# The Danish Way Every Day | Jessica Alexander (Bonus Episode)

An episode of [Minimalist Moms Podcast | Purposeful Life & Parenting Tips](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1159498258), 16 Jul 2026, 23 min.

Audio: https://prefix.up.audio/s/pdst.fm/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/mgln.ai/e/35/audio2.redcircle.com/episodes/10bb8b14-6a00-44d7-83b0-3235e6346b61/stream.mp3

For years, Denmark has consistently ranked among the happiest countries in the world. But according to parenting expert and cultural researcher Jessica Joelle Alexander, that happiness isn't about chasing success or avoiding hardship - it's about raising children who feel secure, capable, and comfortable with who they are. In this episode, Diane sits down with Jessica to discuss her book, The Danish Way Every Day, and the parenting philosophy that has made Denmark a source of fascination for families around the world. After marrying a Dane and noticing stark differences between Danish and American parenting, Jessica set out to understand what was driving those differences—and how they shape children's long-term well-being. Links Discussed in This Episode | • Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane. • Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel • Previous Episode: \[REPLAY\] "Cocoa By Candlelight": Creating a Hygge Home | Meik Wiking • Previous Episode: No New Things | Ashlee Piper (EP26) • Connect with Jessica • Website • Facebook • Raising Digital Citizens • Book: The Danish Way Every Day About Jessica | Jessica Joelle Alexander is a bestselling author, Danish parenting and education expert, cultural researcher and co-founder of Raising Digital Citizens, an organization dedicated to helping parents and children develop a healthy, balanced relationship with technology.. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BBC World News, CBS, Time and many more. She has been a spokesperson for LEGO, writes and researches for UC Berkeley´s Towards Belonging Center, and teaches courses at the University of Copenhagen. She gives talks around the world on parenting, education, and digital wellbeing. She speaks 4 languages and lives in Copenhagen with her husband and 2 children. Episode Sponsors | The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal! Enjoy the Podcast? Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less. Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity. You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook. Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Cure Hydration and use my code MINIMALIST for a great deal: https://www.curehydration.com * Check out DeleteMe and use my code joindeleteme.com/MINIMALIST for a great deal: https://joindeleteme.com * Check out Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

## Transcript

[0:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For those of you that are new around here, I released bonus episodes that serve a niche part of my audience.
[0:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So if this content is something that doesn't fit what you're looking for, check out the other episodes that drop this week or join me back here next week for episodes that you don't want to miss.
[0:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: One day I read that Denmark had been voted as the happiest country in the world.
[0:18] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And you know, as an American, this was sort of, uh, okay, that's interesting.
[0:27] \[SPEAKER_01\]: They're always voted as the happiest people, so I put the two and two together and I felt very much that it was tied to the way they raised kids.
[0:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This is Diane Bowden, and you're listening to the minimalist moms podcast.
[0:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For years, Denmark has consistently ranked among the happiest countries in the world.
[0:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But according to parenting experts in cultural researcher Jessica Alexander, Happiness isn't about chasing success or avoiding hardship.
[0:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's about raising children who feel secure, capable, and comfortable with who they are.
[0:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In today's episode, I sit down with Jessica to discuss her book The Danish Way every day, and the parenting philosophy that has made Denmark a source of fascination for families around the world.
[1:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: After marrying a dain and noticing stark differences between Danish and American parenting, Jessica set out to understand what was driving those differences and how they shape children's long-term well-being.
[1:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This is a fun episode to dive into, but before we get there, if you have yet to leave a rating and review for the minimalist mom's podcast, I asked you just to pause for a brief moment, hit five stars, share your favorite episode, your favorite guest.
[1:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The show is seven reviews away from 1000, and I would love to hit that by the end of the summer.
[1:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So thank you in advance for taking the time to do that.
[1:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And with all that said, let's get into this conversation with Jessica.
[1:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Before we get into the conversation, why don't you go ahead and briefly introduce yourself and then we'll get to it.
[1:46] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Okay, well, I am a Danish parenting expert, a cultural researcher, and I've spent the last 15 years researching the Danish way of parenting and education, and now digital citizenship as well.
[2:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I've written, this will be my fourth book, actually.
[2:03] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So the world.
[2:04] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, I'm excited.
[2:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, absolutely.
[2:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so your new book is the Danish way every day, a practical age by age guy to raising confident, capable kids like the happiest people in the world.
[2:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I guess I should ask you here starting out what peaked your interest in Danish parenting?
[2:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'm married to a dad.
[2:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Okay.
[2:25] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay, that makes sense.
