Health

Nearly half of Dutch children between the ages of 4 and 12 years did not get enough exercise last year, according to figures Statistics Netherlands and public health institute RIVM released on Friday. According to the Health Council's movement guidelines, kids in this age group must get "moderately intense" exercise, like walking, cycling or playing outside at least 1 hour per day.

Serious Request star Tijn, a terminally ill boy who raised over a million euros for the Red Cross with his nail polish fundraiser, now has his own monument in the Red Cross' new office in The Hague. The 6-year-old boy is commemorated with a wall full of nail polishes. Tijn's parents and brother officially opened the monument by placing the last three bottles of nail polish on Tuesday, almost a year after Tijn's death, NOS reports.

The number of children in locked youth care institutions in the Netherlands increased by 8 percent to a record number of 2,710 last year. Experts express great concerns about this in a report by UNICEF and Defense For Children. There is a lot wrong with caring for vulnerable children in the Netherlands, the experts said, RTL Nieuws reports.

An 86-year-old woman was rescued from her home in Eindhoven on Saturday night after being stuck in a floor duct for nine hours. She slipped while cleaning and got her shoulder stuck in the duct, a kind of radiator in the floor, her daughter told Omroep Brabant.

Neighbors went to check on the elderly woman after not seeing or hearing from her for a few hours. They found the woman stuck. The fire brigade came to rescue her.

A fire broke out in a residential care center in the Utrecht town of Doorn on Wednesday night. At least 60 residents were evacuated. The fire itself was relatively easy to get under control, but it caused a lot of smoke, ANP reports.

As a precaution, various fire brigade units and a total of 14 ambulances responded to the scene. One person was taken to the hospital for examination. Some of the evacuated residents had to spend the night elsewhere. They were accommodated elsewhere in the building or with family, the local safety office said to the news wire.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are grateful for all the expressions of support and sympathy they received after the death of Maxima's sister Inés Zorreguieta, the Dutch King said upon arrival in Riga on Sunday evening. On Monday morning the King starts his state visits to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Telegraaf reports.

Those in the Netherlands who are suffering from depression or contemplating suicide may call counselors at Sensoor, 0900-0767 (5 ct./min.), or call their volunteers at a local number. A list of suicide crisis hotlines outside the Netherlands is available on Wikipedia.

Nearly 30 percent of doctors, medical students and medical interns in the Netherlands have faced sexual harassment during their work, according to a #MeToo survey by Medisch Contact and Arts in Spe. The majority of them are women, RTL Nieuws reports.

Tablet and smartphone use can lead to nearsightedness among children, according to a study by Erasmus MC. The researchers monitored 1,000 Rotterdam children for years. At age 13 a quarter of them were near sighted, compared to 2.5 percent at age 6, RTL Nieuws reports.

Eyesight problems therefore increased over the years. Smartphones and tablets may be behind it, the researchers believe. The researchers assume that similar figures apply to children in the rest of the Netherlands. Looking at nearby objects for prolonged periods is bad for the eyes. 

Children and young people whose parents have problems want quicker action when things go wrong at home, according to the Netherlands Ombudsman for Children Margrite Kalverboer. The children also want aid providers to include them when it is decided what aid is needed, she said, ANP reports.

The family of footballer Abdelhak Nouri, who sustained severe brain damage after collapsing during a practice match last year, is holding Ajax responsible for what happened to him. The family is stepping to the KNVB arbitration committee, because Ajax refuses to accept any liability for the brain damage Nouri sustained, the family's lawyer said, NOS reports.