Alexa, play that ol’ rock song because the kids ARE alright! New research shows good mental health and social relationships among young people in the Netherlands.

The results come from a large study of ‘Health Behaviour in School-aged Children’ across 44 countries and 280,000 students aged 11, 13 and 15.

The key findings for Dutch youths are mostly positive, but less so for girls, RTL shares.

Fewer on their phones, fewer feeling alone

The Netherlands ranks positively in three key areas: loneliness, talking about their struggles, and social media negativity.

Online beef is a big part of tween communication these days, but the Netherlands has the lowest percentage internationally when it comes to problematic social media use.

READ MORE | This psychologist focuses on lifestyle changes to boost expats’ mental health: here’s how

Dutch kids are also among the least lonely in the study, and most of them feel like they can easily talk to their parents if something bothers them.

But have you ever asked your dad a question just to be told, “Talk to mum?” Well, the study shows that Dutch youths are even more likely to talk to their mother than their father about issues (it’s close, though 😉).

Deteriorating mental health in girls

There’s a concerning pattern whenever the Netherlands celebrates being really happy or having great well-being — it’s not as good news for women.

And it’s no different for young girls in this study, who experience more mental problems on average.

READ MORE | Being a feminist in the Netherlands: surprisingly, it’s a challenge

When asked how often they suffer from anxious feelings, headaches or sleeping problems, 50% of girls indicated they experienced these symptoms more than once a week.

For the boys, this was much lower at 28%.

However, this is an international problem; results for almost all of the participating countries show deterioration in girls’ mental well-being. 

Are you surprised by the results of the study? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

If you’ve been hit by a particularly irritating ailment, need to pop down to your local doctor, and are registered at a Co-Med practice… things are about to get complicated. 😬

Health insurers CV, VGZ, Menzis, and Zilveren Kruis released a joint statement yesterday (June 20) to note that they were suspending their partnership with health provider Co-Med.

Adding insult to injury, a part of the Co-Med chain has also officially been declared bankrupt.

As a result, thousands of patients across the Netherlands have suddenly lost their GP service. Let’s talk about why — and what you can expect to happen next.

Allegedly, Co-Med can’t “guarantee the continuity of good care”

Whilst the four main insurers didn’t mince their words when it came to cutting ties with the struggling healthcare provider, they certainly had good reason to be stern. 👇

According to the NOS, an inspection by the Health and Youth Inspectorate (IGJ) concluded that Co-Med practices had several dangerous shortcomings.

READ MORE | 9 things you need to know about Dutch health insurance as an international

Many of the practices were difficult to reach by phone, didn’t always have a GP available for emergencies, and offered patients insufficient information on what to do if they couldn’t reach their GP’s office.

Oké, what do I do now?

If you’re registered at a Co-Med doctor’s office and require medical attention, these are the GP alternatives you can temporarily choose (based on your location):

• Amsterdam: Arene and Jouw Huisarts Aan De Louwesweg
• Bergen op Zoom: Arene
• Breda: Arene
• Den Haag: Hadoks
• Eindhoven: Arene
• Enschede: THOEN
• Helmond: Arene
• Hollands Kroon: Arene
• Tilburg: Arene
• Zwolle: Arene

READ MORE | All you need to know about going to the hospital in the Netherlands

In a hurry? You can still visit your a huisartsenspoedpost (emergency GP) outside of normal working hours and on weekends.

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