[2:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That was one of the reasons.
[2:28] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, there's probably the biggest I would say.
[2:29] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I was always sort of aware of an influence by the Danish culture because my husband is Danish.
[2:35] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And because I'm interested in different cultures, it became very clear to me when I became a parent.
[2:40] \[SPEAKER_01\]: how very different Danish parenting was and then over time I began to adopt it because I felt that it was working better than any of the books I had read and I read a lot of books and also psychologists by education.
[2:53] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I became sort of enamored with it and then one day I read the Denmark had been voted as the happiest country in the world and you know as an American this was sort of okay that's interesting and then it was not that year but for 40 years in a row
[3:08] \[SPEAKER_01\]: There always voted as the happiest people.
[3:10] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So I put the two and two together and I felt very much that it was tied to the way they raised kids, you know, because it's a cycle.
[3:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, so when you guys first got married, did he ever say, like when you guys were talking about having children?
[3:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Did he ever mention?
[3:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[3:27] \[SPEAKER_01\]: If anything, I revealed to him.
[3:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Okay.
[3:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, but that's the funny thing.
[3:32] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So my first book is the English Way of Parenting.
[3:35] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's published in the 33 countries, but not in Denmark.
[3:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh, why not?
[3:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Because they're like, we already know how to do that here.
[3:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So obvious.
[3:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense.
[3:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, as you were starting to research, what is one of the very basic things that you started notice that was different than the way that Americans pair it?
[3:55] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I would say the less composition.
[3:58] \[SPEAKER_01\]: If some more of like it takes a village to raise children, and just less, I think parents have less of this, we get caught up in this feeling like we have to do, and our kids should do many things, and they were not enough, and I feel like there's a much bigger focus on free play, for example, we've got this takes a lot of pressure off the parents, it's really about letting children have a childhood.
[4:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You know, in simple terms, it's about giving children a childhood and respecting that, or treating them with a lot of respect rather than fear-based, and what I would see is that that respect, although it was really weird for me in the beginning, because I come from more authoritarian background, but I think that respect comes back to you as they get older.
[4:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, absolutely.
[4:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No, that's interesting.
[4:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Gosh, what is it?
[4:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: What's the book?
[4:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I was just talking about the art of Swedish death cleaning.
[4:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh, yeah.
[4:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You're able to promote it with that book.
[4:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There is another one.
[4:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's in the book.
[4:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There's no such thing as about weather, by Lendel McGurk.
[5:01] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I guess that's the solution.
[5:03] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's about trying to do.
[5:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, I was going to say, I feel like Swedish parenting and parenting from Denmark are very similar and that they do want to preserve innocence in childhood for much longer than we do here, such a rat race.
[5:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I do, I do feel like the pendulum is starting to shift here in America where it's maybe not so far to one side, like we're starting to realize that the mental health issues that people are having here are not worse.
[5:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: pushing them and driving them so hard at a young age, but again, I know that this is probably at this point because this is, you've written multiple books on this, but going back to practicals and basics, what are some other ways that it is different?
[5:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And then I guess how did you start to implement those practically in your home?
[5:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, I mean, I think the Danish we're parenting.
[5:47] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's actually recognized model now.
[5:49] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'm happy to say, which is called parent.
[5:52] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And so it's an acronym.
[5:54] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So it's play, authenticity, reframing empathy, no ultimatums, and togetherness and huga.
[6:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think this idea of reframing is a really big one.
[6:05] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So this is this idea of really changing the way you see your child affects how you treat them.
[6:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And that means with your language, that means with your approach, it's incredibly powerful.
[6:19] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And it was something I noticed that Danes do very naturally.
[6:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But I think that's because it's sort of part of their education.
[6:25] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And it's because they believe it's so important, like the labels we give kids and how we speak about them, how we think about them.
[6:32] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And because it really does, if you see your child as terrible or lazy or sneaky, we tend to, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
[6:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Someone very close to me, her son, I would say the husband's very hard on this son.
[6:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And at this point, the son is like, even when I'm not doing something wrong, I get in trouble.
[6:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So it's like, I'm just going to do me.
[6:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Like, I, it doesn't matter because I'm always being ridiculed for what I'm doing.
[6:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so I think that we do have to like,
[7:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: reflect and reframe like am I treating this way and expecting them to be bad and therefore they are bad because I'm always positioning myself as if they're acting up on maybe I'm just attending every fight and don't need to be a hundred percent and that's actually one of the things that I'm writing about in this book which is sort of new and it's also been very eye-opening for me is their approach to screen time and the digital world which me has been
[7:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: and reframing is a big part of that.
