World Children's Day

Dear users, dear authors,
today is World Children's Day. What does this day mean to you?

Those of us who grew up in the former GDR celebrated International Children’s Day on June 1 . There were always big, cheerful children’s parties with lots of games, contests, colorful cakes, and small gifts. Everyone was happy together. The children were the center of attention. It was a special day that was truly celebrated.

In the “West,” on the other hand, they celebrate World Children’s Day today. But what that actually means is a question someone else will have to answer. In any case, I don’t notice anything about it here.

Best regards, Ina

World Children’s Day originated as an initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund to raise awareness of children’s rights.  When I was growing up, and even when my own children were small, it was never really celebrated in any way and was barely noticed, even though it was already marked on the calendar back then. It’s only in recent years that it’s been celebrated with games, activities, and sometimes even gifts (yes, yes, good old commercialism!). I believe, however, that the Children’s Day celebrated in the GDR has a different origin.

That’s right, Ruth. Here in the West, Children’s Day was actually a big deal for the general public—you’d hear on the evening news that today was Children’s Day, and that was pretty much it.

Best regards, Inge

To be honest, it doesn’t mean much to me—it’s never really been a topic of discussion here.

When I was a kid, I once asked my mom on Mother’s Day why there’s a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day but no Children’s Day, and she just said, “Every day is Children’s Day!”

  Of course, my idea of “my” Children’s Day had absolutely nothing to do with the original concept of the “real” Children’s Day, which I find very meaningful and important.
I’m going to read up a bit on what people do to celebrate it :)

If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have even known that today is World Children’s Day.

I only found out about it from a discount store ad...
But World Children’s Day is actually a “good idea”... Unfortunately, like so many “days,” they have virtually no impact. Sadly. It’s supposed to draw attention to the hardship and misery faced by many children. Sometimes I feel like it’s just like right before Christmas, when everyone calls for donations. Don’t get me wrong—I think that’s great! Children need help. But it’s just not enough to “invent” a World Children’s Day to ease our consciences. There has to be a lot more to it than that. Thinking about it once a year is simply not enough.... 

Actually, if I’m being really pedantic, it’s quite alarming that we need a calendar to remind us of something like this.
It reminds me a bit of Carnival (which I personally don’t really care for); that’s in the calendar too, telling me I have to be cheerful today—what nonsense!
But if “World Children’s Day” can perhaps shake one or two people awake, that’s not a bad thing, so it does make some sense.
Fortunately, quite a few people keep this in mind all year round, but there is still far too much that is absolutely not okay.

It’s actually a real shame and very sad that there even needs to be a World Children’s Day. Anyone with children here in Germany experiences every day that only the bare minimum is being done for them. When I think about how few pediatricians there are, how high daycare fees are, how many children one childcare worker is expected to care for, how expensive school supplies have become… I could go on and on, but that just makes me angry and sad. I feel powerless.

So, as a family, we try to make up for society’s shortcomings when it comes to caring for children. But that’s not the case in every family. Yet children are our most important “asset” for the future.

Far too often, children are left alone with their worries. They’re children—they need social interaction (COVID-19, isolation, no normal daily life with friends) and a sense of security (their parents are stressed—what will become of them, will they keep their jobs, what will become of me?). And we parents and grandparents are sometimes no longer able to explain this to them or instill confidence and a sense of security in them. This leads to many mental health issues in children that will follow them throughout their lives.

And those are just the concerns I have for the children in Germany... I don’t even want to think about the children around the world :-(( Not even having World Children’s Day on the calendar helps.