Parenting: The Danish Way

How Did They Get It So Right?

By: Roy Deckard

Narrated by: Roy Deckard

Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Free play is central to the Danish way of parenting. It teaches children to be resilient and less anxious. Resilience isn’t developed by avoiding stress, it’s cultivated by learning how to master it. Free play enables children to learn vital skills to cope with stress and manage risk.

In Denmark, parents try not to intervene unless it’s absolutely necessary. They trust their children to accomplish new things and give them the space to build their own trust in themselves.

Free play tips:

• Ditch the technology! Imagination is the magic ingredient for play.
• Create a sensory-rich environment with interesting lighting, music, and different textures to enhance brain development during play.
• Get creative! Studies show that creative play, involving craft, role play, and music facilitates brain development.
• Make a dressing-up box and craft supplies available so they can create spontaneously.
• Use nature’s playground. Find safe outdoor areas where children can be free to dance, run, jump, climb, and explore their environment.

Empathy, looking at a situation through the perspective of another person, is described in the book as: “The ability to recognize and understand the feelings of others...to feel what someone else feels - not only to feel for him, but to feel with him.” As a parent, you have an important responsibility to set the example your child will follow. If you demonstrate empathetic behavior, your child will follow your lead. We have to give our children respect in order to receive it. Parenting styles which rely upon fear or manipulation to engage children are problematic, because they don’t foster respect - they foster fear.

With fear, children don’t always understand the real reason behind an instruction, they just comply to avoid confrontation. This doesn’t help children to build a strong sense of self, which comes from understanding what rules are, why they exist and what it means to value them.

©2020 Roy Deckard (P)2020 Roy Deckard