children

Following Amsterdam's lead, Utrecht and Rotterdam are launching large-scale checks of municipal buildings for the presence of lead water pipes, the municipalities told NOS.

A third of Dutch children live in a home that is unhealthy in some way, such as being too dark, too damp, too noisy or too cold, according to European figures collected by research agency RAND for Velux. This increases their chance of health problems like asthma, eczema and respiratory diseases, AD reports.

Aldi and Lidl  are going to stop selling energy drinks to young children. From October 1st, kids under the age of 14 will not be able to buy energy drinks from Aldi stores, AD reports.

Aldi was the first supermarket in the Netherlands to announce this measure. The supermarket will ask for proof of identity to check the age when a child tries to buy an energy drink. Aldi will also inform customers about the health risks involved in consuming such drinks.

Over the past five years the proportion of Dutch children who play outside every day decreased from 20 percent to 14 percent, according to research by Jantje Beton, RTL Nieuws reports.

A third of the kids said they'd like to play outside more often, but can't because of "the dullness of play areas", or hobbies and school keeping them too busy. Many kids would also rather watch TV or play games than go play outside. Children who prefer to go outside, mainly do so for cycling and climbing. 

The majority of children under the age of 13 in the Netherlands eat less fruit, vegetables and fish than the Nutrition Center recommends, according to a health survey by Statistics Netherlands in collaboration with the RIVM and the Nutrition Center. In the period between 2014 and 2016 less than four in ten children ate enough fruit, just over four in ten ate enough vegetables, and little more than half ate enough fish.

The health survey is annually conducted among around 1,100 children. Researchers question the kids' parents about the food they eat. 

The National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security Dick Schoof is very concerned about at least 80 children of Dutch jihadists that are growing up in ISIS territory, he said to the Telegraaf on Wednesday. According to him, these kids are at risk of being severely traumatized. And Dutch security forces are seriously concerned that young boys are already a threat to the Netherlands.

On Thursday night a drunk woman crashed her car into a tree on Nieuwstraat in Sint-Michelsgestel. She had two 9-year-old kids in the car with her, Omroep Brabant reports.

When given a breathalyzer, the woman blew 1605 ugl. That's equal to between 10 to 13 glasses of alcohol.

The children in the car were the woman's daughter and an acquaintance's son. According to the police, the kids sustained injuries to their faces and were "properly panicked". 

The woman's license was confiscated and the incident was reported to youth welfare organizations. 

The municipality of Amsterdam is investing 2 million euros into Amsterdam 021 - a program that aims to prepare children for the future by teaching them digital skills like coding and engineering, Het Parool reports.

The program is a collaboration between Amsterdam's public library, the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Pakhuis de Zwijger and Waag Society/Fablab Amsterdam. The program is intended to make sure that no child falls behind in the development of digital and technical skills, which are vital for jobs in the future. 

At least 38 children are staying in a closed institution without a court ruling that they could be there. These children were admitted to the institution based on their own or their parents' decision

Police in the Netherlands launched a campaign on Friday asking parents and children to stop bringing toy guns and fake weaponry onto the streets for their own safety. Authorities say there has been an increase in the number of incidents where officers encounter young people who are carrying toys that look exactly like real firearms.

Children with depressed or anxious parents are between two and six times more likely to be anxious or depressed than children with relaxed parents, according to a study done by psychologist Evin Aktar. He received a PhD from the University of Amsterdam on Wednesday