American mothers around the world

Since I’ll be spending the next few weeks focusing on Anton and Toby, I’ve prepared some posts ahead of time. I’m especially excited about a new weekly series called Motherhood Around the World. Every Monday, we’ll feature an American mother living abroad in a different country around the world with her family. (First up today: Norway!) Honestly, the interviews have been FASCINATING. While working on them, I kept running into the living room to tell Alex the surprising things these mothers were revealing. Thank you so much to all the incredible mothers who shared their stories.

We spoke to American mothers abroad–versus mothers who were born and bred in those countries—because we wanted to hear how motherhood around the world compared and contrasted with motherhood in America. It can be surprisingly hard to realize what's unique about your own country ("don't all kids eat snails?"), and it's much easier to identify differences as an outsider.

A disclaimer: We wanted to hear from these individual mothers about their particular experiences, but of course everyone’s impressions, circumstances, social-economic levels and lifestyles are different, so these interviews are in no way meant to explain, describe or reduce entire cultures. (I can’t imagine if someone tried to explain America as a whole!) These interviews are more about women’s personal stories and observations. That’s probably a no-brainer, but I wanted to point that out regardless. We also chose women who were more or less from the same demographic so we could see what it was like within that similar demographic around the world. I'm curious to hear from people born and bred in each country as well, in terms of what you think rings true and what surprises you; and also from people from other countries who are living in the United States.

Anyway, I'm so excited to share these interviews every Monday and discuss parenting customs with you, and a huge thank you to my brilliant writer friend Lina Perl for helping put it together. Hope you enjoy it! xoxo

A few other Cup of Jo series, if you’re in the mood:
* Mothers talk about trying to find work/life/baby balance
* Guide to NYC
* Funny Dos and Don’ts
* 15 Hair Tutorials
* Delicious Recipes
* Home Tours
* More about Careers
* More about Weddings
* More about Motherhood
And, of course, please feel free to check out the archives at the top of the blog anytime.

Thank you so much!
(Top photos of my parents with us in France; bottom photo of a sweet boy in Madrid by The Sartorialist)