Henriette Johnsen
A guide to Danish school life!
New to Danish school culture. Learn how to best support your child.
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A blog about the good expat life
by Henriette Johnsen
Welcome to my blog! Here you’ll find everything from guides on various aspects of Danish culture to personal accounts from other expats - and most importantly, an in-depth look at some of the psychological challenges of expat life. I hope you will use these blog posts to enhance your expat experience.
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Henriette Johnsen
- Jun 4
- 3 min
Parenthood - balance imbalances!
In Denmark, today is Father’s Day. It’s also Constitutional Day. And speaking of the law, new legislation on maternity/paternity leave...
Henriette Johnsen
- Jun 1
- 7 min
Rights and responsibilities of children in Denmark
In Denmark, adulthood starts at the age of 18, but long before then, the process of becoming independent from one's parents and of taking...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 10
- 4 min
TCK and ECS - what are they?
Third culture kids and expat child syndrome! Raising children abroad means for them to be different, being the odd ones out. And not just...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 10
- 1 min
Do Danish Babies Sleep Outside?
Many moons ago, a young Danish mother was arrested and incarcerated for 36 hours for leaving her child to nap in a pushchair outside a...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 10
- 4 min
Expat mum! Super hero!
Being a mum is one of the most challenging and rewarding roles in life – I imagine being a dad is the other one! Before motherhood, if...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 10
- 6 min
How do you raise children multiculturally?
You are keen for your child to learn another language and experience another culture from the inside, perhaps to make a better life for...
Henriette Johnsen
- Mar 8
- 4 min
How to support your expat child(ren)!
“Where do you come from?” A perfectly normal question to ask first time you meet someone. As you get to know them and realise their...
Henriette Johnsen
- Feb 5
- 5 min
The significance of mother tongue language in additional language acquisition
Since 1999 where UNESCO founded International Mother Language Day to promote awareness of language and cultural diversity around the...
Henriette Johnsen
- Mar 2, 2022
- 2 min
Talking with your child about the Ukraine war
Over the past two years, many children have been worried about covid: Will the virus come to Denmark? How might I be affected by it? Can...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 25, 2020
- 4 min
Teenage life: friendship, freedom, efterskole, sex and alcohol
Friendships mean the world to children and teens. This is where they develop their sense of self and identity, they learn social coding...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 23, 2020
- 3 min
Student gradutation celebrations
Many international students finishing their IGCSEs go on to IB; and you may have noticed that upon graduation, they are rewarded a white...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 21, 2020
- 2 min
Teenagers' spare time jobs
Lots of teenagers want to earn their own money. Many start out babysitting for friends' or have a news paper round before moving on to...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 21, 2020
- 2 min
Baptism and Confirmation
Denmark is a largely Christian, protestant society with approximately 60% of all children born in Denmark being baptised into the Danish...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 21, 2020
- 4 min
Children's birthday parties
In Denmark, tradition is for school children to invite either all the girls, all the boys or the whole class around for buns and cake...
Henriette Johnsen
- May 21, 2020
- 2 min
Childcare facilities and schooling
In Denmark, all children from the age of 6 months, have the right to be looked after outside their home if needs be. Unlike some other...
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