Hoe kinderen in verschillende landen naar school gaan

Why do Dutch kids bike to school?

In the Netherlands, op de fiets naar school is the default for kids from age 4 onward. They start in a yellow crate strapped to mom’s bakfiets, graduate to a balance bike, then to their own bike, then to riding to school alone, often by age 8. The Dutch government has spent decades engineering this: protected fietspaden, low-speed school zones, intersections built around bike priority. About three-quarters of Dutch kids cycle to school. In the US it’s around 1%.

This kids-show segment compares school commutes: Dutch kids cycle on dedicated fietspaden, Thai kids drive (too dangerous to walk), and a Dutch kid says, casually: “hier in Nederland pakken we vaak de fiets naar school.”