In view of the welfare systems in the Nordic countries today, it is easy to ­forget that for many centuries illiteracy, child labor, and high infant mortality were typical characteristics of childhood there, just as in most other countries. Life was haphazard and unpredictable in many preindustrial Finnish families. ¹ Until the nineteenth century, child mortality remained high, and despite a relatively high birth rate, communities were at best barely able, over a long period, to sustain a modest rise in population growth. ² Universal access to education was only in its beginnings: for centuries, Finland, the region that now excels in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reports, had only some poorly financed schools and harsh, unpolished tutors.