Part-time working parents and bikes raised the world's happiest kids

Dutch children once again rank as the happiest in the developed world, according to Unicef's latest child wellbeing index, published this week. The Netherlands also placed fifth in the World Happiness Report, behind Finland and Denmark. For a country that is one of Europe's wettest and has the highest bicycle-to-person ratio on the planet, the cheerfulness is hard-won. Margreet de Looze, an assistant professor at Utrecht University, credits strong social ties and the fact that Dutch parents often work part-time. "For children, that's valuable, it brings you closer as a family," she says. Bikes help too. Anna Feiner, a mother in Rotterdam, said her son Tije has cycled to school alone since he was nine. "It was terrifying letting him go at first. But it's frowned upon if you don't let your children bike to school." The country recorded a slight dip this year, which de Looze blames on rising school stress. The children, for now, are still pedaling through the rain.