Are Kids More Independent in Germany than in America?

We have definitely found that parenting in Germany is different than in the USA.

German Childhood + Self-Reliance

Before we moved to Germany from the USA, we thought we had pretty athletic, active kids. But compared to German kids, we have found we’ve got a lot of catching up to do! In general, German kids are super outdoorsy, active, and athletic. They also experience a lot more independence (kindliche Selbständigkeit) than our kids did in the USA with being able to ride bicycles and walk all over town and take public transportation. In this week’s video, you’ll see how our American kids have become stronger, more self-reliant, and independent since moving to Germany!

Our Story

In February 2021, we packed up our American family of six, with four kids ages 11 and under, and moved halfway across the world to Germany to follow our dream of living in Europe again! When we were first married, we lived for two years in France and fell in love with the European way of life. Moving to Germany has been a whirlwind, especially with four kids in tow, but we’re already growing stronger and better from the experiences we are having. It has NOT been easy, but that’s how it usually is in life when you go after your dreams!

If you’d like to see our whole journey to getting here and to follow along with our travels, join our email list below (at the bottom of this post) to get one email each week with our latest post and YouTube video!

Like Hearing About Our Adventures?

Check out all of the blog posts I’ve written and videos we’ve recorded for YouTube. You can watch them from the beginning to the current day! You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel to get notified when a new video is posted.