When children get sick, who takes care of them?

In Norway most parents and grandparents work. Most of the small children from 1 year and up to 5/6 goes to kindergarten. When they are sick, the mother or the father had the right to stay home with them up to 10 days a year free from work.

But what if the children are ill for a longer period of time? What if the jobs are so demanding that it makes the work suffer to stay home? Many people find this a difficult and stressful situation, since there are so few grown ups who are not working, there are no one to ask for help.

A friend of mine worked in a hospital as a doctor. She told about Norwegian children staying alone in the hospital, while the parent's only came for visits. But then she saw immigrant children from countries like Pakistan - they never stayed in the hospital alone, there was always some ant or grandmother who had nothing else to do - than be where they were needed.

Quite often I think that my country is in need of more of that kind of people - who can step in where they are needed.