Scotland to follow Scandinavia’s lead and gift all new babies with a starter kit
[Photo: Finnish Baby Box]
As any new parent will testify, babies need a lot of stuff. From nappies and babygrows, to blankets and a bed to sleep in, and on, and on. Thankfully babies born in Scotland are going to be given a helping hand with the must-need paraphernalia.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that from New Year’s Day 2017, Scottish parents will be gifted “baby boxes”.
The policy, first announced back in April, is taking the lead from a similar Scandinavian scheme, which sees new mums and dads being sent home from hospital with baby boxes containing useful items to help kickstart their new journey into parenthood.
In Finland, the boxes, which contain around 80 useful items including baby clothes and nappies as well as an actual space for a baby to sleep in, have been credited with cutting infant mortality. And Scotland is hoping their own scheme will see similar results, as well as being a “symbol of a belief in a level playing field” for all children.
Nicola Sturgeon announced new details about the baby box policy at the SNP conference in Glasgow [Photo: Getty]
Speaking about the introduction of the new policy, Nicola Sturgeon told the audience at the Scottish National Party’s conference in Glasgow: “We promised a baby box of all essential items for all newborns. It’s a policy borrowed from Finland where it’s contributed to the lowest rates of child mortality in the world.
“I’m delighted to give you an update on our plans to introduce it here. Next month we’ll launch a competition in partnership with the V&A in Dundee for the design of the box.”
The new announcement about the boxes comes as the First Minister announced further changes to the country’s childcare provisions including a national consultation on flexible childcare giving parents - not councils - the decision on which nursery or childminder to use.
For more information about Finnish Baby Boxes visit their website www.finnishbabybox.com
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