A snapshot of a picture perfect childhood in the Netherlands (my husband’s family)
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the article The New “It” Nationality for Parenting Perfectly written by American writer Madeline Holler. I was tickled to learn her interpretation of my viral article (and hence my blog) as promoting the wonders of Dutch parenting in order to raise happy kids.
On a more serious note, could she be interpreting my writing and observations of Dutch parenting to be another variation of Pamela Druckerman’s Bringing Up Bébé : One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting or Amy Chua’s Battle Hymm of the Tiger Mother? To be perfectly honest, I had no intention of joining the latest bandwagon of buzz-worthy parenting trends and philosophies. I wanted to be part of the international conversation about parenting and share my own experiences of raising a child in a foreign country. Parenting, after all, is a universally shared experience.
Perhaps most importantly, Holler’s article inspired me to reflect on how this blog is evolving and its future direction. My delayed light-bulb moment has finally come – Why not write more illuminating stories about Dutch parenting and culture for the rest of the world to learn about? Since parenting and culture are intimately intertwined, there’s plenty of material for me to entertain myself (and my readers) with.
While no one genuinely believes that the Netherlands is a perfect utopia and there is lots of room for improvement, the Dutch have succeeded in raising happy kids. That’s an accomplishment that the Dutch should be proud of. Let’s also not forget to mention that Dutch women don’t get depressed the fourth happiest place in the world happens to be the Dutch city of Utrecht. Suffice to say, I’m just surrounded by lots and lots of happiness.
I hope you guys join me in my endeavor to put Dutch parenting on the map. Here’s to Finding Dutchland, where ever you may be!
p.s. I’d love some company on my Facebook page if you’d like to get to know me more.
