My mom never brought me too school in a car. Rain, storm or snow it didn't matter, we were not made out of sugar she said. If i had a flat tire i had to repair it myself. Now she was happy to teach me but if i didn't do it she said i could just walk to school. It was al a part of Growing up and now years later i am so thankful for it.
I'm American, but my grandfather used to say that to me lol (he was from Amsterdam). I don't speak much Dutch, but I remember "Je bent toch niet van suiker?" haha
This is a great video. I think we might discover that the biggest benefit from building a cycle network in America is not climate change, not cost savings, not even physical health (though it will help all of those things) but the mental well-being of our kids.
Being born and raised in the Netherlands, I never thought about it this way. You just take the bike riding for granted. But it is true, I can't remember that my parents brought me to football practice although it was like 5km riding a bike. You went with friends, it was normal. Even at early night in the winter when it was dark it was safe to do. I now raise my kids to do the same.
I agree, I also raised in the Netherlands and riding bikes since i can remember (i am 55 now), so for me nothing special, just educated by my parents. We did everything by bike, go to school, sports and visiting friends and family. Many times as a aprox. 10 year old kid I was going for a weekend stay at my grandparents by bike, 25 km away from home. The only thing i had to do was give a phonecall to my parents when i arrived. Thanks for sharing
I remember how exhausted I was when I first had to ride to school for 12 kilometers twice a day, but after a month my body adjusted to it and it didn't exhaust me any longer and only later on I realised it made me tough as nails and now I am almost 50 and I still benefit from it.
When kids cycle a lot, first with their parents, later with friends, to go to sports, school, hobby etc. Those ten kilometres to high school are no problem at all, it's a half hour ride and they can chat with schoolmates on their way. Usually they gather at a meeting point and go on together. They make friends while cycling, get to know others interests and plan to do things together. Most of the time the weather is good for cycling, sometimes excellent, and a few times it rains. On the way back home they can wait at school till the rain gets less. It only rains 800 mm a year spread over the entire year and most of it in the evening and night, chance to get wet are actually low. Snow is rare, and lasts for only a few weeks, sometimes only days. It makes the Netherlands green with lots of wild flowers, so a little bit of cycling becomes a joy, not a burden.
I love how parents cycle with one hand on the child's shoulder from an early age. They are getting so much guidance early on that it is not wonder they can start cycling independently so young!
I know about American expat family that had lived in the Netherlands for years and moved back to the US. Their young sons hated the fact that they had to be driven by car anywhere, instead of hopping on their bikes to go to school, seeing friends, etc. The youngest one even got a major depression that was so severe, he needed counseling. Their parents had to get used to make a scedule for taking them around. Before I heard about that, I had no idea about the quality of life we and specially children enjoy in our tiny bike country.
I imagine we would also feel the same if we moved back to Australia 🇦🇺 Our kids love the freedoms here though the weather over the last couple of weeks has not been the best 😀
Great video. More people need to realize what their kids are missing out on when raising their kids in car dependency. And it makes parent's lives better too not losing so much time to being taxi drivers!
Totally agree. We could see that our future in a car based society was going to be taxiing our kids around the place. It takes so much pressure off parents when kids can do it themselves. It is also so much better for child development!
@@babyonabike And kids can have several 'things outside school', while one goes to sports the other can go to music school, and the following day one can go to hobby, while the other goes to a friends house. While the parents are free to do other things, or stay at home to read a book. And it takes some pressure away if a kid wants to change sports or hobby, parents do not have to re-schedule their entire week.
I really enjoy watching videos about life in the Netherlands because the "cyclist" is not treated as a threat, but rather as something commonplace. When I ride my bike for transport in Toronto, ON, Canada, I get bullied by drivers at least once during each trip, so it's amazing to see a place where cycling for transport is just the norm. So inspiring.
Hey! Glad you are enjoying them. I had the same experience where I grew up in Sydney, Australia. We moved to the Netherlands a couple of years ago and have been loving the cycling lifestyle!
Most kids start at the age of 4.. Then They wear helmet and parents ride next to them. At the age of 7-9 They start ride by them self. The cycle test at school almost always always got a tour round the area with traffic watchers making sure They follow the right path...and do All whats needed the right way.
