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Having little and holding on: the generation of Danes who refuse to fly the nest

Amelia Axelsen
March 14th, 2017


This article is more than 7 years old.

Problem most acute among second generation Danes and residents of Greater Copenhagen and north Zealand

Not the best of results for the Danish capital (photo: Visit Denmark)

When it comes to wedding vows, there’s little doubt who the happy couple are referring to when they promise ‘to have and to hold’.

But increasingly in Danish society, particularly ‘for poorer’ couples, the vow ‘until death do us part’ probably includes their parents too, and maybe even their grandparents.

Most common among second generation immigrants …
A new analysis from Momentum reveals that the number of Danish couples living with their in-laws has increased by 27 percent since 2007.

The problem is most acute among the descendants of immigrants for which numbers have almost doubled. Among couples of Danish origin, there has been a 22 percent rise.

and in Greater Copenhagen
Three municipalities in Greater Copenhagen lead the way – Brøndby, Ishøj, Albertslund (see map below) – followed by a number in north Zealand. In Jutland, in contrast, the number of couples co-habiting with their in-laws has remained low.

 

Photo by: Momentum

 

According to Anders Hyldborg, the CEO of BoligPortal.dk, this is mostly the result of high housing costs prohibiting young couples from buying a place of their own.

“The market is red hot in the Capital Region and only slightly less so in Zealand,” he told Momentum.

A new trend
Some experts believe it is only just the beginning, and that in the future an increasing number of different generations in the same family will live together.

“It is changing our way of thinking and redefining patterns of how families live,” Kristine Virén, the communication manager at Bolius Homeowners’ Knowledge Center, told Momentum.

 


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”