By Susanna Heiskanen of The Nordic Mum and author of Nordic Lifestyle

I get asked a lot why I decided to write Nordic Lifestyle: Embrace slow living, cultivate happiness and know when to take off your shoes? My answer is as I already had a blog and podcast covering the same topic (The Nordic Mum), writing a book was a natural step for me. There was so much about Nordic life that I had covered in my podcast interviews and so much more that I felt I could explore about the culture, history and what it means to be Nordic that writing a book seemed like the perfect solution.

Even before the book was written I made lots of enquiries into traditional publishing, timelines and the hoops that you needed to jump through to get a contract. Due the nature of the publishing business, you often have to wait for a long time to get a book published, even if you are lucky enough to get a contract, I decided not to pursue that route.

As a creative entrepreneur I found that self-publishing allowed me to be in charge of everything that goes into publishing a book and this was more to my liking. In the end it took me a year to write and publish the book, thanks largely to the Covid lockdown in 2021.

My Nordic Lifestyle book covers the basics of Nordic life, who the Nordics are, how to live a Nordic lifestyle and, of course, everything about the happiness associated with the Nordic region. As a mother of two boys, I like to think that I explore the Nordic way or parenting every day and I hope that I share some of this experience in the book.

Nordic parents encourage kids to be kids as long as possible, hence the later starting age for school at the age of seven. I find my kids and those who are from Nordics are more resilient and independent. Kids are allowed to explore their surroundings and make mistakes perhaps more than if you are from Australia. We love to teach our kids to have boundaries but to learn and figure out their mistakes themselves.

I also feel that Nordic parents have a need to connect with nature more. Exploring the world and giving our kids the freedom to explore, create and understand the world we live in, not just to rely upon school to teach them about faraway places and cultures. The Norwegian word Friluftsliv – having a passion for nature, spending time outdoors and enjoying an outdoorsy lifestyle – explains the need to connect with nature well for me.

Making our kids resilient for the future and giving them the ability to set their own boundaries are basics of Nordic parenting. There is a Finnish saying that there is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing. This may explain why you will see my kids running around in the rain when everyone else is inside.