I remember as a kid, unsure the age, maybe 12, our teachers said we would go on a vacation by bike. (In the 1980's, no one knew of an e-bike by then) The ride was 25km, we stopped halfway, yes we cycled slowly and yes the teacher said if we could not make it there were car backup and stuff. Basically almost untrained kids. But in the end we all pushed on.
My son is still 4 years old and hé already cycle by himself to school with me behind me of course! I love the bike life here and soo happy of the life we made on a bike!
I love being on a long holiday abroad but every last week I start missing my bike. So the first thing I do after getting home is jump on my bike to do my Dutch things such as going to the supermarket, town centre, visiting friends, etc. I cycle 15km to work and back 3 times a week in all types of weather, except when it's slippery in winter. Then I have to take the bus which I almost hate cos then I get to work with a kind of 'foggy' mind. I don't even own a car and hardly ever miss it. For long distances I prefer to take the train and if possible rent a bike to get to my final destination.
It's interesting how people in America and many other countries seem to think the car is the ultimate symbol of freedom. That having a car allows anyone to go anywhere. And an often heard complaint when talking about cycling is then: but what about old and disabled people? They can't all ride bikes. A car is much better. But when it comes down to it, the barrier for entry for cars is much higher than it is for bikes. Children can't drive cars, many elderly can't drive cars, some disabled people (for instance visually disabled people) can't drive cars and poorer people often can't realistically afford to drive cars. Most of them would be much better off with good cycling opportunities, especially when combined with good public transport. And of course there are people who simply don't want to drive a car. I personally have my driver's license and have driven a lot. But I don't like it. It gives me anxiety and I'd rather not do it at all. I am happy to be able to live without a car.
Cycling helps you to keep in shape, especially when you get older. Dutch people ride their bike even in their seventies. (or in their eighties like my grandma did)
Great comments. Totally agree. The car is a symbol of freedom but even in the Netherlands I regularly ride past long lines of cars stuck in traffic. I am rarely held up on the bicycle. It is the infrastructure that is the key to it all and the major reason we moved from Australia to the Netherlands.
@@Tjeerd013 My grandfather was cycling until he passed away at 94. He always said; it's the only thing they can't take away from me. He had a thing for bikes, both his little sisters were bike messengers during WW2. He prepared their bikes so he knew they would be ok.
@@helena19741 My grandma was a tough cookie. At the age of 80 she went to the hospital for her yearly check up by her cardiologist. The doctor wanted her to stay under surveillance because of heart rhythm disorder. She asked if it was OK to go home to collect some stuff. The doctor had no problems with that. What he didn't know was that my grandma went to the hospital by bike from the village nearby, a ride of 6 km. When he later heard she rode 18 km that day he went mad. My father also because he didn't even know she had an appointment.😃
When i was young (29 years ago when i was 12) i had to go to school on my bike, but there wasn't a school for me where i lived, so i had to go on my bike every day 19km to school and 19km back to home every day. In rain, snow, wind, storm... you just go, because you are not made of sugar... Luckily my son (almost 11) got that same attitude and loves to go on his bicycle to go everywhere :)
Zo is het maar net! Goeie video. I really hope the rest of the world will learn to understand the great benefits of having a good cycling infrastructure and culture.
Thing is, here in the Netherlands we have it quite easy without the elevation so the terrain makes for an opportunity. I'd love to see the world transform but I don't think it's feasible everywhere.
@@VochtigePizza Cities like Paris, Berlin, Brussels, London, Dublin etc. are as flat as Amsterdam. And for more hilly places e-bikes or well trained people would be a good solution.
