(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.

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?