[7:32] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think it's the puzzle that a lot of parents are missing right now and it's helped me a lot with my kids who are now teens.
[7:39] \[SPEAKER_01\]: This idea that we have the tendency to just see screen time is all bad and we're afraid of it because we're sort of inundated with fear.
[7:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And we are programmed to see fear.
[7:50] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's why the media likes to talk about it because it's clickbait, right?
[7:54] \[SPEAKER_01\]: But unfortunately, the reality is most of our kids
[7:58] \[SPEAKER_01\]: on screens, they are going to be in the digital world.
[8:01] \[SPEAKER_01\]: They're growing up in the digital world.
[8:02] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And really, of course, there's lots of dangers, but one of the best ways we can protect them is to have a relationship with them.
[8:10] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And one of the best ways we can have a relationship with them is to also meet them on the positives and to get clever together with them.
[8:19] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And to see that there's also good things.
[8:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Not all screen time is created equal.
[8:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I was just talking about that on a podcast, is that the hits of dopamine that we get through TikTok or Instagram stories or YouTube shorts are very different than sitting down with brother and sister or mom and dad or friend and watching a movie together.
[8:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it's just all not created equal.
[8:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it's just screen time equals bad, but there's nuance to that conversation.
[8:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It sounds like especially for the Danish people.
[8:55] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, and there's a big focus on making sure you have these conversations that you talk to your kids, even before they get a phone of their own, so that you start building up this trust, and you have a relationship where they don't just associate you with negativity and rules and shutting down the screens, because this is their social life, this is their homework for a lot of them, this is their, you know, this is where they play, that's another
[9:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: digital play is also play.
[9:27] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And so rather than demonize it, it's like getting balance.
[9:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And when you do have digital play, try to make sure that it's also creative, or social, or having some physical elements to it, which a lot of digital play also has physical elements to it.
[9:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, yeah.
[9:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I want to talk about play in general, not digital play, but why play again going back to not pushing children into adulthood too soon?
[9:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Why is play so important in Denmark?
[9:55] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's been an educational experience since 1871.
[9:58] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So it's like really, really important.
[10:01] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I always think what's interesting is we're talking so much about play now in America and
[10:06] \[SPEAKER_01\]: in the UK, many different countries.
[10:07] \[SPEAKER_01\]: If you actually just look Denmark as a country where play has never gone out of style, it's always been revered.
[10:16] \[SPEAKER_01\]: As the most important thing a child can do, it's how they learn, it comes from them, it gives so many benefits like empathy, negotiation skills, that we know scientifically, it's so good for them, they're self-esteem.
[10:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And the relationship with the parent is when the child doesn't feel like,
[10:35] \[SPEAKER_01\]: demanding something from them, or needing achievements or accomplishments, it also creates a better relationship.
[10:42] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's interesting to see this country that's actually play is a huge part of the whole national education system.
[11:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: play and extra curriculars for children, so many kids opt into after school sports.
[11:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Is that the same thing?
[11:10] \[SPEAKER_01\]: No, so they actually have play schools for the little kids where they go directly after school, which ends quite early, which is just basically where they can choose, but it's very much like free play.
[11:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And then as they the older from like age nine to the older years, they have something
[11:32] \[SPEAKER_01\]: which is where there's play that's more appropriate for that age.
[11:36] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So ping pong also digital plays there or baking or making crafts or these kinds of things.
[11:42] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Right?
[11:42] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So it's like they still need play.
[11:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's just more age appropriate.
[11:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And it's still driven by the child and chosen by the child.
[11:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think
[11:52] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You know, I had talked to you a little bit before like this concept of minimalism, also, you know, in Denmark, it's really like it's recommended to parents to do less, to have less because children thrive.
[12:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yes, I mean, decision fatigue in general, it's like, if I give my children too many options for breakfast, it's like, I don't know, no, that sounds good, but if I just give them one or two options, it's like, okay, that's what we're having.
[12:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: One or two options, a routine.
[12:26] \[SPEAKER_01\]: The other toys play less activities.
[12:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And certainly everybody's a little bit less stressed.
[12:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, because in all of the overwhelm of decision, I just think it breeds indecision because it's like I don't want to make the wrong decision.
[12:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And then you just start questioning so it's just easier to narrow down choice from the very beginning.
[12:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, I feel like that in my closet, man.
[12:51] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Like the 100 it is it is it is it is real and it's hard.
[12:55] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think I mean, whenever I go to the US, I'm just wow, God, it is hard because there's just so much.
[13:01] \[SPEAKER_01\]: to do to have, but it's, but I think it's incredibly powerful.
