Parental Leave Expressions

parental leave

Tip: lit. 'parent freedom' — 480 days per child.

to be on parental leave

Tip: lit. 'be parent-free'.

a latte dad

Tip: lit. 'a latte dad' — the café-dwelling father on leave, half joke half compliment.

the reserved months for each parent

Tip: lit. 'the daddy months' — days that cannot be transferred.

to split the days

Tip: lit. 'share the days'.

to transfer days to the other parent

Tip: lit. 'carry over days'.

double days (both parents at home)

Tip: lit. 'double days' — 60 days you may take together.

parental allowance

Tip: lit. 'parent money' — what Försäkringskassan pays.

to take days at 75 percent

Tip: lit. the same — stretching the leave over more months.

to be at home with the baby

Tip: lit. the same.

to have a thousand things on the go

Tip: lit. 'have a thousand balls in the air'.

to be back to square one

Tip: lit. 'be back on square one'.

the work-life juggling act

Tip: lit. 'the life puzzle' — a word you'll hear in every Swedish workplace.

to make it all fit together

Tip: lit. 'make the life puzzle go together'.

to be on the same page

Tip: lit. 'be agreed'.

to take turns

Tip: lit. 'turn about'.

the honeymoon is over

Tip: lit. the same.

to be thrown in at the deep end

Tip: lit. 'be thrown into it'.

to grow into the role

Tip: lit. the same.

to find your routine

Tip: lit. the same.

to be a stay-at-home parent

Tip: lit. 'be a home parent'.

to go back to work

Tip: lit. the same.

to ease back in gradually

Tip: lit. 'step up successively'.

the pram walk

Tip: lit. 'the pram walk' — the daily nap-inducing ritual.

open preschool

Tip: lit. 'the open preschool' — free drop-in play groups for parents on leave.

to compare notes with other parents

Tip: lit. 'exchange experiences with other parents'.

the days are long but the years are short

Tip: lit. the same — the standard consolation.

the pregnancy benefit

Tip: lit. the same — if the job is physically unsafe.

the ten days at the birth

Tip: lit. the same — for the other parent.

the maternity ward

Tip: lit. 'barnbördshuset' — nobody says the full word.

the midwife

Tip: lit. 'the child-mother' — runs almost the whole thing in Sweden.

the antenatal class

Tip: lit. 'the parent education'.

the child health centre

Tip: lit. the same — weighing, jabs and reassurance.

the growth chart

Tip: lit. the same.

child benefit

Tip: lit. the same — paid for every child, no means test.

the large-family supplement

Tip: lit. the same.

to qualify at the sickness benefit level

Tip: lit. the same — roughly 80 percent of pay.

the lowest level days

Tip: lit. the same — 90 days at a flat rate.

to save days for later

Tip: lit. the same — usable until the child turns twelve.

to work part time and top up

Tip: lit. the same.

a nursery place

Tip: lit. the same — guaranteed within four months.

the settling-in period

Tip: lit. 'the schooling-in' — usually two weeks, with a parent.

the fee ceiling

Tip: lit. 'the maximum tariff' — nursery is capped and cheap.

to go back on Monday

Tip: lit. the same.

the first day without them

Tip: lit. the same — harder than expected.

to miss the baby year

Tip: lit. the same.

you never get it back

Tip: lit. the same.