Is a "Viking" Childhood a Happier Childhood (with Helen Russell)?

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  you're listening to an iHeart podcast.

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  Pushkin.

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  It's no secret that Nordic countries have very high levels of wellbeing.

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  Ever since the World Happiness Report launched their famous country happiness rankings back in 2012,

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  Scandinavian countries have consistently dominated the competition.

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  In fact, Finland and Denmark have claimed the top spots for an impressive seven years running.

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  The US and UK, by contrast, they haven't even broken into the top 10.

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  So what's behind this Nordic happiness advantage?

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  Journalist Helen Russell believes it starts in childhood.

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  It's not an accident that people from the Nordic countries have voted the happiest in the world year after year.

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  This is how they are raised.

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  If you're a fan of the Happiness Lab,

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  you might remember Helen from a previous episode entitled Move to Your Happy Place.

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  I asked Helen to return for this special series on parenting

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  because she has traveled a rather circuitous path towards a happier family life.

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  So I am London-born and bred, and my husband got a job at Lego in Denmark,

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  and we had no intention of ever leaving London,

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  but Denmark kept being voted the happiest country in the world.

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  And I kind of wondered, what was it all about?

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  Could it be that beer, bacon, Danish pastries really made you that happy?

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