[13:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh yeah, for sure.
[13:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Okay, so kind of along the same line, we're talking about like play, extracurriculars, in general, I think parents say yes to too much in over-scheduled their children.
[13:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: How are we seeing that affect, I guess, what is the research say, in regards to how that's affecting kids here in the US versus how kids are scheduled and Denmark obviously less is more as what you're seeing.
[13:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Well, I think we obviously we see the rising levels of anxiety, we see a lot of, and many will point to this being only technology.
[13:39] \[SPEAKER_01\]: There's more research coming out now that's, I think we're going to see more and more that that's not the only reason I do think being over scheduled always coming from a standpoint of being stressed and needing our kids to succeed for us to succeed is a pressure.
[13:57] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Right, so even I had to sort of make a group of friends that believed in these values so that I didn't get caught up in the Because it's very hard not to get caught up in it.
[14:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Mm-hmm.
[14:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Mm-hmm.
[14:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No, it is.
[14:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's so hard.
[14:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Because you feel pressure.
[14:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Not only are the kids feeling pressure from the peers, maybe, like, you're feeling pressure from the other parents.
[14:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it's like, no, we really just need to make this about our family dynamic and what works best for us.
[14:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it is counter culture here in America.
[14:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But I want to go back to something that you said in the beginning.
[14:25] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The deans have been considered the happiest country year after year.
[14:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I guess how do they define happy?
[14:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Like, what does that even mean?
[14:34] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yeah, I think it's more like, it's not happy, like, happy.
[14:40] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's much more sort of, like, I think, contentment.
[14:44] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Let me say a better term for that.
[14:45] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So there's a term in Danish, which is, it really is, I say, and it means to rest well within yourself.
[14:53] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And it's a highly valued characteristic.
[14:57] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And it's that idea that you can feel okay for who you are, regardless of what you do.
[15:05] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And that believe it or not, believing in play, believing in more down time, being with your children to be with them, all of that helps them rest well within themselves, because they know I'm lovable for who I am.
[15:26] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think that's, you know, it's funny if you meet Danish people, like they all have
[15:35] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's a confidence that we all want, but it's really just from feeling okay.
[15:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, that's like, restful ease and peace.
[15:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There was Mike Viking.
[15:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He is, I know him.
[15:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, I was going to say he just has this like sense about him.
[15:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That is just a piece.
[15:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Like he just seems like a very peaceful man.
[15:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He opts out of all the hustle and bustle.
[15:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And it's like, I'm going to make room for what matters the most.
[16:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'm going to make room for rest.
[16:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'm going to make room for Huga, incorporate that into the day to day.
[16:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's kind of like who is saying to opt
[16:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: as successful, like who defines that?
[16:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think everyone around us, and of course, corporations and media and all these sort of things.
[16:17] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So it's very hard to get, you know, I sometimes think in America also with all the billboards and the advertising.
[16:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I'm like, it's hard to rest well within yourself when you have all these things pulling them out.
[16:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Right.
[16:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I was talking to Ashley paper on a recent episode and we were talking about how if we didn't have the opportunity to see so many advertisements Maybe we wouldn't recognize that there's a void in us because we never felt like it was a void It was only until it was pointed out to us that we realized like oh, maybe I need to fill something But maybe it was never supposed to be filled with that maybe we needed to find something else instead and again that it's that contentment piece that I think is what we're supposed to be filling it with
[16:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Or for me, it's like a higher power if you're a faithful person.
[16:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But yeah, I think that the marketers really, their job is to point it out to us.
[17:02] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's a lot of to make you feel a hole so that you don't worth to keep you outside of that.
[17:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: mm-hmm, absolutely.
[17:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, a few more things I want to talk about.
[17:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So in your book you talk about the no automatems.
[17:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: What does that mean to you?
[17:15] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Yes, that is just the approach that they have where they they really, they don't have, I find they don't have nearly as many power struggles and conflicts and meltdowns that you find other places and I think that's because they have an approach which is much more respect-based.
[17:30] \[SPEAKER_01\]: It's much more like I said they see children as very competent from
[17:36] \[SPEAKER_01\]: and have that they have equal dignity and so also I think the approach is just this is an interesting cultural difference which I didn't think about until I really saw it.
[17:48] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Now, I think in America because we're kind of an eyewitness culture, anyway, quite competitive.
[17:54] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think this builds over into the parenting without us really realizing it.
[17:57] \[SPEAKER_01\]: So, often our power struggles even can come from just naturally culturally being a sort of, like, I should win.
[18:05] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I have more, I'm the adult.
