Happy classrooms: what teachers can learn from the world’s happiest children

July 29, 2025 by

Children in the Netherlands are the happiest in the world. Here's how you can replicate their home and learning environments, to spread happiness in your classroom.

Young people in the Netherlands have repeatedly ranked number one in . They also rank in the top 10 for physical health and skills.

What makes Dutch children so happy and healthy? It’s a combination of environmental factors, and a deep, but fun, culture of learning.

Here’s how schools can learn from the social norms that set Dutch children up for success in life – and bring more smiles into the classroom.

Get playful!

Play has to help young children make sense of the world, motivate them to learn, and even improve their academic outcomes. It also makes young people .

Dutch schools create lots of opportunities to play. In classrooms, early curriculums are rooted in play-based learning, where students are encouraged to follow their interests and engage with dynamic activities.

As one Dutch educator , “Play-based learning allows children to construct knowledge themselves, by allowing children to ‘learn through doing’. During play, everything is an experiment, and if something does not work as a child has planned, they are safe to try again.”

Play also extends beyond schools. The Dutch government has laws around keeping a percentage of public space in residential areas for children’s playgrounds, sandboxes, and other recreational spaces. The educational commitment to play is carried over into children’s weekend surroundings – ensuring a whole lot of fun!

You can bring play-based learning (and laughter) into the classroom in the following ways:

Create designated areas for construction, art, and quiet exploration
Give students access to open-ended materials like dress-up clothes, colouring pens, LEGO, and musical instruments
Change the furniture arrangement to allow movement and collaboration
Have free play time where students can choose their activity and materials
Make time for outdoor play where students can dig, explore, and look for plants/woodland creatures.

Teach emotional awareness & autonomy

that emotionally aware children are happier. They’re more able to navigate relationships and complex social situations, and they have better physical and mental health.

From a young age, children in the Netherlands are taught to be in tune with their emotions. Students learn to vocalise their feelings through daily ‘emotion’ check-ins. Many Dutch schools use colour-coded cards or ‘feelings thermometers’ to allow students to communicate their moods and develop greater emotional literacy.

At the same time, students are actively encouraged to build confidence and autonomy. They are often asked to share their opinions in kringgesprek – which are group discussions or talks in a circle. They are also given small ways to participate in decision making. For example, by selecting the book they want to read in a literacy class, or by choosing how they want to present a project to their peers.

Advance emotional awareness among your students via:

Greeting each child personally every day
Offering books, films, and podcasts that showcase different characters’ emotional journeys and expression
Creating cosy, quiet spaces where students can go when they’re overwhelmed
Dedicating time to students’ reflective journaling
Celebrating emotional achievements equally as academic ones (e.g. today we solved a conflict peacefully).

Give students a cycling start

Almost of young children cycle to school in the Netherlands. Research shows that children who bike to school are throughout the day. They also have higher rates of and . And, cycling independence, self-reliance, and healthy self-esteem in young children.

Cycling also gives students an opportunity to spend time outdoors and develop fitness habits that can stay with them as they grow older.

The Netherlands has an efficient network of cycling routes, bike schemes for students, and a culture of travelling by bike. The country also has a number of ‘zero emission zones’ to ensure good air quality and safe cycling among car-free streets.

Without the same infrastructure, it can be difficult to replicate the Dutch cycling culture, but you could instead introduce the following into (and outside of) your classroom:

Launch ‘bike buddies’, pairing together students who live close to another to cycle to and from school
Host class cycle competitions
Reach out to local bike shops and ask to organise a field trip for students to learn about bike safety and maintenance
Create a bike parking area in the playground where students can leave their bikes.

The breakfast benefit

Breakfast isn’t just power food for the day, it’s also a moment for children to connect with the people around them, and to develop their own senses of identity. Breakfast can be fun too – it’s a time to talk, laugh, share, and discuss what’s happening in the day ahead.

shows that 85% of Dutch children eat breakfast with their families every day. These kinds of rituals at school and help alleviate behavioural issues. Breakfast also has a direct impact on happiness – reveals that students who regularly eat breakfast have greater life satisfaction.

You don’t have to supply students with a second breakfast in the classroom (assuming that they already eat before leaving the house), but you can mirror the community element of breakfast. Asking students to sit together and share something creates a group dynamic and gives them a dedicated space every day to build meaningful relationships with one another.

Rustle up your own version of Dutch breakfast bonding with these recommendations:

‘Good morning’ juice circles that take place after registration and allow students to tell everyone a short fact about their previous day
Healthy snack club, where students bring fruit to eat together before the lesson begins
‘Taste of home’ – students take it in turns to bring in an item that they would typically eat for breakfast and share it with the class
Gratitude group, where each individual says out loud what they’re grateful for that morning
‘Morning toast’ to announce, and applaud, any achievements from the day before as a class.

The lasting effects of a happy childhood

Dutch children enjoy a mixture of play, room for emotional growth, time in nature, and quality time with people. All these characteristics can inspire different forms of happiness in, and beyond, classrooms. Ensuring that trust, respect, and a sense of belonging are always present in your school, you can nurture equally happy children.

Happy children learn more profoundly, and grow into kinder, more balanced adults.

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