August, The first day of school, and how children learn to be Danish: The Danish Year Part 8

August, The first day of school, and how children learn to be Danish: The Danish Year Part 8

Author: Kay Xander Mellish August 10, 2025 Duration: 8:20

Denmark is a very good place to be a child, and to have children, yet the birthrate is dropping as it is in so many other countries. Some preschools have shut down due to lack of kids. Just this year Denmark reached a population of 6 million –  a big landmark -  but that's mostly due to immigration, not more children being born.

All the initiatives that experts recommend for increasing fertility in other countries already exist in Denmark, like child payments for parents, long parental leaves after childbirth, good universal day care, and tax-funded health care.

 The Danish government even offers free fertility treatment for the first and second child, and it offers this to single women as well as committed couples.

Yet fertility is well below replacement levels, at about 1.5 children per woman in 2024.

Why are there not more babies ? My guess is long educational requirements for both men and women – you really can't get anywhere in business without a masters' degree - plus high housing prices in the big cities. 

Enormous resources on kids

I've been spending a lot of time with Danish children lately. I make my living giving speeches about Danish working culture to corporate groups or academics, but in the summer there aren't many of those, so I like to take on other jobs and learn about Danish working culture from the inside. (You can't be an expert on Danish working culture without continually fresh experience of working in Denmark!)

This summer I've been working at several preschools that serve ages 3 to 6, a great age to work with. They're old enough to be verbal and express interesting ideas, but not so old that they are flabet, which is the Danish word for sassy, talking back.

The Danish government spends enormous resources on kids, in particular preschool kids.

A preschool in Copenhagen Denmark

One of the preschools where I work, owned by the Copenhagen municipality, is built just for that purpose, with high ceilings and big windows, a seemingly infinite number of toys, five separate playgrounds with trees and sandboxes, a pillow room for jumping around on rainy days, and an extensive kitchen where professional cooks prepare meals.

One day this summer we had a very nice baked salmon with rice and broccoli, followed by a snack of fresh strawberries, granola, and yogurt. 

We adults practice "educational eating" which means we eat lunch with the small children to work on table manners and appropriate table conversation. 

 

Read more at howtoliveindenmark.com. 

 


For anyone curious about or currently navigating Danish life from the outside, How to Live in Denmark serves as an essential, on-the-ground guide. Hosted by Kay Xander Mellish, an American writer who has made Denmark her home for over ten years, this conversation cuts straight to the heart of the everyday realities in one of the world's most homogenous-and often puzzling-societies. Rather than lengthy lectures, you'll find concise, ten-minute episodes packed with practical advice and cultural translation. This isn't just about travel tips; it's a deep dive into the unspoken rules of Danish social etiquette, the nuances of the local workplace, and the sometimes surprising path to feeling at home in a country frequently labeled the world's happiest. Mellish draws from her own long-term experience to explain everything from navigating the infamous Jantelov to understanding the Danish approach to business meetings and casual Friday night hygge. As Denmark's longest-running English-language podcast, it has become a trusted resource for internationals, whether they are planning a move, newly arrived, or have been settled for years but still occasionally find themselves wondering, "Why do Danes do it that way?" Each episode feels like a chat with a well-informed friend who helps decode the complexities of a fascinating culture, making your time there richer and a lot less confusing.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

How to Live in Denmark
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