A few years ago the world learned from a BBC report that Finnish parents put their newborns to sleep in cardboard boxes, the first reaction was to question the effectiveness of this system in the face of traditional cradles. The box, a corrugated cardboard box, is known as Kela Box: Kela is the diminutive of Kansaneläkelaitos, the social security system which is responsible in Finland for meeting the needs of newborns.
Finnish Social Security Delivers some 60,000 maternal allowances per year, of which the vast majority are Kela cardboard boxes
The tradition began in 1938 for low-income families in Finland and became widespread in 1949. Mothers can choose between taking the cash or receiving cash, EUR 140. But more than 90% of women opt for the cardboard box.
This year marks the 80th anniversary, and for that reason the official agency in charge of the initiative, Kela, decided to launch a challenge to Finns. “Should we change the name of the box, known as ‘maternity kit’?”
The cardboard box has played an important role in reducing infant mortality and in the well-being of Finnish babies, according to observers.
The challenge generated a lively debate on social networks, with user-suggested terms: "baby kit", "kit family" and even "kit of consequences after sex".
Besides the cardboard box itself, which most families use as a first little cot for their newborns with a small mattress and sleeping bag also included in the box, the Kela covers practically all babies' needs. The kit packed inside the same cardboard box is a starter pack containing winter and summer clothes, bath products, teething toys, a little book, nail scissors, nappy cream, a thermometer and a cloth nappy.
