Children and young people can best grow up in the Netherlands. Unicef draws this conclusion in a study of the well-being of children up to the age of 18 in the 41 most prosperous countries. The Netherlands comes first, followed by Denmark and Norway.
The UN children’s rights organization researched children’s mental and physical health and also looked at their social and academic skills. In most countries, just under 80 percent are satisfied with their lives. Children in the Netherlands are the most satisfied. Mexico and Romania finish in second and third place. In Turkey, children are the least satisfied with 53 percent.
Overweight and obesity are major problems, Unicef warns. A quarter of Dutch children are overweight. Worldwide, one in three children between the ages of 5 and 19 is overweight or obese.
Schooldruk
According to the children’s rights organization, there is also pressure to perform at schools in the Netherlands. “We know from recent research that Dutch young people experience the most stress due to school pressure,” says Suzanne Laszlo, director of Unicef Netherlands. “As that pressure increases, young people experience more emotional problems and less life satisfaction.”
The corona crisis comes on top of that. “Children and young people are mentally affected by the corona pandemic,” says Laszlo. UNICEF therefore calls on governments worldwide not to lose sight of children when making decisions about corona measures.
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