In Portugal, as in several other Portuguese-speaking countries, June 1st is celebrated as Children's Day. This date, first celebrated in the late 1950s, aims to raise awareness and highlight the problems faced by children around the world.
It is important to remember that, every day, children are denied basic rights all over the world, such as love, health, and safety.
UNICEF – the leading humanitarian agency fighting for the promotion and defense of children's rights, as proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) – has revealed that 30 million children live in hardship and have their rights neglected. This humanitarian agency strives to ensure that all children, regardless of race, color, religion, social origin, and country of origin, have fair and equal opportunities to develop and realize their full potential.
In 1989, the UN approved the aforementioned Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child, many of which, unfortunately, are still not guaranteed in the 21st century. These are, in summary:
- All children are equal and have the same rights, regardless of their color, gender, religion, social origin, or nationality;
- All children have the right to life and liberty;
- All children have the right to a name and a nationality;
- All children have the right to food and medical care;
- Children with special needs, whether physical or mental, have the right to special education and care.
- All children have the right to love and understanding from their parents and society;
- All children have the right to education;
- All children should be protected from domestic violence;
- All children should be protected by their family and society, and employment before an appropriate minimum age is not permitted.
- All children have the right not to be verbally abused or assaulted by society.
These rights, as well as the different realities experienced in various countries, must be taught in order to raise awareness not only among children but throughout society, in an attempt to secure their future. However, for this awareness to be successful, it is necessary for children to be able to respect and understand not only basic principles but also the feelings of others, being able to put themselves in the perspective of those who do not have access to the same opportunities – abilities such as respect , empathy , and understanding , which are fundamental to their development and later role in adult life. Children capable of acting in accordance with these terms will certainly contribute to a better world.
Finally, it's important to remember that children are just that, children, and sometimes too much pressure and responsibility is placed on such small shoulders… children should also have the right to a carefree life where they can play… play a lot! Because it is through play that they learn to be, it is during this time that they develop large parts of their cognitive, motor, social, and emotional skills. Furthermore, just like adults, children have feelings, frustrations, fears, expectations, ambitions, etc., with the difference that they are still learning to express themselves… and let's be honest, many adults still have this same difficulty, most likely because they were not given the same space, time, and support/understanding to acquire these skills.
Children, to be happy, need to be heard, understood, valued, loved, hugged, and have the freedom to express their emotions. Let's let children be children!
