There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge)

by Linda Åkeson McGurk

In Sweden, friluftsliv is generally defined as “physical activity outdoors to get a change of scenery and experience nature, with no pressure to achieve or compete.”

The law democratizes outdoor recreation and means generations of Scandinavians have come to view access to nature not only as an inalienable right that is protected by the constitution but also as very much a shared responsibility.

In Sweden, where you can leave the trail, have picnics, pick flowers, forage for mushrooms, and swim your heart out almost anywhere, including at nature preserves, the idea that children playing in a creek would be considered a crime or a threat to the environment is unheard-of.

Elin Wägner, a prominent Swedish journalist and author during the first half of the twentieth century, argued that spending time in nature on an everyday basis is key to both our personal health and our spirituality, as well as to the health of the planet, long before these ideas had become widely accepted.

“Sometimes I think that it’s better for the adults to take a step back, observe, and not interfere,”

The fresh air that teachers and parents in Scandinavia insist that children get every day is not just good for them—it’s actually essential to their health and well-being.

According to the rules of survival, we can go about three weeks without food and three days without water, but only three minutes without breathing. Every single cell in our body needs oxygen to live and produce energy. Fresh air helps oxygenate our cells, which in turn makes us feel more energetic and alive.

A 2011 Swiss study of five-year-olds showed that aerobic fitness improves children’s attention span, and that better motor skills, like balance, result in improved working memory.

A meta-analysis of two hundred studies showed that physical activity during the school day resulted in increased fitness, better attitudes, and a slight improvement in test scores.

These parents had gotten the message from the US Department of Education, and it was crystal clear. Kids these days need to spend less time molding Play-Doh and more time preparing for their corporate careers.

Despite this lack of emphasis on early literacy, Finland is considered the most literate country in the world, with Norway coming in second, and Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden rounding out the top five, according to a 2016 study by Central Connecticut State University.

Play is a biological, psychological and social necessity, and is fundamental to the healthy development and well-being of individuals and communities.”

Anette Eskilsson, a Swedish early childhood educator who often speaks about stimulating children’s desire to learn, explains the Scandinavian attitude toward play and learning this way: “It’s two completely different ways of looking at it. You either view children as empty containers, waiting to be filled by adults through teaching, or you believe that they have the innate capability to learn together with others. In Sweden we have faith in the child’s own curiosity and desire to learn. We call this concept ‘the competent child.’”

She strongly believes children learn more from direct experiences and play than when they are just asked to memorize information that is passed down to them by a teacher.

Parents and early childhood educators in Scandinavia seem to agree that if you want to raise healthy, capable learners, letting them play as much as possible is key.

“teacher-led instruction in kindergartens has almost entirely replaced the active, play-based, experiential learning that we know children need from decades of research in cognitive and developmental psychology and neuroscience,”

“We see childhood as an important part of a human’s life and not as a race to adulthood. We believe and respect the fact that children have the right to a happy childhood.”