The Netherlands awoke to a country that has largely come to a stand still on Monday morning. With businesses, schools and daycares largely ordered shut until April 6th, the roads and public transit were very quiet. As a result, both travelers association ANWB and public works department Rijkswaterstaat reported no traffic jams this morning - an unprecedented situation, NU.nl reports.
childcare
Mar 16 '20 09:04
Feb 18 '20 08:30
A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, support a D66 proposal to allow childcare centers to refuse children who have not been vaccinated. "This is very important for children and parents who can in this way make an informed choice," D66 parliamentarian Paul van Meenen said to RTL Nieuws.
Jan 24 '20 10:20
A third of childcare organizations cannot offer extra out-of-school care to parents during the upcoming teachers' strike, because they simply do not have enough staff to manage it, according to a poll by Brancheorganisatie Kinderopvang, NOS reports.
Dec 18 '19 08:00
The Dutch government is implementing a large number of rules, regulations, and law changes at the stroke of midnight on January 1. Below is a summary of changes made in the category Family:
Nov 26 '19 09:37
GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver wants to put an end to the childcare allowance and the problems it causes by giving each child three days of free childcare per week. The childcare allowance system is far too complicated, he said to RTL Nieuws.
"People first pay money to a childcare organization and then get money back from the government. It is one big hassle", Klaver said, adding that there is a simple solution. "We say: make it free. We as government just have to offer it, just like you do with education."
Oct 15 '19 07:35
A D66 proposal to allow childcare organizations to refuse children who have not been vaccinated received support from a majority of Dutch parliamentarians. This is necessary "so you as parents can see where you can safely bring your child", D66 MP Rens Raemakers said, RTL Nieuws reports.
Jul 1 '19 17:40
Parents are too free to decide whether or not to vaccinate their child, an investigative committee on childcare and vaccination said in a report on Monday. Participation in the National Vaccination Program should be made a condition for access to childcare, the committee advises. If this has no effect, the Dutch government should consider a "general vaccination obligation laid down by law", NU.nl reports.
May 1 '19 10:40
Childcare organization Berend Botje will refuse children who have not been vaccinated against mumps, measles and rubella. The Noord-Holland organization, which looks after over 3 thousand children, will also send un-vaccinated children who are already in its care away. According to the sector organization for childcare, over a hundred daycare centers already refuse unvaccinated children, but Berend Botje is the first to send existing customers away, NOS reports.
Feb 8 '19 12:50
The average time parents have to wait for a childcare spot to open up for their child increased from 6 months to a year in the last 18 months. The sector attributes the increase to difficulty finding staff, and stricter rules that were implemented in January. For example, there must now be one childcare worker per three babies, instead of four, NOS reports.
Dec 28 '18 17:00
The Dutch government is implementing a number of law changes on January 1st. Below find a summary of changes made in the category Family.
The government set aside 248 million euros to increase childcare allowance next year. More information about what percentage of your child's childcare costs you can have compensated, can be found here.
Sep 24 '18 11:05
The company that produces Stint cargo vehicles announced it plans to inspect all 3,500 units currently on roadways after a fatal accident last week left four children dead. The accident took place in Oss, when a Stint belonging to a daycare operator crossed onto railroad tracks and was struck by an oncoming train.
A fifth child and the adult operator of the vehicle were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Sep 24 '18 11:05
The company that produces Stint cargo vehicles announced it plans to inspect all 3,500 units currently on roadways after a fatal accident last week left four children dead. The accident took place in Oss, when a Stint belonging to a daycare operator crossed onto railroad tracks and was struck by an oncoming train.
A fifth child and the adult operator of the vehicle were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Sep 21 '18 08:34
Multiple childcare organizations stopped using their Stint cargo bikes to transport kids following a fatal railway accident involving such a vehicle in Oss on Thursday morning. Four children between the ages of 4 and 8 were killed. An 11-year-old girl and a 32-year-old woman were seriously injured. The injured child and two of the other victims were sisters, according to the police.
Aug 28 '18 09:50
Forty percent of parents think that childcare is too expensive, according to a survey by social and cultural planning office SCP. What Dutch parents want is good, but above all affordable childcare, the researchers conclude, ANP reports.
The SCP researchers surveyed 1,800 parents of babies and toddlers. They found that many parents do not send their child to childcare because they find it too expensive. According to the SCP, those parents may not know exactly how expensive childcare really is and therefore have a distorted mage of the costs.
Aug 24 '18 08:49
The Dutch government will re-examine whether it is possible to allow daycare centers to refuse children who haven't been vaccinated. A parliamentary majority, led by the three largest government parties, supports this, RTL Nieuws reports.
"Childcare must be a safe place. I understand the concerns about decreasing vaccination, that also affects childcare", State Secretary Tamara van Ark of Social Affairs said on Twitter. "That is why I want to investigate possibilities for organizations to refuse childcare for non-vaccinated children."
Apr 18 '18 13:50
Bart C., a 28-year-old former pedagogical employee for childcare institution Patrou, sexually abused children at an after school care in De Bilt to indulge his fetish, he said in court on Tuesday. He said that he regrets that he abused the children for his fantasies, NU.nl reports.
Jun 8 '17 09:40
For the first time in years the number of kids attending childcare institutions in the Netherlands is increasing. But childcare institutions themselves are still worried. They fear that a new law with stricter requirements will lead to a new wave of bankruptcies, Saskia Speelman of the interest group for the childcare sector said to AD.
Last year the government paid childcare allowance for 823 thousand kids, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Thursday. That is a massive increase compared to the 764 thousand kids who attended childcare in 2015.
Nov 22 '16 08:57
Public health service GGD is concerned about the quality of more than half of the nurseries, kindergartens and after-school cares in the Netherlands. They have problems ranging from security standards not being in order, not enough carers or serious complaints. Child care in poor neighborhoods are worse off than in the richer neighborhoods, the Volkskrant reports based on its own investigation into 3 thousand establisments.
Aug 22 '16 16:10
Three quarters of Dutch children under the age of three years attended some form of daycare in 2014, thereby putting the Netherlands at the head of Europe with most toddlers in daycare, Statistics Netherlands reports.
Jun 10 '16 11:45
For the first time since 2012 the number of children attending daycare in the Netherlands increased. According to Statistics Netherlands, 767 thousand children went to a daycare, childminder or after school care last year, an increase of 12 thousand compared to 2014.
May 23 '16 10:38
A group of parents and parents' organization BOinK want child care directors to be legally prosecuted if the knowingly fail to comply with safety standards. They are therefore pressing charges against Amsterdam creche 24/7 Kids this week in the hopes of setting a precedent for childcare
Nov 20 '15 08:44
Thousands of refugee children in the Netherlands have little access to childcare and education. They also often have to move from one shelter to another more than once. All of these factors have a negative impact on their development.
Sep 15 '15 16:49
The Netherlands is emerging from the crisis stronger. Things are going better than expected, but still not good enough, according to Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem while presenting the Budget Memorandum to the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament. As per tradition, Dijsselbloem presented the Budget in the same briefcase his predecessor Lieftinck used to present the budget in 1946 after World War II. Dijsselbloem called the briefcase "a small symbol of recovery".
Sep 9 '15 15:45
All parties in the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, are delighted that the government has earmarked more money for childcare. The government can therefore count on broad parliamentary support for the increased child care allowance.
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