There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge)

There's No Such Thing As Bed Weather by Linda Akeson McGurk is the first of 5 books I asked Santa to bring related to getting kids outside, embracing nature, encouraging more physical and outdoor activity, and the likes. Reestablishing our love of the outdoors and increasing our healthy outdoor time is one part of my 2020 mission for our family and our homeschool!Linda McGurk is a Swedish-American journalist and free-lance writer, and the mother of two girls: Maya (7) and Nora (4). She and the girls leave their home in Indiana to spend six months in Sweden while Linda's father undergoes chemotherapy. She enrolls the girls in Swedish schools (they're already bilingual), and sets out to expose them to a childhood that she remembers fondly from her earlier days - including lots of time spent outdoors - while meeting and interviewing Swedish parents on their perspectives on childhood, education, nature, and environmentalism for her book project.There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather is a well-written, easy-to-read book. I read it in two days! I was fascinated by the freedoms the Swedish kids enjoyed, and with the amount of time they spent outdoors, even though Sweden is at the forefront of the digital world. (Did you know Minecraft, Skype, and a ton of other household digital names all came out of Sweden?)For a mom (me), who has been reprimanded for letting her kids play in the woods (where there may be poison ivy) and for letting them roll in mud and jump in a stream (where there may be, gasp, parasites) and for letting her son climb on top of a wooden playhouse on a climbing structure (because you know, 6 feet off the ground is too high for a kid who safely climbs three story tall trees)... well, this book felt like I had found my village.I realized reading the book that there was a time I had been far more similar to most Swedish parents than to American ones, but that I had allowed myself to be shamed into convergence. :O My younger two kids have never experienced the fun, "outlandish" activities the older ones did, but I fear have long forgotten. I became "safe" and worse, bought into the anxiety-driven rush to produce successful kids, rather than healthy, well-adapted, happy ones.So, what did I take from the book?1. I want Linda to be my newest BFF! I want to play in the rain and the snow and go on hikes and get tickets for splashing in a stream in a park alongside her! LOL. There was a time I did those things, well, except for the ticket (I received hundreds of glares and stares over the years, but never a ticket), and I want to do them again.2. I want to move to Sweden. The way the Swedish people embrace nature and encourage outdoor play and exploration, even during the school day is AWESOME! I'd settle for Finland or Denmark, too, as they also sound like they've got their priorities straight when it comes to education, although there was some indication that Denmark was making changes away from some of this as a result of falling rank in international testing (UGH!)3. My kids NEED more time outdoors, and since a move to Sweden at this time is unlikely, it means I am going to have to spend a LOT more time outdoors as well because unlike in Sweden where ALL of the kids are outdoors, in our neighborhood, we only see a kid outdoors every now and then. So, I'd better make sure I have the right clothes... "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes."All in all a good read, and one that I'd love more of my Mommy-friends to read and become motivated to follow... because then we'd have outdoor playmates, and that would be so much more fun for us all!For families wanting to embrace or rediscover a connection to nature and the outdoors, this book offers encouragement and practical strategies for making it happen.

I just wanted to thank Linda McGurk for writing this book, There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather. I have subscribed to her newsletter for quite a while, so when I found that she was writing a book I pre-ordered it and read it quite quickly. I have recommended it to so many people I can’t even count – literally -- because I was at a conference of early childhood educators when I announced how wonderful the book was and that everyone should run out and buy it. Three of my adult children already bought their own copy.I have been in early childhood education since 1975, but only since 2009, when I read Richard Louv’s book (Last Child in the Woods), have I been on a campaign to get kids into nature. I have worked for Head Start programs since 1977 and for the past 10 years or so have been a trainer for them. I’m trying to get programs to replace their plastic playgrounds with a hill, grass, rocks, trees, bushes – anything more natural than rubber or plastic, but state regulations often prevent much creativity in playgrounds, regardless of what research and one's common sense dictates.I so appreciated all the work you went to researching articles for this book. Most of them I had read, but Ms. McGurk added significantly to my library, and the research continues to mount and show the value of getting outside and playing in some good gooey dirt/mud/sand/ etc.May I also say that the writing was superb. I was not expecting to see such a broad vocabulary, eloquent and readable text, knowing that English is not her first language.This book is an important contribution to the growing list of voices calling for sanity and sense in the ways we deal with Mother Nature. I give it the highest endorsement, as one who has spent more than 40 years working with and in behalf of young children.

This was such an inspiring book!!! Eye opening in so many ways as a mother of a preschooler and under. Been getting my kids outdoors for longer stretches and just want to continue to increase that time. I recommend this book to any mother with young children!

This book is very interesting and has lots of statistics that are good to know. It’s fascinating to see how childcare and raising works in other countries. I overall enjoyed it!That said, the subject of childhood obesity and working to avoid that came up pretty often which is becoming more and more problematic as we learn that being “overweight” is generally something people can’t actually control and also doesn’t indicate overall health. The book also sometimes seems to assume that this way of raising children is actually possible in America. It isn’t necessarily. For those in lower income brackets, the Scandinavian way of child rearing may just not be feasible with busy schedules, lack of maternity/paternity leave, lack of good insurance, etc etc.Some things to keep in mind as you read, but definitely a fun and interesting read!

I really loved this book, very inspiring to get out more with children

Not so impressed as the book arrived bended and with an hole

Although this book compares American and Scandinavian approaches to school and parenting there are a lot of parallels to Canada as well. This is an easy and quick read that provides thought provoking ideas for changes that can be made in daily life.

J'ai lu avec beaucoup de plaisir ce livre. De plus, au fur et à mesure de lecture j'ai commencé à appliquer aussitôt les conseils de ce livre. Par exemple nous pouvons bien lire les livres aux enfants sur un petit drap sur la pelouse. C'est plus cool et profitable pour tout le monde. Nous sortons plus souvent maintenant. Et une fois ma fille de 2 ans commence à faire un bazar à la maison-alors direction l'extérieur et elle se défoule là bas pour redevenir une fille sage après.Ce livre était vraiment très intéressant. Je le recommande vivement.

Good book with insights about Scandinavian childraising. But it would have been great if she told us what we could do instead of moving all the way to Scandinavia.