The noise made by children in playgrounds will no longer be classifiable as noise pollution, Dutch Environment Minister Jaqueline Cramer has decided.

Neighbours of schools will no longer be able to file complaints about the noise level of children who are legitimately playing outside schools or daycare centres.

Let it all out
"Children should be able to shout and yell when they are playing outside," the minister told the lower house last year. She was responding to a call for new, less restraining noise pollution rules after judges had slapped playground bans on eight schools in several cities. The cases had been brought by people living near the schools.

The minister's new norms come into effect on 1 January. Earlier this year, the sound of playing children led to a number of incidents. Irritated neighbours pelted noisy children outside a daycare centre with eggs and garbage. One person even grabbed a megaphone and scolded the children from his balcony. Residents say that the trend towards around-the-clock daycare is causing the noise to increase.

(Photo: FlickR/Arjen Toet)