by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Jan 26, 2011 | Culture, Family, International, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting, Working Mother
In Norway we have a choice between 46 weeks (with 100% pay) or 56 weeks (with 80% pay) parental leave. Six weeks are reserved for the mother, 10 weeks reserved for the father (plus the 2 weeks off they get at the time of the birth), and the rest can be shared. Next year, the fathers 10 weeks will be increased to 12 weeks.
Some fathers, however, feel that they are not able to take this leave, but this very much depends on the type of work he has, e.g. somebody who is paid on commission can hardly afford to take 10 weeks off. Or, for somebody who is running their own company, it might be difficult to take so much time out.
The mother does not have the “luxury” to decide whether or not she can afford to take maternity leave, as she kind of has to take at least some time off, and traditionally it is expected that the takes most of the leave. (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Jan 4, 2011 | Family, Hobby, International, Motherhood, Norway, UK
My husband and 10 month old baby boy are going away for a whole week without me, and I have very mixed feeling about the whole thing. They are spending the week with my husband’s parents, and as they live in the UK (and we live in Norway) we both feel it is very important that they get to spend as much time as possible with the grandson.
As my husband has paternity leave at the moment, it is really the perfect opportunity, and I am sure my husband does not mind being pampered a bit by his mother either. (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Dec 14, 2010 | Culture, Family, Family Travel, International, Motherhood, Multicultural, Norway, Parenting, Travel, UK
When I think about the perfect Xmas I think about waking up in the morning and seeing snow outside my window. (I guess I should mention that I am talking about a Norwegian Xmas, where we celebrate on Xmas Eve, not Xmas day.) As a child I enjoyed getting up really early in the morning and going into the living room to see the decorated Xmas tree with its light, and for the first time seeing all the presents underneath it.
Then, I’d spend the rest of the day looking at the presents, just looking. I never touched them or picked them up. I remember, especially, the afternoons when my mother was busy blow drying her hair, whilst I would watch the traditional Disney cartoons on telly. This was my perfect opportunity to look at all the presents. To this day, my parents do not believe me when I say I didn’t touch them, but honestly I didn’t! (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Dec 2, 2010 | Culture, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
I have heard and read lots of discussions and debates about gender roles, and in a book called “First-time Parents“, by Dr. Miriam Stoppard (I have been using this as reference book these last 10 months), there is a section about the differences in behaviour and development between boys and girls and how we should help the baby develop the skills that do not come as naturally.
I read about this when I was pregnant, and to be honest, I hadn’t really thought that much about it since. I was just taking it for granted that, as a parent, I would want my wee lad to be a balanced person who would get the opportunity to play with whatever he wanted to play with. (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Nov 15, 2010 | Family, International, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
When the wee lad was born, we had read all about the baby’s development, up until that point. I mean, that I had read everything there was to read about the pregnancy, including what was happening to the baby and what was happening to me. There was so much to focus on, and it didn’t actually cross my mind that I should read the next chapter, i.e. what happens when the baby is actually there.
To be honest, I had also skipped the chapter that was focusing on the birth, as I found it too scary! I was just so caught up in the moment, and there was so much information to deal with that I didn’t have the capacity to read about the next steps. (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
More Posts
In Norway we have a choice between 46 weeks (with 100% pay) or 56 weeks (with 80% pay) parental leave. Six weeks are reserved for the mother, 10 weeks reserved for the father (plus the 2 weeks off they get at the time of the birth), and the rest can be shared. Next year, the fathers 10 weeks will be increased to 12 weeks.
