This past weekend, as if the universe knew we were longing for our days in the Netherlands, a story popped into our newsfeed touting that Dutch children are the happiest in the world. The article – an excerpt from a book published this week – looks at the lived experiences of two ex-pat mothers (one American and one British) raising families in the Netherlands, relating them to a 2013 study conducted by UNICEF that found Dutch kids topped the list for overall well-being when compared to the world’s 29 wealthiest countries.

Naturally, having recently experienced firsthand why they may have ranked number one, we shared the post with our audience – many of whom liked and shared it themselves. At a time when so many people in North America seem to be focused on raising healthy, happy, well-adjusted children, it looks like the Dutch have figured out the magic recipe – seemingly without much effort.