Psychologist Sarah Blom initially warned children not to watch the Sinterklaasjournaal and called it “clickbait” for children. She referred to story elements including emergency packages, a sunken steamer and a missing Saint Nicholas.

A later update described the Sinterklaasjournaal as great and said that children could have something, indicating a changed assessment, although the accompanying text was cut off before explaining Blom’s position in relation to the earlier criticism.