This Woman Leaves Her Baby To Sleep Alone Outside In Public — But In Her Country, It's The Norm

Annie Samples is a 36-year-old content creator, copywriter, and mother who lives in Denmark with her husband and four kids.

Annie is American, but she and her family moved to Denmark a little over three years ago when the design company her husband works for opened an office there.

I found out about Annie through a video she made that went viral on TikTok. In the video — which now has over 13 million views on the platform — Annie discusses the Danish practice of letting babies sleep alone outside in their strollers.

The comments on the video seem to show a mixture of respect and shock toward the practice — especially from those who live in the United States.

I decided to reach out to Annie to learn more about this tradition and why people do it in the first place. "I actually had heard a lot about the outdoor naps before I moved here, and I genuinely thought it was common knowledge about Denmark," Annie told BuzzFeed. "Even still, it sounded wild to me and I was pleasantly shocked to see that it actually does happen here. ... I previously attempted it with no success with my third child and sort of gave up on the notion altogether. After my fourth child was born, our visiting nurse stressed the importance of outdoor stroller naps, and that's when I gave it another shot. Outdoor napping is extremely common. Most families do it, and daycare institutions have infants nap outside in strollers as well."

"Some benefits of outdoor sleeping are supposedly that the baby will sleep more deeply — the fresh air is good for their health and immune system — but what my visiting nurse emphasized most to me is that it would help with my stress levels and help the family function better, which I agree with. I am not sure if my baby sleeps better outside or inside, but I am glad she's getting the fresh air, and the ability to just wheel her around wherever we need to go while she gets her naps in has been a huge benefit to my whole family. With my other three kids in the US, we were often trapped at home for hours at a time during their naps where we had to try to stay quiet in order to keep them asleep, and we really enjoy the freedom of not having to do that anymore."

When asked about whether she thought this practice could be doable in the United States, Annie said, "We lived in Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon, so I don't think I would have my baby sleep on her own outside in those circumstances. There are plenty of threats, but I think one of the biggest ones is someone calling the authorities on you. If I lived somewhere rural where the weather wasn't extreme, I would!"

"In the video, I mentioned that the reason we don't worry about kidnappers is due to the fact that others don't want the responsibility, and if you want your own kid to raise, the healthcare system will gladly help you to do so — this is what any Dane would tell you. I've seen many comments saying that that is an 'insane' mindset — that kidnappers don't want to take kids to raise the kids they take. I do wish I had mentioned that another result of our healthcare system, social services, and tight knit communities is that there are endless checks and balances in place to ensure the welfare and safety of children all over the country," she said.

So, what do you think of this common Danish practice? Share your thoughts in the comments below!