National Child Day has been celebrated across Canada since 1993 to commemorate the United Nations’ adoption of two documents centered on children’s rights: the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child on Nov. 20, 1959, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on Nov. 20, 1989.
It’s a good time to reflect on what we wish for our children.
To use an old cliché, our children are our future. How we care for our kids today will determine the health of the next 60 years in this country. And, of course, these are the young men and women who will care for us as we age.
In thinking about what our children need and deserve in our country, my top priorities would be proper nourishment, personal safety and security, and the ability to experience the world through their free play.
Proper food is number one. Kids need to eat and they need nutritious meals. Without food nothing else can happen. It’s a national shame that as we read this article, there are kids in schools, daycares, preschools and in their homes who are hungry. And that’s here in our prosperous country. We must deal with this.
Kids can’t stay healthy, can’t play and can’t learn when their stomachs are empty.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has offered comments about children. In their sixth call to action they asked for the repeal of section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada. That is the section which permits the legal hitting of children.
A national campaign dubbed, Corinne’s Quest: End Physical Punishment of Children (full disclosure, I am the national chair of this group) comments that the hitting of children should be prohibited by the law.
Instead, we have section 43, which lays out when parents can hit kids, how they can hit them and under what circumstances. That is appalling. We see ourselves as a peaceful country, we abhor violence but we still permit children, our most vulnerable citizens, to be hit. This despite the fact that this causes us to be in contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and that we have decades of research to show the real risk factors connected with the hitting, swatting and spanking of our kids. To learn more go to corinnesquest.ca.
Children need to play. Even our children who are very active are often not getting a chance to play. Activity is generally good for children but they also need play.
Play is voluntary, freely chosen, controlled by the child and fun. So let’s look at activity. Often, when our kids are involved in sports or playing a game we see them as being engaged in play. If you look at the actual components of play, you will see that in sport the child doesn’t choose what he will be doing, is not in control of the activity but hopefully is having fun.
In sports kids learn how to work as a team member, how to follow the rules, how to learn from coaches and how to be both a gracious winner and a good loser.
All important lessons.
In play our kids take charge. There are no set rules, they can play alone or in a group. They tend to learn problem solving, activity creation, and rule making so play is creative and free flowing. Kids need both.
Food is essential for our children and as a country we need to ensure that every child is eating. It’s simply not acceptable that there are hungry children in our land of plenty.
Children need to be protected from all forms of violence. We know for certain that kids who are being hit at home run the risk of emotional problems, self-esteem issues, relationship concerns between them and their parents and obviously, aggression.
We also know that kids need discipline but that hitting them simply should not be anyone’s definition of discipline.
Play is the essence of childhood and our kids need the time and space for regular free play.
Let’s make National Child Day count for all of our children.
Kathy Lynn is a professional parenting speaker and author of Vive la Différence, Who’s In Charge Anyway? and But Nobody Told Me I’d Ever Have to Leave Home. Sign up for her informational newsletter at parentingtoday.ca.
