Growing up in Denmark is a fairly different experience compared to the United States. As a parent, you treat your child with respect and patience, such as never yelling at them if they’re crying but, instead, squatting down to their level and telling them that their emotions are valid and understood. It’s also fairly common to see strollers with babies left outside while the parent quickly goes into a store or kids playing in open parks in the center of the city for recess. Kids are seen as independent beings that are capable of being responsible, within reason of course!
For this field note, I interviewed my friend, Freja! She’s 25 years old and pursuing a master’s in cultural encounters. She studied in Copenhagen but grew up in Ringkøbing, a town on the western coast of Denmark. She answered these questions from her perspective as a child.
What she ate varied more or less everday. For breakfast, she usually had oatmeal with corn flakes, rice krispies, raisins and milk. For lunch, it was rye bread with different meats and vegetables as toppings (she still likes to eat this for lunch now!). For dinner, she loved having egg quiche with ham, broccoli and other vegetables mixed in.
