Children’s Day, International Children’s Day, Worldwide Children’s Day, Universal Children’s Day. It’s one of those dates, like Mother and Father’s Day that varies from country to country. A few countries, including Portugal, celebrate Children’s Day (Dia da Crianca) on the 1st of June. Others like the UK and Brazil celebrate on other dates. Visit Wikipedia to find out the different Children’s Day dates around the world.

Wherever it’s observed, the aim of Children’s Day is to highlight and celebrate the Wellbeing, Rights and Freedoms of Children.

I remember that, as a child, a big fuss was made of this date, with us receiving special treatment, taking part in special activities, getting presents and being reminded of how special we were – that “children are the future”. In Portugal the day deserves a mention in the news and there are many related activities, including in schools.

As far as I can tell, Children’s Day doesn’t seem to be celebrated with as much gusto here in the UK. As a family, we don’t observe it or do anything special on the day, either on the Portugal or UK dates. I think it’s great that the day exists and I’m happy to mention it to my children. However, I don’t feel that we have to do anything in particular on the day at home aside from congratulating them on the day and briefly chatting about what it means.

There are already many special celebrations all year round and we treat our children with special care every day. Every single day they are told they are loved and special. We certainly make every effort to shield them from horrible things they are too young to know about. We just let them play, be happy, question and discover things at their own pace. Childhood is to be enjoyed and nurtured. I just wish more children around the world were as lucky.

Enjoying a Teddy bear pic nic in the woods

Do you celebrate Children’s Day? Tell us about it in the comments below.