Suzanne's Mom's Blog

A great deal of thought has been given to what makes for a happy childhood. Some studies even aim to show which countries have the happiest children.

In the Netherlands, a uniquely Dutch evening ritual may have something to do with overall contentment.

Hannah Docter-Loeb writes at the Guardian, “I shouldn’t have been surprised that the rain didn’t stop the Dutch kids. All day it had been thunderstorming, and the forecast didn’t look so great for the evening. And yet at 5pm, hundreds of kids started arriving – many by bike – with their parents to Amsterdam’s Westerpark, a beloved city park that caters to a more residential area of the capital. Today, it functions as a starting point: volunteers coordinate registration, and groups of children gather, decked out in raincoats and eager to embark on either a 5km or a 10km excursion around the surrounding neighborhoods.

“It’s the second night of Avondvierdaagse (which literally means ‘four-day evening walk’), organized by a group of neighborhood volunteers. It’s not a race, but if children complete every night, they get medals, a bouquet of flowers and, if they’re lucky, a lot of sweets.

“It’s not just Amsterdam; across villages, towns and cities in the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands of Dutch people are doing the same: every year, kids spend four evenings in early summer exploring their neighborhoods with their school friends and parents as part of the Week van de Avond4daagse. … There are also four-day cycling and swimming events. According to the Royal Dutch Walking Association (KWbN), which helps coordinate the events, half a million people take part every year, in 700 locations across the country, powered by tens of thousands of volunteers.

” ‘The event is just so Dutch – they don’t have this really anywhere else,’ says fellow volunteer Judith van Oudheusden as we cycle from one checkpoint to another to catch the wave of kids at another part of the route. We are responsible for stamping cards to confirm they have completed this part of today’s 10km walk. A full card means they can get their medal on the last day, a feat many are determined to accomplish. … Van Oudheusden participated in the activity as a child, she says, and then walked with her own children when they were younger. Volunteering is a full circle moment for her.

“Avondvierdaagse originated from military ideology, explains Inger Leemans, professor of cultural history at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The first march was held in 1909 in Nijmegen as a military training event. But when the second world war broke out, different towns started to organize their own walks for soldiers. After the war, citizens were invited to walk along with them: the four-day marches in Nijmegen grew into an immensely popular event where tens of thousands of soldiers and citizens walked in solidarity.

“Aimed at older crowds, this is now the largest walking event in the world, with 45,000 participants from more than 80 countries, walking the same 30km, 40km and 50km routes each year. According to Arno van Gemert, a team leader for programs and projects at KWbN, the Avondvierdaagse is … mainly aimed at primary school children and their parents. …

“Most people now see it as a national event, comparable to other festivities such as King’s Day, a national holiday to celebrate the Dutch monarch’s birthday, involving street parties, flea markets, and lots of orange apparel. Avondvierdaagse even has its own traditional delicacy: half an orange, topped with a white Wilhelmina peppermint and wrapped in a piece of muslin, for kids to suck on as they walk. …

“While the original walks were not necessarily to promote exercise, Avondvierdaagse has become a way to motivate kids to enjoy being outside and moving their bodies. ‘It’s important that children are physically active and can develop their motor skills from a young age,’ explains Sanne de Vries, professor of physical activity in childhood at Leiden University Medical Center. Encouraging children to go through the whole week of walking – rain or shine – and rewarding them at the end can help build a positive association with physical activity. ‘Positive emotion that sticks is important.’

“It also helps build resilience. ‘It’s been presented to them as a big challenge because it’s 5km and it sounds super hard,’ says Fernanda Gomes, 44, who is walking the shorter route with her seven-year-old daughter, Alicia. … ‘Even if it’s raining, they do it and the message behind it is very great for the children.’

“Dutch kids are consistently judged to be some of the happiest in the world. This year, a Unicef report again ranked them number one out of 44 western countries for overall wellbeing, and for mental health. Rich social relations were cited as a key factor. Research has shown that Dutch children have strong connections with their peers. In addition, many Dutch parents work part-time, so have more time to spend with their children. Children also have increased independence: parents let their kids roam more freely, and many start young.”

More at the Guardian, here.