En God Barndom

After staying up past 1am, I made the final edits on a paper that was due the next morning at 9am. Nothing like procrastinating until the last few hours. It is by no means perfect, you can tell I did it at the last minute, and my arguments aren't always fully supported, but this is what I came up with.

En god barndom is an empowering model that provides general parameters for a fulfilling childhood; however, it is unrealistic to expect these principles to be appropriate and applicable in every community and every culture. Displaced, migrant, refugee, asylum-seeking, and exploited children come from a variety of countries and backgrounds, not all of which are necessarily governed by a democratic system. Many of these children aren’t born and raised with the same basic rights and freedoms as those in the Nordic countries, so imposing the principles and views of en god barndom on these children could potentially cause distress and anxiety in these children when attempting to adapt to a new culture.

When working with people who have different backgrounds and experiences than your own, it is important to demonstrate an acceptance and an ability to interact despite cultural differences, in other words, being culturally competent. Part of being culturally competent is recognizing differences and working with people at whatever level they are at. Even in the United States there is great variation from city to city, town to town. The experiences and backgrounds of my classmates is a perfect example of how even in one country there is great diversity. Children on the move all have a unique and different story to tell, which would make it difficult to apply one universal developmental philosophy while still respecting individual experiences.

If principles of en god barndom were implemented starting from birth or a very young age, children would be able to adapt and develop under this philosophy. Oftentimes, children on the move are transitioning into a new country at an age where it would be difficult to adapt to changes in a developmental philosophy. Children who are raised with more restrictions on individual freedom would have a difficult time adapting to a culture where they now had the opportunity to dictate their own play time, and the idea of leisure time may be a foreign concept. If a child is coming from an upbringing with little structure or parental support, the child may understand his or her own freedoms, but struggle with the democracy component of this philosophy when participating in the greater community. In a country where adults are hardly free from over-control and over-supervision by the government, how can we work towards emancipation and relieving children of similar controls when the same adults don’t have these freedoms? If en god barndom was universally adopted, these background differences might not cause as much of a problem; however, it is unrealistic to transition into using this philosophy universally due to our vast differences in cultures. It is not a matter of whether it should be implemented, but whether it can be implemented.

It isn’t realistic to implement en god barndom as a universal model in the childcare system not only because of the barriers in cultural differences, but also because not all nations are as financially secure as the Nordic countries, or their priorities aren’t in the same order. Countries like the United States may have the funding, but still choose to place less priority on our educational system and therefore limit the amount of funding that is necessary to provide high standards in childcare that would equate to the en god barndom philosophy. In the article “Fishing Naked,” it is mentioned that Nordic scholars don’t understand why people would put up with mediocre childcare centers. In a large country like the United States that is arguably losing sight of the people’s voices, it appears that there is little that can be done to improve the standard of childcare without personal adverse effects. Other countries that are not financially secure do not have the luxury of implementing these principles because they don’t have the resources to provide childcare centers like Gadevang.

Through simple observation, you can clearly see the joy and happiness expressed by the children at Gadevang. Not only are children provided the opportunity to play the games they want and do the things they want to do, but they also have unconditional support when it is needed. It was inspiring to watch a little girl leading her crying friend into the classroom to seek additional support. It is these life lessons of compassion for others and asking for help that you can’t learn in a book, but instead learn through a philosophy similar to en god barndom.

All countries should strive for implementing principles of a good childhood while recognizing that the definition of a "good childhood" is subjective and varies from person to person. The five components of en god barndom may work for the Nordic countries, but these principles are not universal which is why it is important to work with the child to recognize how their childhood can be improved on an individual level.