What makes children happy?

What is it that makes a child happy? My first answer is – toys, of course! Yes, I do know that it is the wrong answer, but I have this compulsion to buy stuff for the kids and have been battling it for 18 years now.
However, what really makes children happy is close friends and family. Play (and toys, video games etc) only ranked third in a study of what makes kids happy. Asked to describe the things that matter most to them, the 4000 children surveyed rarely mentioned competition and accomplishments, although they're raised in an 'eye-on-the-prize' public education system.
These findings come from a small 2012 study, perhaps not really statistically relevant since it involved only six countries, but I chose to mention it first because it directly asked children what they thought. It reflects their perception of happiness, not that of their parents or other adults looking for a scientific formula to make children happy.
Sure, a child's life is better if there is enough food on the table or its family has adequate health-care. But children, especially young ones, don't really understand these things.

Dutch kids dressed in orange - the national royal color

Interesting enough, the findings were replicated in a larger report published by UNICEF in 2013, according to which the happiest children in the world live in the Netherlands.
What is it that makes Dutch kids happy? First of all, spending time with their family, as Dutch parents dedicate at least one day a week to spend with their children, doing something enjoyable like walking in the park, playing, biking. It's a far cry from the mentality of over-worked parents that consider doing homework, cooking dinner and putting the kids to bed quality time spent with the children. Quality time as in the only time spent with their children.
Time for a little sniggering remark – I was talking to an acquaintance about summer holidays. Oddly enough, the first thing she mentioned was study. “We need to catch up on maths, you know.” As if this wasn't troubling enough, she added with a sigh: “All that he wants to do is play with his Legos all day”.
In the US, parents and children are obsessed with the holy homework and the almighty tests. On the contrary, in the Netherlands, children have little or no homework at all in primary school.
Dutch children are allowed and encouraged to be independent, play outside on their own, ride the bike to school, things that are unheard of in many other countries.

Dutch girls, out for a ride

I must admit I wouldn't leave my 9-year old son alone outside to play, too many safety issues in a big city, but I've come as far as allowing him to go to the store on his own, which makes him very proud. Also, I'm confident enough to leave him alone in the house while I run some errands. In the US, instead, I've read about parents who were reported to the police for leaving their children outside unsupervised. Or inside, for that matter, at least in some American states.
One other thing about the Dutch, they believe kids are not only to be seen, but also heard, a mentality inconceivable to so many parents.
I've only mentioned the kids in the Netherlands, but, in fact, all Scandinavian countries are in the top part of the happiest kids table. British children ranked 16th, while the Americans ranked a distant 26th.
I don't know of a better ending to this post other than saying that now that my Steemit job is done, I'm taking the kid to the park. It's a beautiful day outside, not too hot, just perfect for a stroll.

Source:https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc11_eng.pdf

P.S. - The stroll in the park turned out to be quality time indeed, as we ended up talking about his education and classes he should take up, instead of playing Pokemon Go as originally planned.