# Dutch Kids Must Be Paid For Chores?



## Inspector (Nov 13, 2006)

Many of you know that Amsterdam is a city that has a reputation for being wide open with free flowing sex and drugs. This may be the reason. Check out the following report by Isabel Conway from today's IRISH INDEPENDENT:


"LET them be free" is the golden rule for child-rearing in the Netherlands. No wonder Dutch kids have been rated Europe's most fortunate by some.

From a tender age their opinions are valued, their wishes respected. There is no homework assigned until they enter their last year in prep school and even then there is a limit of an hour at most.

Few Dutch children have chores to do at home, and those over the age of 12 may soon be able to claim an allowance, according to a proposed Bill of Rights, in return for 'legitimate' labour such as cleaning their rooms.

The saying "let children be children for as long as possible" rings true; Dutch society tends to encourage its infants to explore and experience whatever they please, offering maximum freedom and minimum responsibility.

Some would argue that it has turned a whole generation of youngsters into spoiled, undisciplined, pampered brats. Others say family relationships are generally open and good and that children are happy and well adjusted, as is borne out by the UNICEF survey.

Gerrit Breeusma, head of development psychology at the University of Groningen, said: "You could almost say that we Dutch invented the child centred society."

INSPECTORS NOTE:This report is added to the above when it was too late to change the headline:

In a report from Reuters released today Britain is the worst country in the industrialised world in which to be a child, closely followed by the United States, the United Nations Children's Fund said on Wednesday.

The UNICEF charity looked at 40 indicators to gauge the lives of children in 21 economically advanced nations -- the first study of its kind -- and found Britain's children were among the poorest and mostneglected.
Britain lagged behind on key measures of poverty and deprivation, happiness, relationships, and risky or bad behaviour, the study showed.

It scored better for health and safety of children but languished in the bottom third for all other measures, giving it the lowest overall placing, just below the United States.

The United States was ranked worst for health and safety and only Britain scored lower for relationships and risky or bad behaviour. The highest ranking for the United States was for education where it was ranked 12th out of the 21 countries surveyed.


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