The Danish Secret to Happy Kids
How the Viking Way of Raising Children Makes Them Happier, Healthier, and More Independent
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jul 9, 2024
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- $9.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a bit.
After a decade of living in Denmark, and raising her three kids there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic kids (or mini-Vikings) are different from children raised in other parts of the world. They eat differently. They learn differently. They play, dress, and even sleep differently. They run, jump, climb, fall and get up again, out in nature, for hours a day. It’s cold and wet and uncomfortable—often. But they cope. Even though the weather's terrible and it's dark October through March. And then they grow up to be some of the happiest adults on the planet. So her question was: how?
In The Danish Secret to Happy Kids, Russell dives deep into the parenting culture of Denmark and the other Nordic nations, from parental leave policies to school structure to screen time, uncovering surprising strategies and customs that lead to largely happy, well-adjusted humans over the long term. This fascinating peek behind the cultural curtain allows readers to marvel over infants comfortably sleeping outside in chilly temperatures, school-age kids wielding axes in the woods, and teenagers spending a year or two at efterskole, a special boarding school designed to prepare adolescents for independent life in the real world—a concept that is beginning to be adopted in other nations.
Refreshingly funny and unfailingly optimistic about the new generation of humans growing up in the world right now, The Danish Secret to Happy Kids is a heart-warming love letter to Russell’s adopted homeland, a comforting armchair travel read, and proof that we could all use a bit more Viking in our everyday lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This jaunty guide from journalist Russell (How to Be Sad) explores the distinctive parenting culture of Nordic nations, whose inhabitants are humorously referred to as "Vikings" throughout. Russell recounts how she and her husband, both Britons by birth, moved to Denmark in 2013 for work and fell in love with the country, deciding to stay indefinitely and giving birth to three children there. Over the years, she discovered that "Vikings typically trust that children will figure things out, learn how to use their bodies, and manage their surroundings." Interviews with experts illuminate the wisdom behind this approach, as when Russell investigates the "Viking" belief that moderately risky forms of play (climbing a tall tree, for instance) are good for children by interviewing Danish child development experts who believe such activities help kids better understand the world ("If I jump off this table, what will happen?"). Russell's humor infuses the bemused cultural commentary ("I knew I'd passed the point of no return when googling ‘best axe for children,' " she writes about preparing her eight-year-old son for summer camp), and the recommendations to let siblings settle disputes among themselves and allow kids to make mistakes are refreshing in their respect for children's autonomy. Readers looking for an alternative to helicopter parenting will want to check this out.
