I think you’re right about the lack of safety net leading to more willingness to help others. I have also experienced America (at least my corner of it here in central Texas) as mostly kid-friendly and I’m so thankful that I have the option to educate my kids at home, which is something that you literally can’t do in many Scandinavian countries! In Sweden, everyone gets two years of paid paternity leave, but then you are required to go back to work (regardless of whether or not you want to) and put your child in government run daycares and schools. It’s very much a “we paid for you to be with your baby and now you pay us back by working till retirement” attitude. Also interesting is that the Swedish government has tried to incentivize having more children to get its birth rate up, and even with all of the extra financial benefits, their low birthrates continue to perist, because their values are incompatible with having more children. So, as much as I think we need more humane maternity and paternity's leave policies in this country, especially for the poor, I don’t think we should idealize or copy Scandinavian countries.