lindquist & Lindquist, 2012). If a child’s parent dies, then the child is guaranteed a
minimum of 1,467 SEK/month (approx. $200 USD),19 which consists of a children’s pension
based on the perished parent’s pension (i.e. previous earnings, and/or additional governmental
support for children who receive a very low pension) (The Swedish Pensions Agency, 2012).
Children and Poverty
Physical and mental well-being among Swedish children and adults are high by
international comparisons (Lindgren & Lindblad, 2010; Save the Children, 2010). Events
such as family dissolution, unemployment, and death may push families into poverty, but for
most Swedish families, financial hardship is temporary (Lindquist & Lindquist, 2012).
However, close to 10 percent of all children in Sweden live in unprivileged areas,
characterized by having a low mean income, high unemployment rates, and low parental
educational levels (Statistics Sweden, 2007). The majority of the disadvantaged families are
18 All children up to the age of 16 receive the general child allowance of 1,050 SEK/month, around $145 USD,
tax free. This is done so as to help even out the financial inequalities between those with children and those
without children. In addition, parents with two or more children receive a large family supplement, the amount
depending on the number of children. A family with two children receives 2250 SEK per month (approx. $330
USD) while a family with three children receives in total 3,754 SEK/month (approx. $517 USD), with four
children 5,814 SEK/month (approx. $800 USD), and with five children 8,114 SEK/month (approx. $1,118
USD). When the child turns 16, the child allowance is transferred to the student allowance for children attending
high school (The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, 2010).
19 Many children receive more than this amount, as it is based on the parents’ pension.

comprised of single mothers and/or are of foreign origin (Rädda Barnen, 2012). For example,
among children residing with single parents, 28 percent live in poverty compared to 9 percent
of children living with two parents. Among children of foreign origin, 32 percent live in
families with low bracket incomes (Rädda Barnen, 2012). These percents are important since
those family structures are overly represented among the chronically poor (Lindquist &
Lindquist, 2012).
Single mothers and immigrant families also have a higher propensity to
experience health issues compared to coupled mothers and nuclear families of Swedish origin
(Fritzell et al., 2007; Ringbäck Weitoft, Haglund, & Rosen, 2000; Ringbäck Weitoft, 2003;
Ringbäck Weitoft, Haglund, Hjern, & Rosen, 2003). In fact, about 20 percent of single
mothers depend on social benefits (Stranz & Wiklund, 2011); therefore, it may not be hard to
understand that besides the elderly, the parents with dependent children (single parents in
particular) rely the most heavily on Sweden’s welfare system (Statistics Sweden, 2012).
However, Swedish family policies have resulted in higher rates of employed mothers and thus
lower levels of poverty among single mothers than in, for example, Great Britain (Burström et
al., 2010; Fritzell et al., 2007; Statistics Sweden, 2012). Still, for many single mothers
financial pressure is high (Ringbäck Weitoft, 2003).
One corrective measure to help children rise out of poverty is to provide them
with a good education, as successful school achievement tends to affect well-being positively
(Gustafsson et al., 2010). However, Sweden, over the past 15 years, has witnessed an increase
in the proportion of children who do not reach the established educational goals (Swedish
National Agency for Education, 2009). This is especially true for children residing and
attending schools in disadvantaged areas, where they experience a 50 percent higher risk of
school failure, as compared to children from higher socioeconomic status areas (Statistics
Sweden, 2007). Additionally, children in out-of-home care, such as institutional or foster care,

are also particularly vulnerable; they have high risks of physical and mental health problems
and school failure (The National Board of Health and Welfare, 2012; The National Board of
Health and Welfare & Swedish National Institute of Public Health, 2012).
Single parent families
In the beginning of the 20th century, laws were passed to secure the rights and
living conditions of children born out of wedlock and children in residential care. Local
authorities were obliged to establish a children’s welfare board, with child welfare officers
who inspected foster homes and secured the rights of children born out of wedlock (Bergman,
2011). For children of unwed mothers, the welfare officer was made responsible for
establishing who the father was, seeing to it that the father paid the mother child support, and
ensuring that the mother took sufficient care of the child. In 1938, a law was passed that gave
single mothers financial support from the state in case the father did not pay (Bergman, 2003).
In practice, this system is still in effect. Current policies state that children who live only or
most of the time with one parent are entitled to child support from the non-resident parent
(most often the father). In case child support is not paid, the resident parent is entitled to
maintenance support paid by the state: 1,273 SEK/month (approximately $170 USD) is the
minimum amount of child support (The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, 2008). The
standard for maintenance support is comparatively low, and the state has neglected to raise
the amount over the years. However, the general child allowance, housing allowance for
families with low disposable income, and other universal benefits (such as free health and
dental care for children, free education, wage-related and subsidised child-care) add to the
financial support the state provides—support that is of great importance to families with
dependent children and single parents in particular.
Child welfare

