How to be a Norwegian parent: let your kids roam free
In Norway, children experience free-range parenting, fostering independence and responsibility from a young age. This approach, rooted in historical traditions, promotes autonomy, resilience, and self-reliance, contrasting with more risk-averse parenting styles in other countries.
Read original article
In Norway, children as young as six walk to school alone and are given independence and responsibility at a young age. This free-range parenting style emphasizes autonomy, self-determination, and outdoor activities. Norwegian children are trusted to make decisions and manage their own time, organizing playdates and social events independently. This approach stems from a historical tradition of treating children as capable individuals, dating back to Viking times. The philosophy of free-range parenting is deeply ingrained in Norwegian society, promoting resilience and self-reliance. Factors such as gender equality in the workforce and affordable childcare contribute to the success of this parenting style. Failure is seen as a valuable learning experience, encouraging children to take risks and learn from their mistakes. While this approach is admired by some, it may not be easily adopted in other countries due to differing cultural norms and safety concerns. British parents, for example, have become more risk-averse over the years, limiting unsupervised outdoor play for children.
Related
Unschooling Is the Parenting Trend That's Pissing Everyone Off
Unschooling is a controversial homeschooling method where children design their curriculum based on interests. Advocates like Mami Onami support self-directed education. Critics raise concerns about neglect and academic impact.
Anxious Generation – How Safetyism and Social Media Are Damaging the Kids
The book "Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt explores the impact of social media and helicopter parenting on mental health. Haidt proposes a "Ladder from Childhood to Adulthood" to counter these issues.
8 commentsTotal survivorship bias, however, as plenty of bad things happened to my fellow kids that I was lucky enough to escape. And even though I made it through, it doesn't mean I don't have at least one story where I was chased around a big empty field by another kid wielding a rusty machete.
And it's not all pickled herring and aquavit in Norway, as well. A story like this would surprise a lot of people, even in the US:
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/mar/20/norway-t...
Our youngest has walked to the bus every morning since starting school at age 7. Granted, it's only a 800 meter walk, but still it's a good 10-15 minutes when your legs are short :)
After school, we might get a text message saying "i'm over at xxx's house", or we might not, but alarms usually don't start going off until 1-2 hours after expected arrival, at which point we may call the "usual suspects" to inquire if our child is there, and since pretty much everybody else around here does the same, there's no "shaming", as they might be the ones calling tomorrow :)
Being able to actually track the kids down was a major factor in them getting a phone. Our oldest didn't get a phone until he was 12, and obviously we didn't get texts from him, so it was the "if he's not home in 2 hours, we'll start calling around". These days, with the youngest, we can mostly just look at the "Find" app and see where he is. As for the oldest, he has turned off location tracking, but happily shares his location on Snapchat, so same same but different :D
It is a bit more strict than when i was a kid, but not far from it. When i grew up, i had a key for the house, and i could let my self in after school, or go out again, with the expectation that i would leave a note on the kitchen table with my approximate whereabouts. My parents both worked, and wouldn't be home until around dinner. It was the same for everybody else, so we just organized our own "play dates", and probably also got into more trouble that we would have if adults had been around, but hey, everybody made it out alive, and i believe we're stronger for it.
But well-to-do, vs. farm work & domestic chores.
EDIT: And also quite similar to my own mid-20th-century suburban American childhood. Which certainly was not well-to-do...but there weren't hours of daily chores for us kids.
This is my experience of my new country, and is part of the reason I enjoy living here and not in the Old Country.
(and I never travelled across the country; at most an hour or two away. But the fact remains: you all had a country like this, so it should be perfectly possible to implement afresh)
I've heard that kids in sweden are required to have a knife on school trips. How else are you going to get your sausage onto the stick to cook it over the fire?
Related
Unschooling Is the Parenting Trend That's Pissing Everyone Off
Unschooling is a controversial homeschooling method where children design their curriculum based on interests. Advocates like Mami Onami support self-directed education. Critics raise concerns about neglect and academic impact.
Anxious Generation – How Safetyism and Social Media Are Damaging the Kids
The book "Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt explores the impact of social media and helicopter parenting on mental health. Haidt proposes a "Ladder from Childhood to Adulthood" to counter these issues.