How to Raise a Viking

‘Top-notch’ Good Housekeeping – BEST PARENTING BOOKS

‘Helen has a way to take big ideas and convey them with warmth and wisdom’ Dr Rangan Chatterjee

‘A well-researched study injected with humour and humanity’ Mail on Sunday

What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a lot…

After a decade of living in Denmark and raising a family there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic children are different. They eat differently. They learn differently. They run, jump, and climb out in nature for hours a day, even though the weather is terrible and it's dark from October to March. And then they grow up to be some of the happiest adults on the planet. Her question was: how?

In How to Raise a Viking, Russell takes a deep dive into the parenting culture of Denmark and the other Nordic nations, from parental leave policies to school structure, screen time, and the surprising customs that lead to happy, well-adjusted humans. This fascinating peek behind the cultural curtain allows readers a glimpse of another world, where babies sleep outside in their prams up to -20°C and pre-schoolers wield axes.

Refreshingly funny and unfailingly optimistic about the new generation of humans growing up in the world right now, this is a heart-warming love letter to Russell’s adopted homeland and proof that we could all do with a bit more Viking in our lives.

‘Ditch all the other parenting books. This is the one – funny, helpful, doable and not guilt-inducing. Makes me want to have kids all over again and try it this way’ Matt Rudd

‘I highly recommend’ Mariella Frostrup

‘Helen’s brilliant writing is having a dangerously powerful impact on me which is leading me to an inevitable emigration to Scandinavia’ Rob Beckett

How to Raise a Viking contains much of interest and succeeds in its primary purpose: making us think about how we should engage with our children and help them to realise their potential, and what we must prioritise to do so Sunday Times

‘Helen Russell explains from experience how Nordic countries put a strong emphasis on resilience, outdoor play, independence, egalitarianism, and a balanced approach to education and family life. "Viking parenting" is about raising children to be self-assured, capable and connected to the natural world’ The Week