Children’s Day - Treasure our Children

March 2, 2012

Children’s Day - Treasure our Children

Sunday 4 March 2012 is Children’s Day! This year’s theme is ‘treasure our children’. All over the country there will be fun events for children and families. This is a special day to celebrate our children and to acknowledge that each one is a precious gift that should be nurtured and loved.

Alan Bell, Director of the child protection agency ECPAT Child ALERT says “We completely endorse this event. The reality is that each day should be a “Children’s Day”! Children prosper when they are brought up in a positive and constant environment – day in and day out.”

The initial idea for Children's Day came from a suggestion by the first Children's Commissioner, Ian Hassall, in 1991. The objectives were to heighten awareness of the importance and needs of children in society, and ways of promoting their development and to promote a national focus on children and motivate adults towards positive appreciation and support of children.

In encouraging families to participate Bell says ” Children should be a priority for us and we should protect them from any form of abuse – sexual, mental, physical or psychological – so that they are free from fear and enabled to reach their full potential. Sadly in New Zealand this is not the case for many children.”

The Children’s Day website for further details is www.childrensday.org.nz

ENDS

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