When do we move?
Parents don’t need to grab their passport and book a flight to Denmark to find hygge. The intense study of all things hygge lately revealed some cracks in the armor of this Danish approach, at least for outsiders.
While Denmark is said to be one of the happiest countries in the world, the expats living there are some of the unhappiest. Danes know that hygge is about relationships, but since Danes generally find creating hygge is easier in small groups, they aren’t extremely open to outsiders.
The good news is there’s no reason to go to Denmark to incorporate this practice into everyday life for our children. Slowing down and focusing on creating pockets of quiet and pleasure in our daily lives helps cultivate an attitude of gratefulness. Passing that down to our children can help them throughout the struggles they face.
We can teach our children to grasp onto what they have and figure out what simple pleasures give them joy.
You can’t manufacture happiness, a giddy stand in for real life. It’s finding contentment in the everyday, creating protective coves in between the obligatory tasks, and making the obligatory tasks part of a routine of gratefulness. Think of those obligatory tasks as only stops between the hygge. We can appreciate washing the dishes if it means we’re getting ready to sit down for a meal with our loved ones, candles lit, dessert waiting – a true picture of coziness.
We can teach our children to grasp onto what they have and figure out what simple pleasures give them joy. We can teach our children hygge right where we are in hopes of putting them on the path to a simpler, more realized existence.
As the week pushes forward, I light a candle while we eat breakfast, share poetry I love with my family, and throw our sheets in the dryer before bed so the kids will be cozy while the rain pours down. We take take trips to the park several times a week, build blanket forts, and read favorite books over and over.
I feel myself recognizing the feeling of hygge: comfort, security, and internal warmth that reaches out to touch those I’m near. Thanks to hygge, I’m learning to embody lessons I’ve always wanted my kids to learn.
Originally published on Parent.co HERE.
Kristy Ramirez is a mother of four who writes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, grocery lists, and love letters. Her work has appeared online in Literary Mama, Mamalode, and SheLoves Magazine, among other places. She is working on her first novel and writes about life at livesinprogressnow.blogspot.com.
