Children and family

Parents must provide care, protection and the necessities of life. Children should be heard about matters affecting them, with increasing weight given to their views as they grow in age and maturity.

This does not require children to decide difficult adult matters alone. Parents remain responsible for finding suitable solutions.

Violence is prohibited in upbringing. Adults can set boundaries through explanation and follow-up; children still need safety when adults feel angry or disagree with one another.

Families may have one or more carers, and parents may live together or separately. Two people of the same sex can marry in Norway. Family structure does not determine a child’s worth or right to safe care. The “best interests of the child” concerns the needs of the individual child, rather than ranking family types.

Views of children have changed alongside schooling, laws and living conditions. Many children previously had to contribute to the family economy through work. Today play, learning, care and children’s own rights are emphasised. This does not mean children cannot have tasks at home, but those tasks must be understood within their needs for development and protection.

Families may need help with communication, parenting or cooperation after separation. Family counselling offices offer conversations, guidance, courses and support for parents living apart.

You can contact an office directly without a referral. The purpose is to improve relationships and the arrangements of children’s daily lives.

When parents disagree, the child’s experience is part of the picture. Hearing a child means listening without making them responsible for resolving a conflict between the adults.

Cooperation with kindergarten and school can identify needs early: parents know the child at home, while staff see play and learning with others. A meeting about sleep, friendships or well-being can lead to a shared plan. Asking for this support is different from asking someone to take over care.

The child welfare service investigates concerns about children’s care and provides necessary help and protection. Support is primarily offered at home, for example through guidance or respite measures.

Intervention must not be more intrusive than necessary, and the child’s best interests carry particular weight. In serious circumstances, care outside the home may be required under specific rules.

Contacting the service is therefore not the same as a care order. It assesses the individual child’s needs, safety and relationships.

NAV parental benefit replaces income when a parent stays home following birth or adoption. Usual conditions include income in at least six of the previous ten months, a minimum annual income and membership of the National Insurance Scheme.

Some benefits can count towards the income requirement. The division of the period depends, among other things, on which parents have qualified.

Use NAV’s guidance for your family; another family’s payment or timetable does not automatically establish your entitlement.

Distinguish foreldrepermisjon, leave from work, from foreldrepenger, a NAV payment. A right to time off does not automatically mean a right to the same payment. Barnetrygd is a separate child-benefit scheme, while barnebidrag is money from one parent to the other for the child’s support when the parents do not live together. Shared permanent residence for the child (delt fast bosted) does not by itself rule out child maintenance; parental incomes and the particular arrangement matter. These arrangements have different purposes and conditions.