👨👩👧👦 Family and work: maternity leave, barnehage, holiday schedules — without the hassle
Family rules here are simple and transparent: parents have long paid leave, enrolment in a nursery is done with a single online application, and school holidays are scheduled a year in advance. Below is a handy guide explaining who is eligible for parental leave, how to apply for a place at a barnehage in the capital, how much it costs, and how to cover the summer weeks so that your work-life balance doesn't fall apart.
🍼 How does parental leave work and who is eligible?
The law entitles parents to 12 months of leave around the birth (with the option of adding another year for each parent without pay). NAV payments (‘parental money’) can be chosen as either 49 weeks at 100% pay or 61 weeks and 1 day at 80% pay for one child. There are quotas within the period: 15 weeks at 100% (or 19 weeks at 80%) for the mother and father/partner, plus a shared portion; partial leave and part-time work are permitted. Payments are capped at 6G (780,960 kroner per year), with additional payments from the employer as agreed. According to statistics, about 65% of fathers take the entire quota or more.
What this means in practice. Plan the dates in advance (usually together with HR), decide whether to take 100% or 80% of the rate, and determine who will use their quota and the shared portion and when. If there are two careers in the family, a ‘ladder’ can help: the first few weeks are with the mother, then there is a rotation in blocks of 2–4 weeks, and at the end there is a hybrid with part-time employment.
🏫 How do I enrol my child in a barnehage in Oslo and how much does it cost?
Application — online application to several nurseries at once (up to five positions). The main deadline is 1 March (for starting in August/September). For children born in October–November, there is an additional deadline of 15 August; for those born in December, they are entitled to a place from the following August. Offers are sent out in waves (for example, in 2025: 20 March, 10 and 30 April)..
How much does it cost? The national ‘maximum price’ is 2,000 kroner/month from 1 August 2024 and 1,200 kroner/month from 1 August 2025; in some northern areas, nursery school is free. The municipality may offer lower prices — for example, in the capital, from 1 August 2025, the price will be 1,200 kroner per month (meals are separate, with a guideline price of ~310 kroner per month in municipal nurseries). There is a 30% discount for the second child and the third child attends free of charge; July is usually free of charge. For low-income families, there is a reduction in fees and 20 hours of free childcare per week.
Mini checklist before applying. Check the age restrictions for nurseries in the list, indicate the actual start date (so as not to lose your right), add private nurseries with their own rules and prepare documents for benefits if you meet the income criteria.
☀️ How to combine holidays and work in the summer?
Schools have a long summer break: the new school year in the capital starts on 18 August 2025, which means that the ‘window’ until mid-August needs to be closed in advance.
There are three options: AKS (activity school for primary school pupils) — open for part of the summer, summer school (free weekly courses) and district summer programmes. For example, schools announce their AKS summer schedule with opening hours and dates (often the week of 26–27 July and from 1 August until the start of school), while Sommerskolen offers dozens of free courses and 15,000+ places. The city publishes a general guide on ‘what to do with children in the summer’ — check the sections for your district.
How to plan without stress. Divide your parents' vacation into 2-3 blocks (July is the peak), fill in the gaps with AKS/summer school, agree with the manager on a flexible schedule for the remaining days, and mark the days when the kindergarten/school is closed in your calendar in advance. The team values transparency: the sooner you mark yourself as ‘unavailable,’ the easier it is for everyone to adjust.
Family logistics should not disrupt work: long paid maternity leave with flexible arrangements, clear rules for registering for barnehage, and a dense network of summer activities make planning predictable. Decide on your holiday model (100% vs 80%), submit your application to the nursery by 1 March, fill in your AKS summer calendar and courses in advance, and you'll stay on top of things.
If there are any nuances in terms of dates and prices in your area, check the municipal websites, as they are the most up-to-date source of information on figures and schedules.
