Why are Dutch children so happy?
By Kathryn Westcott
BBC News website
Last Updated: Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 18:26 GMT
http://news.bbc..co.uk/2/hi/europe/6360517.stm
Dutch children have been rated the most fortunate children in Europe. Their
parents go out of their way to please them, and teachers expect less of them
than some of their European counterparts.
Dutch society is very child-centred
The Netherlands has come top of a league table for child well-being across 21
industrialised countries.
The study by the UN children's organisation, Unicef, looked at relative
poverty, educational and health standards, sexual behaviour and the children's
relationship with friends and parents.
"The Netherlands has always been a very child-centred society," says Paul
Vangeert, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Groningen.
"In particular, there is a lot of focus on young children."
He says he is not surprised by the report. "On the one hand you have objective
indicators in the report like health, income and education. The Netherlands is
a very rich country. On the other hand, and perhaps more importantly, are the
subjective indicators, young people's own subjective sense of well-being."
CHILD WELL-BEING TABLE
1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
4. Finland
5. Spain
6. Switzerland
7. Norway
8. Italy
9. Republic of Ireland
10. Belgium
11. Germany
12. Canada
13. Greece
14. Poland
15. Czech Republic
16. France
17. Portugal
18. Austria
19. Hungary
20. United States
21. United Kingdom
Source: Unicef
Key points at-a-glance
Much of this, he says, comes from the relationship that Dutch parents have with
their children. And, from the fact that less pressure is put on them at school.
"If you take the percentage of young mothers in the labour force, it's not very
high in comparison to comparable countries," Mr Vangeert told the BBC News
Website. "There is a strong tendency for mothers to raise children or take a
long time off work after children are born."
He says children are used to a "highly protective, highly positive caring
environment."
Children rule
One of the strong points of the Dutch family, he says, is that it is very open
and communicative. Relations are generally good between parents and children
and they can talk about almost anything.
But, he says, the downside is that children almost rule the family.
"It's almost a caricature that children are the ones that decide what happens
within the family," says Mr Vangeert. "Their wishes become so strong that
parents have to work very hard to give them what they want. Sometimes, there
can be a lack of balance between the happiness of the child and that of the
parent."
Relations between Dutch parents and their children are generally good
18-year-old Ysbrand, a student in Helmond near Eindhoven, says this picture
matched his childhood. He says that his parents spent a lot of time with him
when he was younger. His mother stayed at home while his father worked.
But, he said the contrast when you get to 18 can be something of a shock.
"Now I'm left to look after myself," he told the BBC News website. "My parents
say that I need to care for myself and to be independent. It's hard. I don't
have much money as a student and to go out is expensive. Beer, for example, is
very expensive in the Netherlands."
He says that while he has been drinking and smoking for some time, his parents
have never really seen it as a big issue.
"They've never liked it," he says. "But they realise that they were young once.
They are just waiting for me to give it up in my own time."
HAVE YOUR SAY
The UK and the USA are too commercial and market driven
Kenneth Whyte, Oegstgeest, Netherlands
Send us your comments
The Dutch are famous for their liberal attitudes towards drinks, drugs and sex.
"Because parents are more relaxed, the dynamics of the problems are less severe
than in countries where they are seen as more of a serious issue," says Mr
Vangeert.
Laura Vos, a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Amsterdam agrees.
"In this country, it's very free, you can do anything you want," she told the
BBC's Newsnight programme. "You can smoke at 16, you can buy pot in the store
next to the school. You can do what you like and because it's not illegal, it's
not that interesting for us to provoke our parents with it."
REPORT CATEGORIES
Material well-being
Family and peer relationships
Health and safety
Behaviour and risks
Own sense of well-being [educational]
Own sense of well-being [subjective]
Unicef report in full (1.5MB)
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to
download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Download the reader here
Schoolfriend Michell Klimt told the BBC that she thought that teenagers in
other countries had to deal with the type of peer pressure that her friends did
not have to even consider.
"I think in England, for example, there is a lot of pressure on teenagers.
There is something on MTV called Virgin Diaries. Girls of 16 and 17 worry
because they are still virgins. It's like they have to have sex to be cool,"
she says.
"In Holland, it isn't that important - it doesn't matter to anyone."
Rutt Veenhoven, professor of social conditions for human happiness at Erasmus
University in Rotterdam, says he was unsurprised by the report's findings.
"Small affluent countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark are very
democratic and very free. There is also a very good education system. People
can use that freedom and education to make the right choices," he says.
Selma el Maknouzi, a 16-year-old student from The Hague says young people in
the Netherlands have a lot to look forward to.
"I'm very happy with the education here because it's at a very high level," she
told the BBC News website. "Everybody has the chance and the opportunity to do
whatever he or she wants to do. There are many jobs - everyone can work and
there are opportunities to build a good career in later life."
Mr Veenhoven says that the general picture is pretty much in keeping with what
he has seen in samples of the adult population. He says that typically in
Western Europe countries like the Netherlands and Denmark score particularly
well.
"And we know that happy adults raise happy children," he says.
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