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The Danish Way of Parenting cover art

The Danish Way of Parenting

Written by: Jessica Joelle Alexander, Dissing Sandahl
Narrated by: Kim Mai Guest
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Publisher's Summary

International best seller

As seen in The Wall Street Journal - from free play to cozy together time, discover the parenting secrets of the happiest people in the world

What makes Denmark the happiest country in the world - and how do Danish parents raise happy, confident, successful kids, year after year? This upbeat and practical book presents six essential principles, which spell out P-A-R-E-N-T:

Play is essential for development and well-being.
Authenticity fosters trust and an “inner compass.”
Reframing helps kids cope with setbacks and look on the bright side.
Empathy allows us to act with kindness toward others.
No ultimatums means no power struggles, lines in the sand, or resentment.
Togetherness is a way to celebrate family time, on special occasions and every day. The Danes call this hygge - and it’s a fun, cozy way to foster closeness. Preparing meals together, playing favorite games, and sharing other family traditions are all hygge. (Cell phones, bickering, and complaining are not!)

With illuminating examples and simple yet powerful advice, The Danish Way of Parenting will help parents from all walks of life raise the happiest, most well-adjusted kids in the world.

©2016 Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Sandahl (P)2016 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"An emotionally smart, gem of a book. The Danish Way offers a shining alternative to high-stress modern parenting, and families from New Delhi to New York will shout with joy. Forget the pursuit of happiness, this book gets to the authentic roots of family happiness. I guess I'm Danish." (Heather Shumaker, author of It's OK Not to Share and It's OK to Go Up the Slide)

"Everyone around the globe can gain something from the valuable wisdom found in this book. Concepts such as reframing and hygge prove useful to families from all cultures. It's wonderful to see that Danish parenting has so much in common with Positive Parenting! I highly recommend this book!" (Rebecca Eanes, author of Positive Parenting: An Essential Guide)

"With a profound understanding of the positive impact that empathy and connectedness bring to parenting, The Danish Way empowers parents across the globe to check their own default settings and consider the whole child. Their take on the importance of free play is a breath of fresh air in a time when young children are over-scheduled and under stress. Highly recommended for parents everywhere." (Katie Hurley, LCSW, author of The Happy Kid Handbook)

What listeners say about The Danish Way of Parenting

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome parenting book!

lots of great tips for parents struggling with discipline, power struggles and just being a happier parent in general.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely learned something

While it’s quite short, it’s very succinct and there’s some great nuggets of scientific data to back up an approach that seems commonsensical but yet not implemented well in North America.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Much needed

Some tiger mums may not agree with some concepts of this book but I intend to be More intentional about softening my approach to parenting thanks to this.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Every parent should read

Excellent perspective on raising kids. We can get so caught up in how we SHOULD be parenting, but this reminds us how we COULD be parenting

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good

Insightful and interested but very similar to other books about parenting I have read in the past.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

Wonderful book illustrating how raise happy children and creating harmony in the family system. There is no « I « 
Only « we ».

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent simple and practical parenting book

Although the book is a simple text to read or listen to, it does provide relatable and practical strategies for becoming a better parent. In my context, better means to be more patient, caring, and fostering greater independence in my children. I would recommend this book to parents of children who are 3+ years old as it is more centered on relationship building than lifehacks of dealing with toddlers.

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    5 out of 5 stars

The best parenting book I’ve ever read

This book touches on so much and is a mix of parenting, life tips, and is a bit self-help too because it challenges the way we view things. Seriously sooooo good! Definitely going to listen on repeat

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great book but didn’t love it

It is a great book and I love some of the context. I do love the altering your point of view to glass half empty to glass half full, but I do feel that lots of the approaches are invalidating your child’s feelings. Like the soccer story for example. Your child is saying I play horrible and you just say well you didn’t break your leg and yes you did play horrible but let’s practice more. I think it’s important to acknowledge and validate that feeling and then yes brain storm together with the guidance of the child how to make next week even better.
It is a great book, but I don’t know if I loved it.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

common sense

this is clearly an American writing a book about parenting in another country and not totally understanding the context of life in other places. you can find similar insight on Instagram quote pictures.. I.e don't hit your kids

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