World Children’s Day

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(Image copyright VectorStock – I hope they don’t mind me borrowing it!)

I was reminded by the ever-reliable Timehop that today, 20th November, is World Children’s Day. I looked back and found that I have posted a piece for this before, back in 2014 when I was engaged in my second (and last) attempt at keeping up with NaBloPoMo. I was clearly already feeling the pressure, as it was a very short piece which still bears the dubious distinction of being the only one of my posts never to receive a single like or comment. I didn’t think it was THAT bad! See what you think:

CHILDREN

Today, 20 November, has been declared Universal Children’s Day by the United Nations, and is marked by events in many countries. Not all do it today, choosing days that suit them better – the US, for example. I Googled the day but could find no reference to a UK date! So I decided to mark it in my own, personal way.

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I’m sharing with you a picture of my children, on one of the best days of their lives, and of mine. I won’t tell you any more about them, other than to say that I am very proud of my daughters. No doubt you can see why.

Ten years on I think it is safe to share that again! It was brief and to the point, but didn’t say much abut the day, so I thought I’d fill in the gaps for you. From the official UN website:

“World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Since 1990, World Children’s Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention on children’s rights.”

And as you might expect, UNICEF also has a dedicated page for the event, including a recent report on how they see children’s lives developing, which you can find here.

I have done a little bit more digging than I managed last time and have found that the UK’s day for this is earlier in the year – it was 15th May this time. Apparently the most common date for it is 1st June, as this website tells us.

Whenever the day is marked, it is important for us to recognise the need for us to nurture our children, their hopes, wishes and dreams. We should protect them, feed and clothe them, educate them, and do that with compassion, showing them the difference between right and wrong, and encouraging them to become good human beings. Sadly, there are too many bad examples being set these days, but we can but hope that the good ones have a stronger impact as we move forward. Becoming a parent is the most wonderful thing that can happen to us, but it comes with responsibilities: we should treasure our children and do everything we can to support them.

This being me, it is probably inevitable that I would play a song to go with this. There are two obvious candidates for this and, in my usual mode of indecision, I couldn’t choose between them, so I’m playing both. Coincidentally they were both released in the same year – 1970 – but are still as valid as ever. First up is this one about how parents and children can learn from each other, with a recent official video showing the US political background since then:

And secondly, a song which shares concerns about the kind of world we are building for our children, and which sadly has proved to have been so very prescient. This is the newer recorded version, marking the original album’s 50th birthday:

I find it sad that we need to have a special day to remind us of the need to care for our children, but has it ever been more relevant?

43 thoughts on “World Children’s Day”

  1. Here’s to the children and grandchildren of the world, especially for those who have to navigate the diffculties of life without a lot of support. Kids make everything better.

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  4. Pingback: New Music On The Way | Take It Easy

  5. Indeed we do need to be reminded that we should care and nurture our children. There are always wars and grave injustices in which children are the earliest victims, these are massive and eternal challenges.
    In societies which are less unfortunate we should at least endeavour with all effort to protect our children from the toxic elements which lurk in the adult world.
    It has indeed never been more relevant.

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    • Thank you, Maddie. It was indeed a wonderful day!

      The Cat Stevens song was only ever an album track but is one that is important to him. I saw him in concert in 2009: he opened with one of his new Yusuf songs then played this. We were all singing quietly along with him.

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  9. I will use this day and your post to say once again, Parents should not be allowed to own their children! For me, this is one of the reasons there is so much hatred in the world. Children are not born with hatred inside them, but they learn it first from their parents, second from their authority figures, and third from their peers. What chance does a growing child have to fight off all these influencers?
    I am not saying all parents do this, or we would not have as many good people in this world as we do, but there is no need to have as many not-good people in this world as we do! It is mainly from adults that children learn prejudice and bigotry — and to fear the others, those who are not like them.
    On top of this, parents should not be allowed to teach any particular religion to their children. Children are easily brainwashed, and religions are the main brainwashers in our society. Scaring children with horror stories of hell and eternal damnation take advantage of a child’s burgeoning mind, and they believe things they are told. No! Every child should be taught about different religions, or no religion, and as they turn into adults they should have the choice to believe whatever sounds right to them — or to believe no religion at all if that is what they want to believe.
    Nor should corporeal punishment ever be allowed to be used on a child, including by parents. If a parent cannot teach something to their child, beating it into them is not the solution. Get help if you need it. There are many non-violent ways to teach things to children. Just because your parents beat something into you does not give you the right to be violent towards your own children!
    Children need love, so they can learn how to love. Children need safety, so they can learn how to keep others safe.
    Allowing parents to own children, to do whatever they want to them, to teach them whatever they want, is a surefire way to build a world where hatred and violence rule. We all want a better world, a safer world, and the only way to achieve it is by teaching our children that they are loved, and they are safe.

    I apologize for once again using your blog to present my ideas to the world, Clive, but I do not spologize for what my words say. I want to see a much better world than we have today. Everything starts with how we treat our own children, and how we allow others to treat theirs. Peace can be just a few generations away, if we want it. That is up to us!

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  11. Aww … such a beautiful photo of your daughters, Clive! Thanks for bringing this day to my attention; like you I find it depressing that it is even needed but such is the world today. The Cat Stevens song and video are haunting but a positive ending for the latter – may it be so!

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    • Thank you, Annika. That was a proud day for me.

      I was a bit surprised to find that I had only covered this day once before, and very briefly. But it is vital that we take it seriously. Fingers crossed that Cat’s positive ending is right.

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  12. When I pray each day I always add a prayer for all children, The song Teach Your Children is among my favorites and sure takes me back when my high school boyfriend would play his guitar and sing this song hoping someday to be discovered. The memories still shine bright.

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    • What lovely memories you have of this song, even though he may not have been discovered.

      We should all be concerned for children and their future, though what that might be feels very uncertain at present.

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  14. Your daughters are beautiful Clive.
    Good song choices to go with an excellent post. I’m glad we don’t have kids because the world is not a very nice place for them to grow up in, let alone their children and subsequent generations. IMO The ‘system’ is letting them down and offering very little protection for them against human predators.

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  15. I wasn’t aware of World Children’s Day, and your video choices are very appropriate. It’s hard to think of a better reason for a blog, I’m surprised it didn’t get a response first time around. People are fickle Clive!

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    • Thank you, Paul. Those two songs say so much, don’t they.

      I had far fewer followers back in those days, but usually managed to get a few likes for posts – no idea what happened to that one 🤣

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