Two years ago, we landed in Canada full of hope. I wanted my kids to stretch their English skills, meet people from every corner of the world, and grow up in a place that felt big and full of possibilities. And Canada is big and possible. Even in the prairies—supposedly the “plainest” bit—the sky is so huge you feel like you’re living at the bottom of an air ocean.
Winter lays its white quilt down for months, and for the first time since my own childhood, I could sled, skate, and ski without booking a holiday—our “resort” was the sidewalk.
I met kind, welcoming people. I’m grateful for that season of our lives. But day to day—through the eyes of a parent—I kept bumping into the same walls. Beautiful scenery doesn’t raise children. Daily routines do. And over time, our routines in Canada started to work against the kind of childhood we wanted for our kids.
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I didn’t bail on Canada after one rough week. I gave it time. But over months, I kept seeing the same mismatch between our vision for childhood and the daily reality: sugar sneaking into “normal” foods, car-locked routines that delayed independence, a gentle-but-thin elementary curriculum, and healthcare that felt reactive instead of proactive. I could keep hacking around the system—packing perfect lunches, driving to every activity, hiring tutors, chasing referrals—or I could admit the obvious: environment beats willpower when you’re raising kids.
Winnipeg, Canada. Photo by Mahesh Gupta on Unsplash
So I did what any spreadsheet-loving parent does: I researched like crazy. Nights after bedtime became my mini “country lab.” I read parent forums, school handbooks, health system explainers; I mapped time zones and flight times to family; I compared visas, costs, languages, and the feel of daily life. I looked across continents—North America, Europe, a peek at Asia, and Oceania—asking one simple question: What kind of place quietly supports the childhood we want without us fighting the current every day?
🎧 Recommended listen:
The Nordic Theory of Everything (Anu Partanen) — how policies (leave, schools, healthcare) quietly shape family life.
The Culture Map (Erin Meyer) — decode cultural norms you and your kids will actually live with.
Through my research, I identified four non-negotiables—my North Star criteria for a well-rounded childhood. Not cute Instagram moments, but daily systems that shape who kids become:
1. Nutrition norms (real food without a constant sugar soundtrack)
2. Movement & independence (can kids safely get around without a chauffeur?)
3. Learning culture (steady standards + bandwidth for parents to actually parent)
4. Reliable, proactive pediatric care (not just “come when you’re sick”)
I ran country after country through those four lenses. Some scored high on one or two, then fell short on the rest. A few dazzled on paper but felt like an uphill battle in real life (language barriers we didn’t want to impose on the kids or ourselves right now, distances from family, or cost of living that would steal our time back into extra work).
In the end, a pattern popped: Europe fit our checklist. Walkable cities. Hot school lunches are the norm. Earlier independence without it being controversial. Solid academics from the start. Pediatricians who actually call you for check-ups. And travel that widens kids’ horizons without 12-hour flights.
🎧 Recommended listen:
Happy City (Charles Montgomery) — how city design affects kids' happiness and family rhythms.
Palaces for the People (Eric Klinenberg) — libraries, parks, pools: the social glue families rely on.
From there, the choice became personal: we went home to the Czech Republic. It hits all four for us—and adds family nearby, language, culture, holidays, and humor. If we weren’t tied to Czech, we could see ourselves in other European spots that ticked these boxes too—think the Netherlands for bike-everywhere independence, Austria or Germany for steady schooling and healthcare, Portugal or Spain for family-centric rhythms and a fantastic food culture. The point isn’t that one place is perfect; it’s that the everyday systems match the childhood we want for our kids.
Prague, Czechia. Photo by Dmitry Goykolov on Unsplash
Those four pillars became our checklist—and once I saw the pattern, the decision stopped feeling dramatic and began to feel obvious.
