Chapter 2: The Making of Nordic Childhoods

This chapter describes and analyzes how it is to grow up as a young child in contemporary Norden, or more precisely, in the nation states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. I focus on two cultural aspects: Nordic child centeredness and the Nordic welfare state. Building on the axiom that the present is born out of the past, I also try to identify some of the historical roots of these cultural dimensions.

The first aspect is what I call Nordic child-centeredness. In public everyday life, it manifests itself in that childhood-related issues are, and have long been, particularly prevalent within Nordic social and political discourse (Therborn, 1993). The most recent manifestation of this child-centeredness is the institution of the Ombudsman for Children system, introduced in Norway in 1981, and adopted by the other Nordic countries (except for Finland) in the mid-1990s. The Ombudsman for Children is a commissioner with statutory rights and duties to promote and protect the rights and interests of children and young people, first and foremost at the national level, but also internationally, as these rights are expressed in legislation and international conventions, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (ENOC, 2005). Norway publishes its Ombudsman for Children website in Norwegian and English, while Sweden publishes its website in its native tongue, English, and a few other languages. These websites provide extensive links to other international organizations and agencies, especially throughout Europe, further underscoring Sweden’s and Norway’s ambition to get out the message globally.