Very interesting, thank you. When i was a kid in the us in the 70's, we would ride our bikes all over the neighborhoods in which we lived. Ironically though as we got older as teenagers, it was seen as very "uncool" to ride a bike, everyone dreamed of having a car, but few kids did, and lobbied their parents all the time to use the family car, of which there was one or more often two. And spent a lot of time immobilized at home for lack of a car. I look back on it now with a sense of sadness. The whole city in which i lived was right there at my fingertips, could have easily roamed far and wide on a bike, would have made a big difference in life. We literally lived less than a mile from supermarkets, library, shopping centers, schools, etc., but no one at that time (and now) would have even dreamed of walking or riding a half mile to pick up some groceries. I'm making up for it now, have been car free for many years, and don't regret it a bit, even when commuting at -15 C :)
I fully agree with you. I am just happy that my teenage daughters can go anywhere alone and also practical that parents don't need to take off for dental check ups,frequent orthodontist check ups at the time they have a dental brace, things like that. My 16 yrs old daughter goes since she is 15 by bike to her spare time job at mc Donalds .Having a part time job is also something that I encourage in order to learn to safe money and to learn the value of money. Indeed my children were also at the age 9 cycling alone to sports, their friends houses and to the swimmingpool in the nearest town, to the cinema with their friends. I find this indepenency very important in the life of children in order to be independent as an adult but also important for their self esteem that you don't need to rely on others. If they didn't had this experience by bike then I wouldn't dare my children going alone to travel by train all over the Netherlands. They go by train all over the Netherlands for only 7,50 euro a day (12- 18). They have been alone by train in all the cities , they love traveling so much and coming home with a lot of nice things to tell. I notice that this independency to go wherever you want is a huge part of their happiness and it even makes them feeling so happy to go back home after a holiday by plane.
I remember how tough the first moments were needing to cycle 12km up/down to school when I was 11 years old. When I was a few years older I had a girlfriend in a nearby village and also cycled there. At that time digital speedometers were just invented and I installed one, only to discover I was cycling over 10000km a year! I do have a car now, but cycle to work, and my bike does more kilometers a year than my car does.
yep, 2x15 kilometers every schoolday when i was young, summer and winter. My two girls about 16 km each schoolday, back and forth. I'm 63 now and bike (non-electric) about 80 to 150 km a week, grocery shopping, visiting friends and family, or just shooting the breeze. I do have a car far longer distances and weekends/holliday. But i prefer the bike. Thinking of buying a cargo/kids bike (grandkids on the way), one of these Urban Arrows electric.
I used to cycle to school each day, about 12 km single trip. Now I am working 24 km from home and I still take my bike (speedpedelec). Way better than taking the car!
The cyclist union (fietsersbond) actually had to fight for the cycle lane through the Rijksmuseum. And if you live in North/South-Holland then 10km to and from school is pretty far imo. It was definetely expected that you had a bike to cycle to either sporting facilities or some other excursion location.
Perhaps in Zuid- Holland, but I know plenty of people from my old high school (in Noord- Holland) that had to cycle more than 10 kms one way. I had to cycle roughly 13 kms (return). If you're located nearby a big city, then yes it's probably less, but quite a big part of my high school had to cycle 10 kms.
@@babyonabike The Rijksmuseum was once build as a city gate, with all kind of traffic going through. But in 1880 there were not many cars. Later when cars and trucks took over, the passage became a burden and motorized traffic was lead around the museum, keeping it open for pedestrians, bicycles and light motorized mopeds. Now everything with a combustion motor is banned.
I'm in (South) Australia, and once you actually live here but being brought up in Holland (bicycle and all), you really will notice the difference. Currently, summer holiday here and you basically see no kids around anywhere, it's really sad. They call this the lucky country for whatever reason, don't really know why
Hey. I have family in South Australia! It must be such a contrast for you! I love seeing all the kids out and about on the streets here in the Netherlands - not so common in Oz!
@@blinkybillist What do you mean by 'watch out for those men' ? In Belgium, after the Dutroux murders (a pedophile who kidnapped girls and hid them in his cellar and killed a few of them), most parents kept their children indoors
Let's be honest, lot more people use their bikes during the spring& summer months, then they do in the winter. Kids are resilient, and it's good for them to grow up not being bothered by a bit of rain. I remember going to school on my bike in the rain, while my parents took the car to work ! 😅. It's not like everyone takes a bike always , no matter what . It's just an added option.
Good points - compared to my Australian experience I find it quite impressive the number of people still cycling in bad weather. I also do notice that the bike racks at my kids school are quite empty on really wet days. My own kids have no choice but to ride as we don't own a car :)
@@babyonabike I don't own a car anymore either. I'm not as ummm...I guess' motivated ' is the word i'm looking for . But i dumped the car years ago , so i have to take the bike more often , and thus have my daily exercise, instead of taking the car to the fitness club ;). Anyway, nice videos guys !
I did almost always take the bike to highschool wich was a 12 km ride one way. My mother always gave us a monthly bus ticket for the normal public transport busses, but me and my younger brother rairly used the bus because it was a very busy line and when it was raining the smell was bad and the busses where even more full then with dry weather.
