Shhh!

We are not a quiet family. We talk loudly. We laugh loudly. I sneeze loudly.

There are less quiet moments in our day than there are minutes of Mamma Mia sung word-for-word.

We've been referred to as gregarious, outgoing, outspoken, but never quiet.

And I'm not sure Denmark was ready for us.

By no means has anyone been rude to us – Danes are the pinnacle of civility.

• They queue neatly at coffee shops.
• They signal their turns early on their bikes.
• They hold the playground gate for the next family.

They are calm, polite and quiet. Enter the Dempseys.

Across Europe, the attitude towards children is remarkably different.

In Italy, the next table was more than happy to pick up Maeve and play with her at dinner. In Spain, children were everywhere, but never the focus, in a "they come where we go" kind of way.

Copenhagen's best-in-world playgrounds are a signal of a different attitude: there are excellent spaces for children. It's not so much that children aren't welcome, but that childish boisterousness in adult spaces is not the norm.

Nouveau North American parenting is all about pushing through the big emotions. Gentle patience during a tantrum – unpacking the what's wrong rather than addressing the explosive reaction. Danish parents are more likely to swoop up a crying child and leave, then they are to disrupt the restaurant.

Another note: the parent-to-parent (P2P) communication is entirely different.

Any good Canadian mom or dad knows the smile and nod.

Example: You're on the floor of a grocery store, and your two year old is screaming because they can't open the peanut butter before you pay for it. You look up at the family walking by with despondency. But, on making eye-contact, you see it: the smile and nod. One dad to another, silently cheering you on. Letting you know they too have been there. They see you. They know you're going through hell. But they're reminding you that there are better moments where you don't want to return your dear child to the offspring store.

The Danes don't do this. Actually, they do the opposite. Rather than making eye-contact when you're going through it, they give you space. When you try to help, they seem uncomfortable rather than appreciative.

Every culture is different, but it's interesting just how different European countries are from one another. As incredible as Copenhagen is, we're probably lacking the civility to ever make it here fulltime. That's okay, it's a lovely vacation.