Culture Clash
New Yorkers like to think they've seen everything, but apparently some Scandinavian child-care customs are beyond the pale. On a spring night in 1997, police arrested a Danish woman and charged her with endangering the welfare of a child. Her offense? Leaving her 14-month-old daughter in a baby stroller outside while she had dinner in a Lower East Side restaurant. Anette Sorensen insisted leaving children on sidewalks was a common practice in her trusting homeland, where parents favor fresh air for their children, and said she kept an eye on her daughter through the window. The NYPD didn't buy it, and the child spent several days in foster care. The charges against Sorensen were eventually dropped, but a year later she sued the city for $20 million, tearfully calling the episode "the worst thing I ever experienced." A jury stood by New York's Finest and dismissed the claim.