In this age of movies, TV and the Internet, why is it still important to read books?
I don´t think it is. Reading books is as passive as watching a movie. I think it’s more important to do active things as a child. Reading TO children however, is very important. It forms a bond between adult and child and is one of my favorite things to do with my kids.
What have been your kids biggest, wildest, craziest dreams so far?
My daughter is way into tying knots. She uses rope, clothes and even chords to tie different things together. She has this idea that she will become a professional knot-tier when she grows up. When I try to steer her into maybe thinking of a career as a sailor she corrects me. She has no interest in the sea or boats. Just the knots.
What’s the biggest challenge that you think young people have growing up?
I’m often thankful that my childhood didn’t have Instagram, youtube and blogs. That my inner thoughts from my youth is on paper in a diary somewhere instead of on the Internet for everyone to see. I never recorded the music from my crappy band and put it on youtube. I didn’t put pictures of myself trying stupid things in my teens on Instagram. I know I would have if it were available back then. I think the kids of today will have to struggle with tracking stuff down and removing it from the internet in the future.
What was your favourite book as a child?
I liked the books about the Moomin-family by Tove Jansson. The characters are deep and interesting and have a mystic aura to them, even though they are down to earth.
How do you get your kids to sleep?
I let them choose a character each to play. Unicorn princesses are very popular. Then I tell them the setting, often an old school fantasy kind of world. Then I let them act out what they want to do in a fictitious day. At the end of the day the fictional characters have to set up camp and go to sleep. That’s where the game ends and where my kids also have to sleep.