The Swedish child welfare system, i.e. the Social Services, is obliged to protect
children from harm and abuse and to support families. The Social Services Act (SoL) and the
Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (LVU) regulate these services, including
residential and foster care and non-institutional measures, but the local authorities are in
charge of deciding which services and measures to prioritize (Östberg, 2010). As previously
mentioned, children in out-of-home care are a vulnerable group with high risks of failure at
school, health problems as children and in adult life, criminality, and dependence on social
benefits (The National Board of Health and Welfare, 2012; Sundell et al., 2007).
The number of children in care outside the parental home declined steadily during the 20th
century. At the beginning of the century, mainly young children lived in foster or residential
care, but this has changed, and today mostly older children are in out-of-home care (Bergman,
2011). At present, around 25,000 children, 1 percent of the 0- to 20-year-olds, lives in out-of-
home care, for longer or shorter periods, with foster care being the most common. Besides
out-of-home care, around 28,000 children are subjects of non-institutional care, provided by
the Social Services. Such care comprises structured care programs, personal support, contact
person/family, and treatment (The National Board of Health and Welfare, 2011).
Institutional and non-institutional care under the Social Services Act and Care of
Young Persons Act are interventions that follow report and investigation. Most children are
subjected to an investigation after a report is filed by a professional (such as teacher, police,
social worker) or other person (such as family member, relative, neighbour). Reported and
investigated children often live with single parents (i.e. mothers) and/or in households with
low disposable income (Sundell et al., 2007; Östberg, 2010). The reason for reporting a child
to the Social Services may concern a young person’s behavior (e.g. anti-social, criminality,
self-harm), and/or suspicion of neglect and/or abuse in the home (Sundell et al., 2007). But a
report does not necessarily lead to an investigation – on the contrary, many do not. A recent

study on child welfare assessments and decisions shows that an investigation was more likely
to be undertaken if the child was a girl and in cases where the report came from a
professional. Parental incapacity to care for the child (i.e. parental anti-social behavior, drug
or alcohol addiction, and recurring conflicts) was not a strong reason for initiating an
investigation, but anti-social and self-harming behaviour of the youngster was (Östberg,
2010). Unclear definitions of a child at risk and when the risk may be of such a degree that
interventions are required are a problem that may lead to children and parents not getting the
support they need. Estimations of the child’s needs and risks vary across agencies and social
workers, and in viewing the child’s development, the risks are narrowly defined and focused
on the current situations, which neglect long-term solutions. The result is reactive child
welfare measures, with a focus on acute interventions and less on providing proactive support
(Sundell et al., 2007; Östberg, 2010). Furthermore, studies suggest that investigations often
exclude the child’s and his/her parents’ wider social network (i.e. potential or real support).
There are also indications that children and parents are not being included in the investigation
process to the required extent, in accordance with the right to participate as stated in the
Social Services Act (Sundell et al., 2007; see also Eriksson, 2009). In addition, there is a need
to improve the support given to children in residential care or foster care when they make the
transition to adulthood and no longer are entitled to child welfare services (Höjer & Sjöblom,
2011). To sum up, although Sweden is referred to as a country where the children have many
rights, there are important improvements to be made in the field of child welfare.
Discussion and recommendations
Swedish family policies aim to create individual (economic) freedom and a
gender equal society where children are granted similar opportunities regardless of their
economic, social, or cultural background. Sweden has a history of universal benefits and
health-promoting policies, providing a social security system that supports parents and

children. In short, like previous reviews have found (e.g. Duvander, 2008; Haas, 1996),
Sweden is a good example of what family policy can accomplish for the individual.
However, the Swedish system has its flaws, and some political initiatives have
not (yet) gained the desired effect. For instance, family policies aiming to achieve a gender
equal society in terms of women and men participating to the same extent in the paid labour
market and taking an equal share in domestic duties are, after four decades, still not fulfilled.
Indeed, we have witnessed large changes in gender roles and women’s and men’s family
practices, but still, men work more hours in the paid labour market, have higher salaries,
while caring for their children, relatives and household to a lesser extent than women. When it
comes to parental leave, introduced in 1974, fathers take no more than 23 percent of the days,
despite recurring campaigns and reforms promoting a more gender equal division. A big
question has been why? Previous research suggests several influencing aspects. One is family
economics: most fathers earn more than the mother and therefore, financially it makes more
sense for mothers to use more parental leave. Increasing the ceiling of the salary cap may
therefore encourage higher income fathers to utilize more parental leave, although at the
present, the highly educated fathers are actually those who use most parental leave days.
Another explanation is that fathers may feel pressured to continue working instead of taking
(more) leave due to employers’ attitudes towards gendered roles. Much research indicates that
notions of the father as the main breadwinner and the mother as the primary parent continue
to be evident and influence men’s and women’s parental leave take-up. For instance,
maternal gate-keeping tends to occurs partly because of the strong social pressure to be a
good, attentive mother (and woman) (e.g. Allard, Haas & Hwang, 2011; Wells & Sarkadi,
2012). Other studies suggest that due to social norms on how fathers and mothers should
behave, men have the possibility to opt out of parental responsibilities, while mothers do not
(e.g. Bekkengen, 2002). Thus, traditional attitudes towards the genders continue to influence

