National Children’s Day

National Children’s Day is observed on the second Sunday in June in the United States. In 2022 it will fall on 12th June. Children’s Day is an umbrella term for various events celebrated on multiple dates in different countries around the world. The day is a good reminder that what we sow today will be harvested in the world for years to come.

Universal Children’s Day or World Children’s Day is celebrated on November 20 recommended by United Nations. India celebrates Children’s Day on the birth anniversary of its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Children’s Day is a day to recognize all children in our lives. A great way to celebrate this day is to spend time with the children in your life and also appreciate the time you have to spend with them.

History

The second Sunday in June has been designated as Children’s Day since 1856. It was originally called Rose Day. Reverend Dr. Charles Leonard, pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Massachusetts started this day back in 1856. He created this date as a special day to baptize children in the community. He then named the day “Rose Day”, though it was later named Flower Sunday, and consequently named Children’s Day. Ever since then, there has been at least one day set aside to honor and celebrate our children.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton changed the name of this day and this day was then called National Children’s Day. He then set this day to be October 8th. When George W Bush was president, he then declared that this day should be celebrated on the first Sunday in June. However, it has since been changed that National Children’s Day should be celebrated on the second Sunday in June.

How to celebrate

Let’s start with celebrating Children’s Day with simple, inexpensive activities such as ongoing words of encouragement and appreciation and notes of admiration. Wouldn’t it be great if all kinds of writing papers were available in beauty salons, barber shops, churches, and stores for adults to take a few minutes to write a note to their children and other children such as, “Have I told you lately how much I love you? I am proud of you.” Take a family trip to the park or ice cream shop that you went to as a kid. Maybe the adult can do the child’s chores for the day. Go to church with your child, where childhood poems and songs can be led by an adult.

It is always good to show love, and appreciation, and to celebrate your child, and this is a day set aside to specifically do so. Setting aside a whole day to honor your child can show how much you value them. Take advantage of this day and do something fun as a family to show your child how much you appreciate them.

Let’s recognize and acknowledge that children are the future of this world. Without children, there would be no future generation!

Inspirational Happy Children’s Day Quotes

“A child miseducated is a child lost.” – John F. Kennedy

“Children learn to smile from their parents.” – Shinichi Suzuki

“Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.” – Kate Douglas Wiggin

“Children are our most valuable resource.” – Herbert Hoover

Every time a child is saved from the dark side of life, every time one of us makes the effort to make a difference in a child’s life, we add light and healing to our own lives. – Oprah Winfrey

Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up – Pablo Picasso

“Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.” — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

“The first happiness of a child is to know that he is loved.” — Don Bosco

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” – Oscar Wilde

Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation. – Nelson Mandela

“Treat your kids like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown-up children are your best friends.” — Chanakya

We cannot fashion our children after our desires. We must have them and love them as God has given them to us. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” – Billy Graham