I was the odd one out. I only have one fully functioning balance organ (don't know the the name for it anymore). Fortunatly i lived in the same street as me school was so it wasn't to bad. I could sort of stay on a bike but wasn't proficient on it. At the age of 9 and we moved lets just say i had a lot of scraps and bruises before i really got the hang of it. Me parents put me up to gymnastic and ballet to artificial train me (wich isn't that much fun being a boy at that age) wich is why i quit after i could ride me bike. I was gratefull later in life because it also trained me into a unshamefull gracefull dancer wich impressed the girls a lot when that started to be a thing 😎.
Lol, early 80's I'd be cycling to school and back, regardless the weather, no excuses. As of these days, there is a school traffic exam route through our street, so once a year I witness these tense , concentrated faces of kids cycling past in order to pass the exam .. In NL we have a great (emphasis on GREAT) cycling infrastructure. At age 58, one or more times a week I cycle to and from my job, adding 50 km in cycling a day, all due to a skill learned at age 13 way back then ...
Great video. I started biking a lot at 12 and at 17, made a cycle trip with a friend for 1000km in 8 days, full package for camping on the bike. I did no training before, because I rode my bike every day for at least 20km. When I got in love with my girlfriend. I picked her up by bike 7km from home, and delivered her home. With school km, that's 48km a day 10+10+7+7+7+7). When I stopped cycling that much, I gained 10kg in a year 🤔. So cycling is also great for preventing kids becoming fat and unhealthy.
@@babyonabike thanks. The trip was even to Luxembourg. So even outside the country. Ik was quite a surprise to find out that outside NL, the bikinglanes disappeared 🤔
@@babyonabike When I was 17 i also made a bike trip with a few mates. We went from the middle of the Netherlands, heading South, through Belgium and then into France, without a great plan (staying at camping sites) maybe a little tour in France, or back through Germany. Instead , after 3 days we decided to head back to Maastricht and stay there the rest of the week, because we hated the cycling on French roads and (ok I guess another reason was there was nothing to do for 17 year old boys) We did 110km on one day to get back.
Very true, when i was a kid i had to go trough the same exams and cycling lessons, and going to school everyday by bike. Children here have all the independence here, kids after school go to malls or Mac Donalds, or whatever the food they eat and they go to a park somewhere and eat their lunch and doing TikTok stuff. Whatever the youngsters do these days. But the point is, nobody is betting an eye on these kids, and we don't have to..
A lot of Dutch reactions (of course). I would however put the question differntly: why you would want to cycle in any country, when you have seen the Dutch solution.
My kids (13 and 17) cycle everywhere and are really upset when they can’t go by themselves, for instance when it is really late at night or if we are somewhere on holiday.
when a kid has to make it home in time instead of getting picked up. and tons of other small things make the kids so much more mature on an early age because you already made all the mistakes in the book when you are young
Just so you know, even with permission it's not automatically allowed to use kids in a clip. Normally you should blur them out. I'm not entirely sure on the exact law, but the EU decided to protect children from being recognizably portrayed in public spaces. I'm sure it's not a problem in any way, but just take notion of it. 😊
@@babyonabike I agree it is more enjoyable not to have to worry about cars while riding. That said... cars are a part of bike riding regardless of what country you ride in. I average 6K miles a year on bike and traffic doesn't affect the majority of that. What I don't have to do is ride a bike because that's the only transportation I can afford what with buying and maintaining a vehicle, parking, gas, and the fact that the area I live in can't support cars and trucks well. Stay safe.
A car requires a lot of money for fuel / gas. A bike gets 25 KM a hamburger. 🚲 Een auto heeft veel geld nodig voor brandstof/gas. Een fiets krijgt een burger 25 KM. 🚲
Why would you want to homeschool when you have free school choice,(no catchment areas) there are great schools available & they're free? Anyways, the Netherlands is not Germany.(recurring Dutch thing to say!) So the rules surrounding homeschooling are more lax than there. To homeschool you have to say so before your child turns 5 years old & they cannot have been in school already. You can homeschool if you belong to a certain religion & there's no school with that particular religious signature available in your immediate area. For instance, say you're a calvinist, but you live in an area with only catholic & neutral schools. Flanders, Belgium is even more lax than that. Just say you wish to homeschool & that's it. But seriously, i've got the following primary schools close by; a neutral Dalton, a catholic Jenaplan, a neutral Montessori, a Vrije School(Steiner/Waldorf), a protestant Dalton, a neutral Jenaplan, loads of different neutral, protestant, catholic & even a muslim school. All funded by the government & no catchment area, so you're free to chose.
