We explain what Children’s Day is, its origin and when it is celebrated. In addition, the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
What is Children’s Day?
Children’s Day or Universal Children’s Day is an event celebrated throughout the world, which aims to celebrate current achievements in the defense and protection of children, and at the same time to draw attention to the risks and sufferings that disadvantaged children still endure in the world. It is an international celebration, but celebrated in different ways and on different dates depending on the country and culture.
The fight for children’s rights and for the protection of minors in the world occurs in very different ways depending on the geographic region and the economic status of each one. It is often developed in coordination with international institutions such as UNICEF or the United Nations (UN). You must read about Women’s Day once.
Both organizations have set the goal of offering future generations a more harmonious, safe and peaceful childhood, as a way of guaranteeing happier, more stable and healthier adults in the future. The celebration of Universal Children’s Day allows these efforts to be made visible.
According to the UN, this date should serve to promote compliance with the 10 fundamental principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Children approved on November 20, 1959, which are:
- First principle: All children must enjoy the rights stated without exception.
- Second principle: Children must have the conditions, services, opportunities and laws necessary for their optimal development and growth, in freedom and dignity.
- Principle Three: Every child has the right from the day of birth to a name, an identity and a nationality.
- Principle Four: Every child should enjoy the benefits of social, medical and educational security.
- Principle Five: Every child who suffers from any kind of physical, social or mental handicap should receive the necessary help to deal with it in a positive way that does not impede his or her development as an individual.
- Principle Six: Every child requires love and understanding for his or her full development as an individual. In the case of homeless children, the State must ensure that they are provided with the necessary conditions for proper personal development.
- Principle Seven: Every child has the need and right to receive a formal education and to freely exercise his or her creativity, or to practice physical exercise and sports.
- Principle Eight: Children should be the first individuals to receive protection and relief in the event of disasters or dangers.
- Principle Nine: Every child should be protected by society from abandonment, exploitation and cruelty, and child labour should be punished and prosecuted.
- Tenth principle: Every child must be educated in the principles of peace, tolerance, respect and universal brotherhood, free from prejudice and discriminatory practices.
Origin of Children’s Day
The celebration of Children’s Day is the result of the growing concern for the defense of childhood that arose after the First World War, which caused non-governmental organizations such as Save the Children and the International Red Cross to promote the first declaration of children’s rights in history.
This declaration was presented to the League of Nations, the precursor body of the current UN, and on September 26, 1924, it was part of the Geneva Declaration on the Rights of Children, which proposed the creation of International Children’s Day, an event that would be celebrated on June 2 of each year.
However, the League of Nations was an organization that was not very effective in its international representation, so that again UNICEF and the Organization of American States drafted in 1952 a Declaration of Universal Principles for Children, which urged member countries to choose a day to celebrate childhood and childhood, and to raise awareness about the efforts necessary to defend them.
Two years later, the UN did the same with its member countries, by decision of the General Assembly. This organization finally approved the Declaration of the Principles of the Child in 1959, giving a formal and global character to the event, but allowing each nation to choose its best date for Children’s Day. Maybe you should definitely read about Prime Numbers once.
When is Children’s Day celebrated and why?
Children’s Day is celebrated on different dates depending on the country or the international organization in charge of promoting it. Thus, for example, the UN celebrates November 20 as Universal Children’s Day, since on that date, but in 1959, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was approved for the first time in the General Assembly of this multilateral organization.
However, many countries celebrate it on different dates, such as, for example:
- Germany: International Children’s Day (Internazionaler Kindertag) is celebrated on June 1st, although in some cities, such as Berlin, World Children’s Day (Weltkindertag) is also celebrated on November 20th.
- Argentina: Children’s Day has been celebrated since 1960 during the month of August, but its exact date has changed over time from the 1st Sunday of the month to the second in 2003 and then to the 3rd Sunday of the month in 2013. The local toy market has a great influence on the management of the date of celebration.
- Australia: Children’s Day has been celebrated since 1977 every 4th Wednesday of the month of October. Initially, this event was linked to sick children and children’s charitable institutions, but since 1985 it was consecrated as a national event by the Australian Congress. Brazil: Children’s Day (Dia Mundial da Criança) has been celebrated on October 12 since 1924, but it has had a notable national relevance since 1960, due to the commercial impact that this date has on the local toy industry.
- China: Children’s Day (儿童节) has been celebrated since 1950 every June 1, and since 2007 it is also a day off for all citizens under 14 years of age.
- Spain: Children’s Day is celebrated in almost the entire country on April 15, except in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which celebrates it on the second Sunday in May.
- Japan: Children’s Day (こどもの日) is celebrated every May 5, a date that was formerly reserved for Boy’s Day, since Girl’s Day was celebrated separately every March 3.
- Mexico: Children’s Day in Mexico has been celebrated since 1969 on April 30, and is a particularly important day in the country’s school calendars.
- Venezuela: Children’s Day has been celebrated since 1990 on the 3rd Sunday in July, typically in parks and green areas that are used as meeting and entertainment venues.
Importance of Children’s Day
Children’s Day is an important symbol to remember that the protection of children is one of the pillars of the modern world. In fact, the concept of childhood is a modern concept, since in ancient times children had to work and respond to society in the same way or in a similar way to that of adults.
Therefore, celebrating Children’s Day serves to remember the great achievements made in this area and the enormous work pending in the world, since child labor and exploitation, as well as family and domestic abuse have not yet been eradicated.
On the other hand, this celebration usually has a significant commercial impact on the toy industry, and its celebration is often encouraged by intense promotional campaigns. With this, unfortunately, there is also the risk of trivializing the event and forgetting the important message that underlies it.
Quotes about childhood
Some famous quotes about childhood and the importance of children are:
- “Educate children and you will not have to punish men” – Pythagoras (c. 569-475 BC), philosopher and mathematician of Ancient Greece.
- “Before punishing a child, make sure you are not the cause of his mistakes” – Austin O’Malley (1858-1932), American professor of literature.
- “In every child, humanity is born” – Jacinto Benavente (1866-1954), Spanish playwright.
- “The wonderful thing about childhood is that everything is a wonder in it” – G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), British writer and journalist.
- “All children are born artists; the problem is how to continue being artists when they grow up” – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), cubist painter and sculptor.
- “All grown-ups were once children, though few of them remember it” – Antoine de Saint Exupéry (1900-1944), French aviator and writer.
- “Children are the world’s most important resource and its best hope for the future” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), US President.
Ideas to celebrate Children’s Day
Here are five simple ideas to celebrate Children’s Day:
- Plan a board game day: Whether at home or in an outdoor setting, you can play a few rounds of your favorite board games, and pair them with some fun foods.
- Have a movie marathon at home: Watch all of The Lord of the Rings, all of Harry Potter, or some other film series that your kids are fans of.
- Planning a picnic in the park: Spending the whole day in a nice, safe park, in the good company of some balls, toys and the dog, to spend an afternoon of sport.
- Playing a treasure hunt: Something similar to the tradition of hunting for Easter eggs: hide the presents in different parts of the house and give the children a series of clues that they can decipher to find them.
- An afternoon of video games with mom or dad: Buying a new video game and playing it with the child can be a great plan for an entire afternoon.
