A Letter from Middelburg

A letter from our correspondent Mrs.Motoko Doornbos-Takeda　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Giving Birth in the Netherlands　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Mrs. Motoko Doornbos-Takeda

In the Netherlands, many women continue working even though marry or give birth. Actually, there are many women who have part-time jobs three or four days a week. In this country, working conditions for these part times are guaranteed. Even if the job description is the same, it is not the case that just because one is a part-timer they receive discriminatory treatment compared to regular employees in regards to wages or holidays. Consequently, these preschool children are entrusted to day care centers called "crche" for a least a few days a week while they work. Through the entire working day, these day care centers take care of children from newborns to four year olds. The day care fees are pretty high at fifty euros a day, but in most cases the government or the company provides support for dual-income households and students. Aside from this, there are toddler classes where two to four year old children can play twice a week for two and a half hours in the morning or afternoon. Depending on the household income, class fees differ, however when compared to the day care center fees, these fees are considerably cheaper. I came to the Netherlands 7 years ago, and am raising my two sons (aged 4 years 8 months and 1 year 7 months) here. In this article, I would like to tell you about what it was like to give birth in this country.

 The aim of the toddler class is that preschool children, while playing with others of the same age, will learn the basics of communal living. Since many children go to these day care centers in the Netherlands, there is rarely the familiar scene, such as in Japan, of parents chatting and watching over their small children as they play in the park. Therefore, it is important that children get a chance to play with other children, and it seems the parents are also very thankful that they have some free time while their children are kept busy.
 When children turn four, they enter school. Compulsory education in the Netherlands is from five years old, but really almost all the children go to elementary school at four years of age. Because the moment a child turns four they enter school, each student's entrance day is different respectively, and there aren't any entrance ceremonies like there are in Japan.
 Our eldest son had his fourth birthday last year and the next day he started elementary school. The entire school consists of a hundred and twenty students ranging from four to twelve years old spread across eight grades. The four to five year old class has thirty students; however the lowest age in this class starts from students who just turned four until seven years old. The reason for this is that even if a child turns six, if they do not have adequate grades, they won't be promoted to the next grade automatically.
  In the report card my son brought at the end of the term, there were many different grading categories such as cooperation, the degree of the interest in things, a positive attitude, his studies, positive response to the teacher, and so on. Detailed comments about each of category were written by the homeroom teacher.
In the six to seven year old class, they learn reading, writing and arithmetic. The four to five year old class is preparing for that. From our house, when the weather is good, we often see children riding bicycles and playing football at the playground. It seems that freely playing in groups is very important here.
 In the Netherlands, the educational principles differ in every school. Because there are no designated school areas, we can freely select the school we want.
Given the opportunity, I'd like to someday introduce in detail what school life is like in the Netherlands.

託児所の教室

託児所の教室

小学校の校庭

小学校授業風景

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