Nutrition: What Kids Eat—And What Everyone Around Them Eats
You already know food is fuel for growing bodies and brains. What surprised me in Canada wasn’t a lack of options—supermarkets are enormous. It was the culture around food. Sweets are everywhere and treated as usual, almost background noise: weekly birthday parties stacked with sugar, “everyday” treats that would be “special” in other places, and this strange tendency for non-dessert foods to taste sweet. Deli meats? Sweet. A random bowl of pho? Sweet. After a while, I felt like the baseline palate was shifted toward sugar.
Kids don’t eat in a vacuum. They copy their friends. Mine started asking for a Foot-O-Long candy because another boy brought one every day for his lunch. When the group snack is chips and crackers, your “apple and cheese” mom routine starts to feel like swimming upstream.
In Czechia, food isn’t perfect either (hello, koláče), but the everyday rhythm runs closer to “real food.” School canteens serve hot lunches. A snack can be cucumbers, and no one stares. The kids are accustomed to eating simple, plain, yet healthy snacks—without turning every lunchbox into a debate.
My takeaway: If you want your kids to eat and not worship sugar, pick a place where that is normal. It is exhausting to fight the culture with every snack.
🎧 Recommended listen:
Bringing Up Bébé (Pamela Druckerman) — simple, non-drama food norms that make sane family meals possible.
Hunt, Gather, Parent (Michaeleen Doucleff) — calm, collaborative approaches to eating and daily chores from traditional cultures.
Movement & Independence: Yes to Sports—But Also to Going Places on Their Own
Canada does sports beautifully. Rinks, pools, community programs—fantastic. The catch is the car. Life is often structured around driving, so kids’ activities often mean parents doing taxi duty before and after work, as well as on weekends. It’s convenient in bad weather, but it keeps children dependent on adults for almost everything. Even being home alone has strict age rules in many provinces, so independence starts late.
In Czechia, kids move through the city like small citizens. They walk, bike, or take the tram to after-school clubs. Weekends are quieter on the activity front because families actually spend them together. At first, I wanted more sports on Sunday for my kids; later, I realized I loved the built-in boundary that protected family time—and the way everyday errands taught our kids to read a timetable, cross a street, and handle themselves in public.
My takeaway: Organized sports are great, but everyday independence builds muscles you can’t see—planning, confidence, street smarts. I wanted a place that trains those from a young age.
🎧 Recommended listen:
There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather (Linda Åkeson McGurk) — the Nordic “outdoor kids in all seasons” mindset.
Balanced and Barefoot (Angela J. Hanscom) — why free outdoor play builds bodies/brains better than any worksheet.
Learning: School Quality, Home Bandwidth, and the Culture Kids Marinate In
Let’s talk school without sugarcoating it.
Canada: The elementary school felt warm and gentle, but also too easy. Parents I met were paying for extra math because the basics weren’t sticking. Spelling in grade two was wobbly. Then, suddenly, high school expectations jump, and everything becomes a race to catch up. Another quirk: school quality is tied to your address, so families grind to afford the “right” neighborhood instead of getting a solid education everywhere.
Czechia: Education is more demanding and competitive earlier. If your child aspires to an academic track (gymnázium), you will face serious entrance exams in grade 5, 7, or 9—and yes, seats are limited. That creates inequality: children from stable, well-supported families are more likely to succeed. Regular schools exist and can be perfectly fine; private and international schools are great options, but they are also expensive. The trade-off? Day to day, the academic floor feels higher. When we moved back, the gap between our kids’ Canadian grade level and the Czech expectations was obvious.
🎧 Recommended listen:
How Children Succeed (Paul Tough) — grit, curiosity, and steady expectations from the early years.
The Happiest Kids in the World (Acosta & Hutchison) — Dutch-style balance: independence, play, and down-to-earth schooling.
Beyond classrooms, I ask: Do parents have the capacity to parent? In Canada, with fewer vacations and more commuting, you can end up “parenting in the margins.” In Czechia, four weeks of paid vacation and protected family rhythms mean we read more, cook more, sit and talk more. That’s part of education, too.
