Dutch children are unusually happy and healthy. Because of this walking ritual?

lbreakjai

My daughter is about to enter "group 2". The starkest difference with the system back home is the level of autonomy they have. Most of what they seem to do revolve around working together autonomously. They're expected to group themselves, to collaborate, to solve their conflicts, while the teacher acts as a facilitator that will give them the keys to succeed on their own. After-school care is similar. The assistants are there to supervise, not to animate or entertain. They'll make sure your kid survives until 5, the rest is up to them. This attitude carries over outside of school. Kids are trusted to go out in the neighborhood. As soon as the sun shines, the park under my flat turns into a gigantic playground from 14h to 20h, with no adults in sight. Go for a walk during King's day, and you'll see a ton of kids managing a stall of their own design by themselves.

Aeolun

I'd like to see dutch children compared to dutch adults. Because I feel like the whole thing quickly inverts.

jaapz

> Dutch children are unusually happy and healthy. Is it because of this walking ritual? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline... But yeah avondvierdaagse is a neat part of our culture, regardless

RetroTechie

It's just one of many things that contributes to Dutch people's happiness. At one of the local events last year, I suggested to organisers to grab the opportunity & ask people to pick up litter along the way. Mix in a few volunteers carrying a shopping bag to collect the trash, done. I pictured to them the whole troop could function as a big broom swiping the bushes & sidewalks along the road clean. (it's kind of annoying to see an empty cigarette pack lying on the ground, 100s of people in no hurry with 'nothing to do' pass by, and the litter still sits there after they've passed. It's a small effort even for 1 person) Anyone participating in one of this year's events happen to know whether that suggestion has been 'upstreamed' & followed somewhere?

evanjrowley

Wandering through the beautiful Dutch countryside was a highlight of a few of my childhood summers. If I ever win the lottery, that's where I'd return to.

expedition32

Dutch citizens tend to forget just how good they have it. An oasis on a fucked up planet. It takes hundreds of billions just to maintain it.