The Welfare System | Home |
Families |
Education |
Culture |
Social
Problems |
Organizations |
Vocabulary |
Other
Countries |
The
welfare state system plays a large role in the quality of life for the
Norwegian children. The ideal of the welfare state
is that the government ensures the welfare of
all citizens. The Norwegian system works to provide
equal care and opportunity for all of its citizens, regardless of their
income level. Wealth
is redistributed, so there is less of a gap between the nation’s
wealthy and poor, as well as ensuring that all wealth is not controlled
by just a few families. Consequently, there are far
less people living in the extremes. This means that the children
and their families in Norway have access to all the things they need,
such as healthcare, education, and food.
Since the welfare state system means that families don’t have to worry about finding just the basic necessities for children, a much greater focus can be placed on other aspects of their lives. Children are able to spend more time participating in extracurricular activities and furthering their educations, rather than having to work to help out their family. Health care is available to the children, so they are able to recover from any illnesses quickly and get back to their everyday lives. Education is made as equal as possible, so all children have the chance to gain as much knowledge as possible, rather than having a wide education gap between the classes. When children go to school, they aren’t hungry and uncomfortable, so they are able to focus completely on their learning. The welfare state provides the opportunity for children to be the best they can be, giving a great deal of time for personal development.
In Norway, it is more common for mothers of young children to be employed than in many Western European countries. With the large amount of young mothers in the workplace, it becomes necessary to deal with the issues of maternity leave. The government has therefore created a system meant to care for the families as they care for a new baby. Parents are allowed the choice of either taking 43 weeks off between themselves with full wage compensation, or 53 weeks off with eighty percent compensation. If they wish, the mother may take up to 12 weeks of their parental leave prior to the birth, so they can prepare for the baby or give themselves rest. Nine weeks of leave must be used by the mother, and five weeks by the father. The remaining weeks can be divided between the parents as they wish. In addition, in the case that a child must stay home sick from school when they reach school age, the state grants each parent ten days of leave per year to spend taking care of the child. Single parents are granted twenty.
By having such a system, the government is attempting to strengthen parent-child relationships since more time is available to spend together. It is hoped that strong families will be developed, which will provide benefits to both the children and the society as a whole. Especially with the recent increases in divorce rates and single parent families, the government is aspiring to make these rates decline. The granting of leave for sick children is also helping to reduce the spread of illness in school, as parents aren’t sending sick children to school because of the fear of missing work. There have been concerns voiced that the extended leave of absence during pregnancy and immediately following birth may limit women’s abilities to move forward in the workplace. However if fathers spend some of the leave with the child as the plan allows, the mother is able to spend time in the workplace and not fall too far behind. Though there are still noticeable differences in male and female’s workplace experience, the splitting of leave works to lessen that gap.
Leira,
Arnlaug.
1993. “Mothers, Markets, and the
State: a Scandinavian 'model?'” Journal of Social Policy 22:329-47.
Wikipedia. 2006. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., Retrieved May 3, 2006(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page).
Since the welfare state system means that families don’t have to worry about finding just the basic necessities for children, a much greater focus can be placed on other aspects of their lives. Children are able to spend more time participating in extracurricular activities and furthering their educations, rather than having to work to help out their family. Health care is available to the children, so they are able to recover from any illnesses quickly and get back to their everyday lives. Education is made as equal as possible, so all children have the chance to gain as much knowledge as possible, rather than having a wide education gap between the classes. When children go to school, they aren’t hungry and uncomfortable, so they are able to focus completely on their learning. The welfare state provides the opportunity for children to be the best they can be, giving a great deal of time for personal development.
In Norway, it is more common for mothers of young children to be employed than in many Western European countries. With the large amount of young mothers in the workplace, it becomes necessary to deal with the issues of maternity leave. The government has therefore created a system meant to care for the families as they care for a new baby. Parents are allowed the choice of either taking 43 weeks off between themselves with full wage compensation, or 53 weeks off with eighty percent compensation. If they wish, the mother may take up to 12 weeks of their parental leave prior to the birth, so they can prepare for the baby or give themselves rest. Nine weeks of leave must be used by the mother, and five weeks by the father. The remaining weeks can be divided between the parents as they wish. In addition, in the case that a child must stay home sick from school when they reach school age, the state grants each parent ten days of leave per year to spend taking care of the child. Single parents are granted twenty.
By having such a system, the government is attempting to strengthen parent-child relationships since more time is available to spend together. It is hoped that strong families will be developed, which will provide benefits to both the children and the society as a whole. Especially with the recent increases in divorce rates and single parent families, the government is aspiring to make these rates decline. The granting of leave for sick children is also helping to reduce the spread of illness in school, as parents aren’t sending sick children to school because of the fear of missing work. There have been concerns voiced that the extended leave of absence during pregnancy and immediately following birth may limit women’s abilities to move forward in the workplace. However if fathers spend some of the leave with the child as the plan allows, the mother is able to spend time in the workplace and not fall too far behind. Though there are still noticeable differences in male and female’s workplace experience, the splitting of leave works to lessen that gap.
Wikipedia. 2006. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., Retrieved May 3, 2006(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page).