What kids absorb isn’t just from textbooks; it’s from the air around them. In Canada, the default setting is warm and friendly. People smile, engage in small talk at the checkout, and easily include kids—teachers and coaches are approachable, and the classroom culture is relaxed. Children are encouraged to speak up, share their opinions, and try new things without fear of being perceived as “too much.” In Canada, the multicultural mix is a huge plus for kids. Classrooms brim with languages, holidays, and stories from around the world, which stretch children’s curiosity and empathy. Because classmates arrive with different norms (such as voice volume, personal space, and play styles), there’s usually a brief settling-in period while everyone learns the local classroom rules—but that adjustment is part of the learning process.
In the Czech Republic, the tone is quieter and more structured in public spaces. You’ll hear a clear “Dobrý den” when entering a shop, kids learn early to offer a seat on the tram, and voices drop on buses or in waiting rooms. There’s less small talk with strangers, but a strong everyday courtesy remains. The country is more homogeneous, yet children still immerse themselves in other cultures thanks to geography—Germany today, Austria next weekend, Poland on a school trip, which lets kids learn different cultures, history, and languages first-hand, right at the source. From Canada, international travel is usually long and pricey; in Europe, that closeness turns learning into regular field trips—if you want your kids to stand before a Roman gate on Saturday and be home for Sunday soup, Europe wins.
🎧 Recommended listen:
Third Culture Kids (Pollock, Van Reken & Pollock) — raising children across borders, schools, and identities.
The Culture Map (Erin Meyer) — fast insights that help families (and teens!) read new cultures without friction.
My takeaway: We want a place where the baseline is strong from the early years—steady academics, clear expectations, and daily independence. Canada’s warmth and rich multicultural classrooms are a gift, but the postcode lottery and lower elementary expectations had us patching gaps at home. In Czechia, expectations start earlier, family rhythms are protected, and Europe’s doorstep turns culture and history into regular, first-hand learning. That mix fits the childhood we want our kids to live.
Healthcare: Who Sees Your Child, How Often, and How Long You’ll Wait
In Canada, we had a family doctor (lucky!), but the reality was “come when you’re sick.” No routine pediatric check-ins. Vaccines were easy if I asked, but no one proactively called. Seeing a pediatric specialist meant waiting months, then hours more in the waiting room. ERs? Legendary waits. Care is good when you get it; getting it is the problem.
In Czechia, my kids have a pediatrician who knows them, tracks their growth, schedules vaccines, and calls us in for routine checks. When we need specialty care, the wait has been shorter. In emergencies, we’re seen. It’s not perfect, but the baseline is proactive rather than “you chase the system.”
My takeaway: I sleep better when a doctor owns my child’s preventive care and the system moves at a human speed.
So…Why I Left, and Why I Won’t Look Back (For Now)
I’ll always love Canada’s beauty and the kindness we met there. But love doesn’t erase the daily frictions: sugar-heavy food culture, car-locked routines, late-starting independence, uneven elementary standards, and slow, reactive healthcare. In Czechia, the ordinary days line up better with the values I want my kids to breathe: simple food as a norm, walking and public transport as freedom, steady academics, proactive pediatric care, and a culture that assumes children are part of public life.
Is Czechia perfect? No. Entrance exams create pressure and inequality. Some schools are just “okay.” (or not okay to be honest.) Bureaucracy exists. But on the things that matter most to me—nutrition, movement and independence, learning, and healthcare—our family thrives here.
If you’re choosing a country for your family, don’t start with postcards. Start with Tuesdays.
- What do kids eat when no one is trying?
- How do they get to their activities?
- Does school match your expectations at this age, not just at university?
- When your child is healthy, who checks on them, and when they’re sick, how long do you wait?
Answer those with your values in mind, and your “where” will get a lot clearer.
And if your path points to Canada, I’ll cheer for you. If it points to Czechia, I’ll save you a seat on the tram.
A small ask to you, dear reader...
If you’ve found a country that quietly supports great childhoods, I’d love to hear it. Where do kids eat healthy food, move freely, learn steadily, and see a pediatrician who knows their name? Share your country, city, and a couple of lived-experience details in the comments—your story might help another family find their fit.