Children are brought to the place of "throwing" at about 22:00, and to the base, where food, a fire and a lodging for the night await them, they can get out only by two or three in the morning. They have only the most basic GPS navigators with them to help them move in the right direction.
Sometimes parents blindfold them or specially drive to the starting point in circles to complicate the task. In some cases, adults follow the movements of the teams, but do not direct them, but only leave encrypted prompts. It happens that they hide in the bushes and imitate the approach of wild animals.
Photo: Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times
This is how the Dutch teach children to be independent and solve their problems on their own, even when they are tired, hungry and disoriented. For this reason, “throwing” usually involves children 11-12 years old - parents want to prepare them for adolescence, faced with problems that lie outside of video games.
This tradition is so familiar to the Dutch that they are even surprised by the questions about it, thinking that they do the same in other countries. But what do law enforcement agencies think about this? Rick Udega, one of the organizers of the "throwing", recalls that right before one of the regular events he was stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation. They asked him to open the window and saw four blindfolded children in the back seat - Udega, already quite worried, began to explain the situation. As a result, the police released him without a fine, only wishing him a good evening.
Photo: Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times
However, with this practice, not everything is so rosy - in 2011 and 2014, the participants of the "throwing", walking along the highway, were knocked to death by cars. Since then, this ritual has become much more restrictive.
In particular, each team is given a mobile phone in case of an emergency, and all members must wear reflective vests. In addition, they must learn a variety of instructions, mainly related to road safety.
Despite the complexity and danger of this adventure, many young Dutch people are delighted with it and say that in the future they will definitely arrange it for their children.
A source.
Cover photo: Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times