Kids: Then and Now... Viking edition.
THEN
Viking children must have played, as all children do. Wooden toys have been found: small ships, swords, dolls and animal figures. Most of these were probably made for children to play with. But some of the objects were also useful to train various skills, which the children could use as adults, in work or in conflict.
For example, a spinning top trained a child’s fingers in the movements used in spinning. A small toy boat could, in addition, reflect the wish to travel on an expedition with an adult crew. A wooden sword could be used for training until it was exchanged for an iron one. Play could therefore also be used for more serious purposes.
The word ”play”, as we know it today, was not just reserved for children in the Viking period. “Play” was also used in relation to sports and exercise, musical instruments and weapons.
Adults also played together. In the Icelandic sagas, for example, men are praised for proficiency in jumping, throwing and running. The possession of such abilities could mean the difference between life and death in a battle situation.
NOW
Elia climbed onto the table in front of her classmates. She threw her fists into the air and jumped on to the blue mats below.
“I am strong,” the 3-year-old said, her eyes alight with pride and exhilaration.
On the other side of this nursery school in the chic neighborhood of Laufásborg, boys were practicing having “gentle hands” by massaging each other with lotion.
Iceland is consistently ranked first in the world for gender equality. But the Hjalli teaching model, as practiced in the nursery school, is considered progressive even in Iceland. Founded in 1989 by self-described radical feminist Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir, Hjalli schools aim to counter stereotypical gender roles and behaviors.
one recent day, two 9-year-old boys were pretending to be babysitters.
“We have to get the babies ready because their parents are coming soon,” said Óli, as he laid gender-neutral rag dolls out one-by-one under the table in what appeared to be an imaginary bed.
“You have to hold them like this,” said his classmate Ári Liljan, cradling a rag doll in his arms.
Their teacher, Kristín Cardew, had lit candles and drawn the blinds of this minimalist classroom. At other stations around the room, boys styled each other's hair, painted on nail polish or gave each other full-body massages.
“The dolls are only for the boys. The girls don’t need to practice this,” explained Cardew, who said she does structured gender compensation work in class about once a week depending on how much she deems it’s needed.
"Kicking and hurting, this is the extreme weakness of the boys," according to Cardew.
In the woods behind the school, the girls’ activity was also causing some problems. Participants were supposed to be climbing trees and walking along walls... Crying is particularly discouraged and weeping girls are promptly told to stop."
As literally everyone could expect, the article focuses on how the school makes girls into strong "Viking women." No mention of the boys growing up into heroic hairstylists and babysitters.