You have to take a proper exam: theory and practice (in the streets): mostly in april you can tell by signs on the roads. It is not just the funny part at the school playground you showed at 1 minute, or maybe your kids are still too young, bc you have them at the end of primary school. 10 km is not that much, really isn't.
Kerel, I was born in NL and have never lived abroad. And even with all the cycling infrastructure. I will take a car to where ever I want and whenever I want. I've been watching some of your vids and you sound like the PragerU guy saying he spent his whole life being a commy shill to become a franco shill.
You forget one major benefit for the children,physical benefit!Children in the Netherlands are not as fat as for instance american kids or adults for that matter!They are self assured on a young age!You dont have to tell them how to get to school..Or back home!
😂😂😂till you really have to do it you enter hell😅 But 1 thing is a fact you can easy check your email WhatsApp tik tok ect when your waiting for a red light 😂😂
Why you don't want to ride a bike in the Netherlands : 1) there are too many cyclists, especially in Amsterdam, so it gets dangerous 2) most fellow cyclists don't follow the traffic rules 3) if you have a 45 km/u ebike (speedbike) you are obliged to drive on the street amidst the cars (contrary to Belgium where you can choose to ride on the street or the bike lane).
@@Linda-hs1lk 1) de meeste ongevallen met fietsers gebeuren door andere fietsers of voetgangers, niet door auto's. 2) je moet maar eens in Antwerpen komen kijken hoeveel fietsers het rode licht negeren of zonder licht rijden 3) Ik woon in Belgie en zou niet met n speedbike van 45 km/u tussen de auto's willen rijden. Btw ik heb 2 ebikes en 2 gewone fietsen, ik weet dus wel waarover ik praat. De fietsinfrastructuur in Nederland is wel goed.
I live in Amsterdam and this is complete nonsense. It only gets dangerous during rush hour. Yes, during the rest of the day there are many cyclists but it is far from dangerous! The most dangerous countries (for traffic) are Greece, Belgium and Portugal.
1) cycling isn't dangerous 2) not following the rules happens, but is not fatal 3) ebikes, scooters, canta's and other 45km/hr vehicles drive around just fine here. Just stop with the nonsense.
@@babyonabike we have a large number of olympic and world champions in any sport,for the size of our population, but sport crazy Aussies have that too, so I don;t know if we can take the biking youth as a factor.
There are, and their numbers are still growing. Many/most people bike for local trips but don't have the condition/have no time/are too lazy to travel konger distances by bike. Or their destination is not or difficult to reach by public transport. Then the car is still a solution. Also gives freedom.
@@babyonabike as a small kid of 4, cycling started with a bike custum made pedals by my dad with on both sides wooden blocks fitted , which were later removed as I grew taller. Now at 72 and 78 y., still cycling on normal bike ( not an e-bike, because that is for the old people according to my wife .....LOL )
Freedom comes from having choices. When you are forced into using a car because there are no viable alternatives for travelling, your freedom is already gone.
Those same kids that you praise being on the bike in groups to school back and forth, are the same kids being a blockage to grownups on bikes. Frequently. It''s annoying and dangerous to bypass these "don't care" kids, as some are also not raised in manners. With each passing generation being raised as a princes doesn't help either in building up a sense of awareness of one's surroundings in traffic. It's a parental thing and not likely going to change anytime soon. So yes, dedicated bike lanes are nice, but seeing kids in a rows blocking passage systematically takes away the "nice" experience, especially during peak commuting times. That same bike lane is also used by a very large working class adult community.
@@Dutchcomentatah Are you one of those pubers blocking the roads with 3 or4 in a row or perhaps their don't care princes raising parents? What you describe as zuur results in many accident, I see it constantly first hand. Btw, I am happy to have you triggered your meaningless dutch vocabulary. Everything is in English these days, better get used to it. And one more thing: it's considered narcissistic to thumb up your own comments. By principle, I don't interact with your types, hence blocking your replies.
