By most standards, young people in Norway benefit on their journey from childhood to adult life from respect, concern and opportunity within both family and public life. Generous resources are allocated by the public administration to their aspirations and needs.

Norway was the first country in the world to appoint an Ombudsman for Children, in 1981. The international review team met the current ombudsman during its second visit. He talked with pride about the imminent establishment of the European Network for Ombudsmen for Children (ENOC). This network of children’s commissioners’ demonstrates how far the issue of children’s voice, rights and participation has come in a relatively short time.

The social welfare system has a long history and was consolidated during the period following the Second World War. It comprises public child support, free education, health services, old age pensions and unemployment support. Governance of Norway is routinely through coalition governments, and broad support for the social welfare system has been sustained – despite the tax burden and taxation concerns – as it is so firmly embedded within the psyche of Norwegian culture.

Young people in Norway are more or less dependent up to the age of 18 or even much longer. Legal parental responsibility ends at 18, but morally, parental responsibility for each child may last for many more years. Decreasing possibilities for learning to take on responsibility and the shortage of jobs for young people make the transition from child to adult last longer and it is less clearly defined. The situation can breed interpersonal as well as intrapersonal conflict, particularly if the young adult, still occupying the “nursery”, has his or her spouse, co-habitant or sweetheart move in too. With the rising cost of housing, this is not an uncommon situation, but one for which neither parents nor homes are prepared.