There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather

July 17, 2017
Journalist and blogger McGurk explores U.S. and Scandinavian cultural differences through her experiences raising young children in this thoughtful memoir. Born and raised in Sweden with an ingrained appreciation for the outdoors, she feels out of step with American culture when she tries to reproduce that childhood for her children in Indiana. Amusing interactions, such as one with a concerned motorist who passes her pushing her daughter in a stroller and walking her dog in midwinter, pepper the story. There are also unhappy experiences, such as when officials fine her for allowing her children to wade in a local stream. These incidents inspire McGurk’s lengthy return trip to Sweden. She enrolls her children in class there, leading her to interesting comparisons with American norms; Swedish schools, McGurk discovers, still emphasize outdoor play over screen time. Each chapter concludes with a “Scandinavian Parenting Tip” (“Refuse to give in to the culture of fear that has quashed outdoor play as we used to know it”) and a suggestion for further reading. McGurk’s work will be encouraging to like-minded parents who feel American culture excessively emphasizes risk avoidance. Those enamored of all things Scandinavian will also enjoy the glossary of terms at the front.

August 1, 2017
A Swedish woman contrasts child-raising styles in the United States and Sweden.Growing up in Sweden, McGurk, who runs the blog Rain or Shine Mamma, spent much of the day outside, regardless of the weather. So when she moved to a small town in the Midwest and had two children of her own, she expected them to be as enthusiastic about the outdoors as she was. Unfortunately, that was not the case. This led her to wonder whether it was just in America where children have little contact with nature or if the Swedes had also turned their backs on the outdoors. When her father became ill, McGurk took her children to Sweden for six months and spent the time examining the differences in child-rearing styles between the U.S. and Sweden and, more generally, Scandinavia. The author expertly combines personal memories of her childhood and that of her children with scientific data and research to show the significant disparities in the way children interact with nature in each country. In Sweden, infants are left to sleep outside, even in cold weather (bundled up), as the fresh air is good for them. Preschoolers and school-age children have multiple recesses per day and are encouraged to engage in sledding, skiing, ice skating, and other activities, many of which are deemed too dangerous in the U.S. Scandinavian children often attend nature schools where they learn to use knives and axes, build fires, identify edible plants, and develop an awareness of their natural surroundings; this fosters a deep desire to protect and preserve these areas. The author effectively shows the many ways American parents can learn from their Scandinavian counterparts, and she provides numerous tips and techniques to help parents incorporate these ideas into their daily lives. The glossary of Scandinavian terms, from hygge to solfattig ("sun poor"), is also helpful. A fascinating exploration of the importance of the outdoors to childhood development.

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