Sweden: A warning against overzealous state family policies

by Rebecca Millette
Mon May 09, 2011

(LifeSiteNews.com) – To those who believe that Sweden’s family policy is the model for a social utopia, well-known Swedish mentor, researcher and business consultant Jonas Himmelstrand says he is ready to “bust the myths.” Far from a utopia, Sweden is overwhelmed with parent-child alienation, a consequence of overly-obtrusive family policies that heavily favor state subsidized day care over home care, he says.

Despite the material wealth, low child poverty, subsidized day care, free healthcare, and high life expectancy, according to Himmelstrand Sweden is riddled with stress-related health problems in adults, declining psychological health and school results in youth, a high number of people on sick leave, and an inability for parents to connect with their children, which “all point downwards.”

“The total picture is very difficult to explain away,” Himmelstrand told LSN, but “the picture becomes clear when one realizes we have made a policy that separates children from families.” the rest