Helena is a 60-year-old child minder from Kuopio. Her family consists of husband Tapsa and three adult children. The children have already moved out and Helena and her husband now live by themselves in a block of flats.

Helena likes her job as the minder of four young children. Even though Helena's home doubles as her workplace, she doesn't find it difficult to separate the two. Physical exercise, her grandchildren and renovating the country cottage bring a balance.

“So it is, I don't think I'd be doing this anymore if I didn't like it. So that, you won't have the energy to be a child minder, if you don't like the work. I think it's so.”

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Helena's day began early. At six she was already getting her home ready for the day, tidying up and making some preparations for lunch. At the same time she was getting ready for the first child to arrive: Maija came in at about 7 a.m. and Noora, Siiri and Mikael an hour later. When everyone had arrived, Helena served the children some breakfast, and then they sat down together. In the morning circle they had a chat, sang and played the kantele. After that the kids had time for free play.

The snow outside invited the kids to play. The children dug tunnels and searched for "diamonds" on a snow mountain.

“Yeah, we have hi-viz vests - - and yes we wear them. The only place, where I cheat, is when we go out somewhere in town then I haven't worn one, I put them on children so it's as if I'm being a bit posh there, but well yes, we always have the vest. I have my own vest, then on my free time I always wear a vest when I ride a bike."

The fresh air made the kids hungry and they wolfed down the ham casserole. After the meal the children put on the dress up clothes again and went into play. As this session gradually ended Helena read a children's book by Elina Karjalainen for a while, and then it was nap time.

While the children were asleep Helena had the chance to have a little break herself and check her e-mail. She also prepared the snack and cleaned up the kitchen before the children woke up. In the afternoon they went out for a moment again.

After work Helena went to the gym and continued to the music centre to listen to a lecture on flexible retirement at 6 p.m. The busy day left her feeling happy – the idea of retiring seems distant to Helena!

Thoughts about everyday life

“Well this is very rewarding and then you get to be like autonomous. So that although it, sometimes being on your own is a kind of burden, but well, we do get to go through the day at the pace of the children and that, so yes, I do take it as more of a reward.”

"Well, just you know a happy feeling, that, well we have anyway, our family has seen such a long bit of this life – like someone has said to me sometime, that a human's age is sixty years and then everything on top of it is a plus. So I too will, in the autumn, I am going on this plus side."

"So that you do like appreciate that and like the way I have grasped it, that these are the kind of last working years for me, so they should be enjoyed, so that if when you're retired you still, you know, understand, then you'd have the lovely memories."

"So no I wouldn't want to be the kind who has thought of their work as a constraint but the kind, that it has always been an important matter and a good thing."