Do Scandinavian parents leave their babies outside to sleep in freezing cold? Viral video shows an infant covered in snow

A video of an infant covered in snow had been going viral on social media platforms like X, with a caption that claimed that this was a common practice by Scandinavian parents. The viral video, reposted by an X account holder @TansuYegen, garnered more than 25 million views as well as over 130K likes.

The video came with a caption that read,

"In Scandinavian countries, it's common to let babies nap outside during winter..."

The tradition of letting babies sleep outside in snowy weather in Scandinavian countries.

pic.twitter.com/wopIzH58BK

— Tansu Yegen (@TansuYegen) August 17, 2025

While the video claimed that this was a century-old Nordic practice, the internet seemed divided. As many as over 1.5K netizens shared their thoughts on this apparent practice. While some called the practice dangerous, some claimed that if this has no negative impact on the baby, it should be fine.

For further clarification, it is worth stating that this practice actually exists. Scandinavian parents often tend to leave their babies outside to nap during the winter. This isn't the first time that videos capturing this practice have gone viral on social media. Last year, Australian TikTok user Olly Bowman shared a clip where he showed a bunch of baby strollers lined up on the street.

Bowman titled the TikTok video "Another day in Norway, another group of babies left out alone in the cold."

Why do Scandinavians leave their babies out in the cold for naps? 

While it has been stated that the aforementioned practice had been going on for centuries, many still seemed to have no clue about the significance of the same. In the video that the Australian TikToker uploaded, he stated that the practice improved breathing and also made them more independent. He added,

"It helps with their breathing and makes them more independent. It's actually why so many people leave home earlier in Norway than other countries."

Bowman further happened to talk to a few local people from Oslo and asked them how they felt about the practice. According to reports by Unilad, one person responded by saying,

"I could leave [my baby] outside for a second or two at a café if I'm going inside for a coffee, but I always want to supervise her. I want to see her and make sure she’s not crying."

In January 2020, Insider reported that this practice was quite common in Nordic countries including, Finland and Denmark. At the same time, Danish musician Amalie Bruun shared a photo of her then 4-month-old baby on Instagram. What was intriguing about the post was the caption that suggested that the baby would sleep outside most of the time. 

According to reports by Business Insider, a 2008 study suggested that babies slept better and for longer periods when they were outside than when they were kept inside the house. In 2013, the BBC reported a theory that claimed that babies left outside to take naps were less likely to catch colds.

After the recent video capturing the same practice went viral, netizens asked Grok if it was safe for the baby. To this, Grok responded by saying that the practice wasn't dangerous if done in a correct manner.