One of Henrik Holgersson's friends laughed in his face when he told him he was going to spend the better part of 2011 as a stay-at-home dad. “What kind of a man are you?” the friend asked Holgersson, who works for an event management company. But just about everyone else was positive. His employer and co-workers patted him on the back and wished him luck.

當何葛森告訴一個朋友，他2011年大半年都將留在家裡當個好爸爸時，友人忍不住當面笑他並問：「你這算什麼男子漢？」何葛森在一家活動策畫公司上班。但幾乎所有其他人都抱持正面態度。他的老闆和同事拍拍他的背，祝他好運。

Holgersson took out 240 days of parental leave paid for by the government while his girlfriend, Jenny Karlsson, went back to her job as a real estate agent, after eight months at home with their son Arvid.

何葛森決定休240天由政府支薪的育兒假，他的女友珍妮．卡爾森在家照顧他們的兒子艾維德8個月後，決定重回職場，當房地產經紀人。

Holgersson's experience isn't unusual in Stockholm, largely because Sweden encourages dads to stay at home with their newborn through a parental leave policy that is among the most generous in the world. While more than a dozen countries now offer paid paternity leave, usually for a couple of weeks, Sweden subsidizes such leave for up to 14 months.

在斯德哥爾摩，何葛森的經驗並不特別，主要因為瑞典透過全世界最大手筆的育兒假政策，鼓勵爸爸待在家裡陪新生兒。雖然全球十餘國目前也提供有薪育嬰假，但通常只有幾星期，瑞典則長達14個月。

In Sweden, men pushing strollers — sometimes in twos or threes — have become part of the landscape. Baby changing stations are typically found in both men's and women's restrooms. Brawny men with Viking tattoos can be overheard discussing their “pappaledighet,” Swedish for daddy leave, over a pint in the pub.

在瑞典，男人推嬰兒車，有時還三五成群，已蔚為一景。通常不管男女廁都附設換尿布台。偶爾還可以聽到身上有海盜刺青的肌肉男，在酒館邊喝啤酒，一邊討論爸爸的育兒經。

Parents share 480 days of paid parental leave for each child, courtesy of the government. The benefits amount to 80 percent of the stay-at-home parent's salary for the first 390 days, but no more than 910 kronor a day. Thereafter the amount drops to 180 kronor a day for the remaining period.

在瑞典，每生一個孩子，父母可分享政府埋單的480天帶薪育兒假。前390天，在家育兒的父母可領80％薪水，但每天以不超過910瑞典克朗（約台幣4000元）為限。過了390天之後，每天的育兒津貼減為180克朗（台幣900元）。

Mothers are still taking more leave than fathers. However, Sweden has introduced incentives and rules to encourage men to take more time off with their babies. To qualify for the maximum benefits, couples must split the parental leave so that one of them takes at least 60 days. （Single parents — male or female — can take out the full 480 days on their own.） In addition, the government awards an “equality bonus” in the form of tax breaks that are proportional to how evenly couples split the parental leave. A household with a 50-50 division qualifies for a maximum deduction of 13,500 kronor.

請育兒假的媽媽還是比爸爸多，但瑞典已經推出激勵機制和規則，以鼓勵男人多休假陪孩子。為了拿到最多的優待，夫婦必須平分育兒假，也就是其中一方至少要休60天。（單親家長不分男女，可以自己休完480天）。此外，政府還提供「平等獎金」以資獎勵，即依夫婦平均分休育兒假的比例來減免稅賦。 凡是父母各休一半育兒假的家庭，可申報13500克朗（近6萬元台幣）的最高扣除額。

Even at a time when Europe's debt crisis is leading to painful austerity cuts across the continent, Sweden's parental leave benefits appear safe. The economy is in relatively good shape, the budget is balanced and the government would commit political suicide if it scaled back on a program embraced by Swedes across all income brackets.

即使正值歐債危機導致整個歐陸痛苦的緊縮開支，瑞典育兒假津貼並未受影響。瑞典經濟景氣相對較好，預算收支平衡，如果瑞典政府決定縮減這個普受所有收入階層歡迎的方案，將形同政治自殺。

Foreigners often grow to appreciate it, too. “I think it's great, I'm a huge fan of it. Here is the Swedish state subsidizing it for both parents. It's almost too good to be true,” said Joel Sherwood, a 35-year-old American living in Sweden. He took more than six months off work to stay home with his daughter, Mary Lee. When he told his friends back home, they were flabbergasted that his employer was OK with it, and that the government would foot the bill. “The more you get into the details of it, the more floored they get,” Sherwood said.

外國人多半也很認同這項政策。住在瑞典的美國人、35歲的薛伍德說：「我覺得實在太棒了，我愛死它了。這等於瑞典政府提供父母育兒津貼。實在太好了，簡直不敢相信。」他休了6個多月育兒假，在家陪女兒瑪麗李。當他告訴美國老家的朋友這件事時，他們對他的老閭竟然同意，而政府也願意埋單，不禁瞠目結舌。薛伍德說：「知道愈多細節，愈不敢相信。」

In the U.S. there is no nationwide policy for government-subsidized parental leave. When state-subsidized parental leave was introduced in Sweden in 1974, women took nearly all of the parental leave. Men would wash dishes and fold the laundry, but child-rearing was considered a female domain. Four years later, the government launched an advertising campaign featuring national weightlifting champion Lennart Dahlgren to convince fathers you could stay home with a child and still be a real man. The poster of a smiling Dahlgren cradling a baby in his muscular arms remains an iconic image in Sweden.

美國目前還沒有政府資助的育兒假政策。當瑞典在1974年推出政府支薪的育兒假時，幾乎只有婦女休育兒假。男人頂多幫忙洗碗和摺疊洗好的衣服，養育孩子仍被視為女人的工作。4年後，政府推出文宣，請全國舉重冠軍達格倫出面說服爸爸們：即使留在家陪孩子，還是個堂堂正正的男子漢。達格倫面帶微笑、肌肉結實的臂膀懷抱著嬰兒的海報，在瑞典仍是指標性形象。

Toward the end of his parental leave, Holgersson had mixed feelings about going back to his job. Though he looked forward to seeing his work colleagues, he knew he had forged an unbreakable bond with his son, learning to recognize Arvid's huffs, snivels and snorts, and what they say about his mood — or the content of his diaper.

何葛森育兒假快休完了，正準備重回職場，這使他百感交集。雖然他很期待能再看到老同事，但他知道，他已經跟兒子建立難以割斷的親密關係，他學著了解艾維德生氣、啜泣和大聲呼吸各代表什麼心情，甚或他的排洩情況了。