From a young age, two dreams defined my aspirations: motherhood and the desire to live abroad. Both came to fruition when I serendipitously met my Danish husband while traveling solo nearly a decade ago. Soon after, I made the leap from bustling New York City to Copenhagen, a city recently crowned the happiest in the world for 2025.
Three years ago, we welcomed our Danish-American son, Aksel, into our lives, and today, we call central Copenhagen home. My role as a mother has given me a deeper insight into Danish culture, enriching my understanding of this society through the lens of parenthood.
Becoming a mother has illuminated the reasons behind Denmark’s esteemed reputation. Here, parents are encouraged to nurture their children’s independence while leaning on communal support. In stark contrast, parenting in the U.S. often hinges on caution and an amplified sense of individual responsibility.
My son’s adventures at daycare
Perhaps the most striking illustration of this trust came one afternoon when I picked up Aksel from his nursery. To my surprise, I learned that his class had embarked on a field trip earlier that day. I hadn’t signed a permission slip nor received any prior notification.
Since that day, I’ve marveled at the updates I receive on Denmark’s parent-teacher app, Aula. I often find photos of Aksel riding the Metro or exploring Rosenborg Castle during school hours—activities I was blissfully unaware of beforehand.
Reflecting on my childhood in the Connecticut suburbs, such a scenario would have been unthinkable. Even a simple trip to the town center, a mere five-minute walk from my high school, required signed permission slips and repeated reminders to my parents.
This heightened caution stems from a stronger culture of litigation in the U.S., where safety concerns pivot from protection to liability. In Denmark, the narrative shifts; there is less anxiety over lawsuits, fostering a general trust in educators and parents to exercise sound judgment.
Public life in Denmark prioritizes children
This child-centric approach permeates public life. During Aksel’s infancy, I aptly nicknamed Copenhagen’s mall the “milk stop,” given the abundance of family-friendly facilities for feeding and changing—available even in men’s restrooms! Restaurants often come equipped with play areas, making even fine dining options accommodating for families.
Conversely, traveling with Aksel in the U.S. often feels like a disruption to adult-oriented systems. I vividly recall meticulously planning subway routes through Manhattan, acutely aware of how few stations are stroller-friendly.
In Denmark, however, public spaces are designed with families in mind, easing the burden of parenting by inherently addressing children’s needs. Accessibility features like ramps are standard, and the importance of play is deeply embedded in the culture. In Copenhagen, residents can walk to a beach or park within 15 minutes.
Transportation reflects this philosophy as well. Like many parents here, I navigate my days on a cargo bike—the Danish counterpart to the “soccer mom van”—a testament to Denmark’s commitment to supporting family-friendly transport.
Childcare is both affordable and accessible
When I enrolled Aksel in public daycare, I was struck by how straightforward and accessible the process was, thanks to a centralized system bolstered by government subsidies that make quality childcare within reach for families.
In Denmark, stay-at-home parenting is relatively rare, as childcare is viewed as a societal responsibility rather than an individual choice. In fact, Denmark leads the European Union in the proportion of children who attend formal childcare each week.
In this family-oriented society, it’s common for working parents to pick up their children by 4 p.m. on weekdays— a far cry from the late work hours that are often the norm in the U.S. Here, family time is held in much higher regard, a cultural shift I, as a self-confessed “workaholic American,” am still learning to embrace.
Children are encouraged to take risks
My mom group often jokes that Danish playgrounds come with “a side of danger.” This is because the value placed on adventurous play in Denmark contrasts sharply with parenting practices in the U.S. In daycare settings, children regularly handle tools, experiment with fire, and learn through doing—all rooted in the belief that resilience is cultivated through experience, not through avoiding discomfort.
Initially, this approach felt uncomfortable to me, as I was accustomed to a more protective “helicopter mom” mentality. However, over time, I began to see that what I perceived as a lack of control was, in fact, a profound expression of trust in educators, institutions, and, crucially, in the children themselves.
Parenting feels communal
A friend once described parenting in the U.S. as akin to defensive driving: a continuous anticipation of risks and an advocacy for one’s child. This stands in stark contrast to my experience in Denmark, where I rarely feel the need to remain on high alert. Whether Aksel is on an unannounced field trip or learning to ride a bike at a supervised playground, trusting in his safety is the norm, not an exception.
Denmark is by no means perfect, and the experience of parenting as an expat presents its own set of challenges. Yet, raising my son in this trust-centric, child-focused society has granted us the one thing every parent yearns for: a genuine sense of community and unwavering support.