family practices in Sweden. Further work to change gendered perceptions could be vital in
creating an environment where mothers and fathers feel they are supported and encouraged to
divide paid labour and domestic duties equally. A recurring discussion in Swedish politics is
whether to extend the ‘daddy months’ to further encourage fathers to increase their parental
leave take-up. After 40 years of promoting an equal division of parental leave, perhaps this
would be the most efficacious incitement.
There are more signs of Sweden not being the gender equal society it strives for.
After divorce or separation, most children have the mother as the primary carer and sole
breadwinner, although the number of children staying an equal amount of time with their
mother and father has increased from previous decades. While the majority of single mothers
do work, many struggle financially and do not always get the child support that they are
entitled to receive. In addition, being a single mother increases the risk of physical and mental
health problems. Thus, there tends to be a great need to develop Swedish family policies to
better support single mothers and their children.
Swedish laws and regulations promote the involvement of both parents in their
child’s life, regardless of whether the parents live together or not. Very seldom is sole custody
given to one of the parents in case of divorce or separation. This is sometimes problematic,
for instance in cases when the father has been physically and/or mentally abusing his partner
(i.e. the mother). The societal emphasis on the importance of the father (e.g. the standard
procedure of joint custody) gives the father the right to an equal part in parental decisions
about the child and the right to spend time with the child, regardless of his (previous) actions
toward the mothers and in some cases regardless of the child’s wishes (see Eriksson, 2002).
This suggests that societal support to families (fathers, mothers and children) that experience
domestic violence could be further improved and developed, and children’s views in matters
concerning custody and living arrangements should be increasingly acknowledged. Having

said that, domestic abuse appears to be far less common in Sweden than in many other parts
of the world, measures have been taken over the past thirty years to bolster the victims of
domestic abuse, and the child’s right to express his or her opinion is emphasised in Swedish
law (i.e. the Code on Parenthood and the Social Services Act). Clearly, however, more can be
done to set laws and regulations into practice.
This also goes for policies aiming to reduce the number of families that
experience poverty. Despite the social democratic model with an extensive welfare system,
many children and parents face poverty, and we witness an increase especially among single-
parent and families of foreign origin. Swedish labour market and family policies promote
dual-earner families. Regardless of the economic aid and the social services families receive,
the unemployed, parents with lower educations, and single parents all face greater adversities
compared to dual-earner families, leading some researchers to call for greater safety nets to be
put in place (e.g. Bull & Mittelmark, 2009). Important for future research is to widen our
understanding of the most appropriate and effective support for these (different) groups of
families, including the perspectives of children as well as those of the mothers and fathers.
One of the ways to help reduce poverty is to provide all children with a quality
education throughout their entire childhood. School failure increases the risk of physical and
mental health problems for children and in adult life (Gustafsson et al., 2010), but during the
past 15 years, Sweden has witnessed an increase in the proportion of children who do not
reach the established educational goals (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2009).
Policies that strengthen the school system and student health services appear to be vital in
promoting children’s health and future prospects. It is also of great importance to widen our
understandings of the schooling situation for children subjected to child welfare measures
(e.g. investigations, residential or foster care) and how it can be improved (Eriksson, Bruno,
& Näsman, 2011; Hedin, Höjer, & Brunnberg, 2011). In addition, in order to make the needed

policy changes to further support families and children at risk, more research is required on
social workers’ as well as on children’s and parents’ views and experiences of the child
welfare system, and on how local and national policies influence the child welfare agencies
(i.e. consequences for children and parents) (Sundell et al., 2007).
Conclusions
Sweden’s family policies are a huge undertaking, affecting all aspects of the
family’s life. Over the past forty years, Sweden has developed and tweaked its family policies
to try to make family life more equal, while stressing each person’s individual rights. The
Swedish model emphasizes the dual-earner, dual-carer family; therefore, families with only
one salary (or none) and/or with only one carer generally struggle compared to those who
follow the Swedish model. Some challenges for the Swedish welfare system are to reduce the
number of families that experience poverty, to further support families at risk, and to better
take into account the views of children. There are also rising educational issues, as more
children are failing at school. Despite these short-comings, Sweden has helped lead the world
in family policy and is often viewed as a model to emulate.

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