Do you think the non-traditional setting Elsa's mother grew up in influenced her parenting style? If so in what ways?

Elsa's mother grew up in a very non-traditional setting. Do you think this influenced her parenting style with Elsa? How and in what ways? 

Elsa's mother seemed to be trying to raise her child in the opposite way in which she was raised. She had bitter memories of being abandoned by her mother. She wanted her daughter to conform; of course there wee times when sparks of her mother projected through her.

We all learn our parenting skills from our parents. Most times we copy them. On the other hand if our parents' style doesn't suit our needs we self-determine an opposite style. Elsa's Mum did just that. Luckily Granny was available to provide a counter balance. It would interesting to speculate what kind of parent grows up to be.

It certainly affected her parenting style, but I think she was mostly happy to have her own mothers influence on Elsa. Not that she wasn't jealous of that, she was, but she loved Elsa enough to be happy they had the connection they did. Elsa's mother also admitted that she had ignored and dismissed the same stories Elsa loved so much. Like everything, some ideas and tendencies work with some, but not others. The fairy tales were a language Elsa could understand, but not one her own mother was interested in.

Yes, I do think Elsa's mother was influenced by now she grew up, and I think everyone is to some extent-- even if it simply causes someone to think: I never want to do such and such a thing. No matter how much effort parents put in to trying to be "perfect parents," every generation must grow up and think that they are the ones that have discovered being cool, fun, or interested in sex. So there will probably always be generation gaps - and bridges between them provided by grandparents.

Yes, indeed, but "how" is not that easy to describe. As much as she wanted Elsa to be good and conform (whatever that means), she had no idea how to make that happen. She did not have a role model for being what she considered a "good parent," which made it difficult for her to be in tune with her daughter, who clearly is an unusual child, probably even a brilliant one. Neither Granny nor her own daughter, Ulrika, started out as a good parent, but through each of their experiences with Elsa, they learn what they need to learn to have an honest relationship with Elsa and with the others around them. One aspect of the book that makes it such a terrific read is that we're treated on two planes, the real and the fantastical, to exactly how the relationships are resolved.

Yes and No. It seems like Elsa's mom wanted to be a much more traditional mom than her mother. She is definitely more rule oriented than her own mother.
Elsa's mom is a bit distant though in terms of the time she spends with Elsa, so in that way she is much like her own upbringing with her mom.

I agree with others who said we are all influenced in our parenting style by our own parents. Ulrika was so different from her mother that she wanted the opposite style of parenting. She resented her mother taking care of children all over the world but not being home for her own daughter. I also agree that even though she was jealous of the relationship between Elsa & her grandmother, she was happy Elsa had someone at home while her mother was at work.

I agree with others. We are all affected by the way we are raised. Seems that often, we think we can do the job better than our parents. I remember thinking that at one point and later on realizing that if I could be as good of a parent as my mother, my children would be ver fortunate

Yes, we are all affected by the way we were raised. Often people try to be the opposite of their parents, but at times we surprise ourselves by how like our parents we really are, especially in our parenting styles. Had Elsa's mother felt that Granny had been a failure as a parent, she would never have let her play such an important role in Elsa's life.

She seemed to want to be the opposite of her mother and yet she is very much like her at the same time. She had a very serious and important job. She wanted to do her best for Elsa and yet she allowed her to disappear for ages at a time. I don't think I would be happy to have my child sleeping alone in an empty apartment even if it is just across the hall.

I think Elsa's mom was doing the best she could. She was trying not to consciously make the mistakes her mother made. It was also a bit difficult for her to dead with Granny being Granny!