[18:06] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And what happens is you actually could set yourself up from more of losing in that way, where something as simple as going in with reframing again.
[18:17] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And not immediately going into that I when you lose or like I'm the powerful one and you need to obey me.
[18:23] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Where the aims are much more like I am I know I have power.
[18:29] \[SPEAKER_01\]: There for my obviously I have power therefore I have I have a responsibility to use it.
[18:37] \[SPEAKER_01\]: More responsibly.
[18:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No absolutely.
[18:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So wait you said you're not living in Denmark right now, right?
[18:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Oh, you are living in Denmark.
[18:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Have you always lived in Denmark since you got married?
[18:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No, I don't know, I've no, no, we lived in Italy for many years.
[18:54] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And okay, Norway and Brussels and so I've been, so that's also where the cultural difference is was very fascinating for me.
[19:03] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Another reason why it stood out for me so much because it is so different from country to country, the approach to kids.
[19:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It seems like there are similarities in the Scandinavian region, but you are saying that Denmark does stand out as different.
[19:20] \[SPEAKER_01\]: There are similarities.
[19:22] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think maybe some of the big ones are like, is like, who get is a big one?
[19:26] \[SPEAKER_01\]: That's what Mike writes about.
[19:28] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And actually, what I'm talking a lot about in this book is how to put who get into the everyday.
[19:36] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Right, so it's a dangerous way, because there's so many opportunities in what you would consider to be an obstacle to who can actually become a vehicle for it, so that your simple moments, the mundane moments can become the meaningful moments as well.
[19:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
[19:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Gosh, I just posted something about that the other day.
[19:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'm going to try and pull it up.
[19:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's maybe the amount of extraordinary things that happen in your life depends on what you notice.
[20:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And so just so often people aren't noticing the extraordinary things because they're just either
[20:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: they are overwhelmed by other like comparison or they're distracted and it's like no good things are happening and I think even with our kids we're so quick to jump on these names that we give our children like bad or whatever lazy still in the blank but it's we are not noticing the good things but other people see that and then when we take the time to notice I just think that's whole other world is opened up to us and so maybe people and Denmark are just a lot better
[20:37] \[SPEAKER_01\]: probably it's more clear because there's not as much advertising.
[20:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, yeah.
[20:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah.
[20:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No, just that since we've moved here now, I'm like, well, there is definitely lot less advertising.
[20:46] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And I think that allows you to kind of settle.
[20:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah.
[20:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah.
[20:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For sure.
[20:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No, I totally agree with you.
[20:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, I feel like we barely scratch the surface of your book.
[20:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But where can listeners connect with you online and learn more about Danish parenting from your first book?
[21:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And now this one.
[21:03] \[SPEAKER_01\]: you can go to thedengishway.com or you can go to raising digital citizens, which is where we are approaching how to deal with screen time and create this trust.
[21:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And Jessica Joelle Alexander as well on Instagram.
[21:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That's a great resource, because I think you're right.
[21:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: A lot of people are, I wasn't you that had mentioned adolescence on Netflix to me.
[21:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I mean, I'm definitely talking a lot about it, like trying to offer parents this approach, which I think is very different from what we're hearing, to help them sort of bridge that gap, so they don't get into this situation that you see in adolescence.
[21:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Mm-hmm.
[21:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And yeah, and just being sober warm.
[21:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yeah, being sober warm and feeling so helpless.
[21:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's like, no, we can take control back and again, just that reframing is so important.
[21:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I'll be sure to link all that in the show notes for an extra resource for parents.
[21:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I appreciate you joining me today.
[21:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Thank you for the work that you're doing and presenting this information to us.
[21:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I have tried to adopt a few of the Danish methods of parenting in my own parenting and it has given me quite a relief.
[22:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I hope that people pick up your books and just explore a little bit more and open their eyes to different ways of parenting.
[22:08] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Thank you for what you're doing.
[22:09] \[SPEAKER_01\]: I think it's some important mission as well.
[22:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: What did you think of the episode?
[22:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I hope you enjoyed the conversation.
[22:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: To learn more about today's guest, including links, resources related to everything discussed today, visit the episode page at minimalistmomspodcast.com where you can find the entire podcast archive as well as my book minimalist moms living and parenting with simplicity or other ways to connect or work with me online.
[22:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you'd like to support the podcast, the easiest and most impactful thing you can do is subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
[22:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And leave a rating or review of your favorite episode.
[22:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Lastly, sharing the show or your favorite episode with friends and social media is very helpful and will encourage others on their journey to think more and do with less.

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