Healthy
Nature offers and requires all that is healthy. Physical health is: eating healthy, movement and fresh air.
Mental health is: emotional balance. The former is easier to achieve than the latter, although on a large scale we see children eating unhealthy too often, not exercising enough and rarely playing outside. Campaigns are launched in the hope this leads to changes in behaviour. Campaigns are launched, hoping for behavioural change. But there is a remarkable lack of campaigns concerning the mental health of children.
The main pedagogical question here is: can we guarantee both?
Also on the topic of health, Dikkedeur chooses well considered. The children play outside twice a day, also when it drizzles or is cold, they get healthy snacks, including a daily portion of fresh fruit, and a healthy freshly made warm meal. We have three gyms and Dikkedeur sites in the forest (Kralingse Bos) for 0-4 years and for 7-12 year olds.
The mental health also receives a lot of attention. Our basic principles in themselves already sufficiently guarantee this; however, should there be a child with remarkable behaviour, our employees work with a well thought out and well-developed protocol and they can count on support from our pedagogic staff-member, child-psychologist, drs. Rimke Willeman.