I think the dads with buggies thing is changing in the UK too. When I was a child it wasn't done at all but in my bit of rural England now you see it quite a lot. I had 5 dads coming to the playgroup I used to run from time to time (not many but it's a start) and we've also got quite a few couples where the men are working a 3 or 4 day week and splitting the childcare. They do tend to work in the public sector though. My husband in private sector IT has never worked anywhere that allows flexible working.

At least Sweden has the paternity leave entitlement even if they're not taking it up. When we had our first child in 2001, my husband got *two days* off. By the time the third was born in 2007, paternity leave had gone up to two weeks. Britain has a very long way to go.

I was also impressed when I went to pick up the youngest from nursery the other day to see two 2 year-old boys delightedly wearing pink flamenco dresses with black spots on from the dressing up box. Possibly the staff have been reading Swedish manuals.