Arranging childcare in two Nordic countries: A comparison of ECEC start in Iceland and Sweden

The study compares childcare schemes in Iceland and Sweden to see how parents in these countries arrange childcare for their young children. The study investigates how differences in policy between the two countries affect how parents arrange childcare. The research questions are:

• What is the starting age of kindergarten in Iceland and Sweden, and does the children’s starting age align with the length of paid parental leave in the two countries?
• Does the children’s starting age align with how parents use paid parental leave and with the parents’ characteristics, and if so, how?

The study found that Icelandic children start kindergarten earlier (13.4 months) than Swedish children (17.6 months), primarily due to the use of childminders in Iceland. Swedish children are more likely to start directly in kindergarten. In both countries, the age at which children start daycare is linked to the mother’s use of parental leave. In Iceland, the mother’s participation in working life before childbirth and the parents’ marital status are also linked to the children’s starting age, whereas this is not the case in Sweden. The study found no correlation between the father’s share of parental leave and the child’s starting age in Iceland, while there is a correlation in Sweden.

The study used data from two surveys. The 2018 Icelandic survey included parents of firstborn babies born in 2014 (1666 children), and 863 respondents were analysed. The 2012 Swedish survey included a random sample of 2000 parents of children born in 2009, with 1184 responding. Both surveys asked questions about parental leave, childcare and employment, and the data were combined with registry data on parental leave. Linear regression models were used to analyse the relationship between parental leave, parental labour market status before birth, residency, marital status, and the children’s age when starting kindergarten.

Arnalds, Á., & Duvander, A. Z. (2023). Arranging childcare in two Nordic countries: A comparison of ECEC start in Iceland and Sweden. JFR-Journal of Family Research, 35, 471–488.