Dutch babies laugh, smile and like to cuddle more than their American counterparts, new research by psychologists in the US has found.

The study examining temperamental differences between US and Dutch babies found infants born in the Netherlands are more likely to be happy and easier to soothe in the latter half of their first year, the Washington State University researchers said.

US infants, on the other hand, were more active and vocal, said study co-author Maria Gartstein in a press release.

The results in many ways reflect American and Dutch parents’ unique cultural values, the researchers said.

American parents often ‘emphasise the importance of stimulation, exposing their children to a wide variety of new experiences to promote independence’. However, in the Netherlands, parents ‘are more likely to incorporate children into daily activities at home, placing strong value on the importance of rest and regularity’.

A greater understanding of these values and the impact they have on an infant’s temperament will help psychologists fine-tune ways to prevent infant temperament issues from becoming behavioral problems later in life, the researchers said.

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