Today is World Children’s Day – designed to promote international togetherness and awareness among children worldwide to focus on improving children’s welfare.
The theme for this year is inclusion for every child, calling on children to stand up for a more inclusive world. As a father of three adoptive children, my little ones that have experienced some of the hurt and harm that World Children’s Day hopes to highlight and stop. I’ve asked them for their thoughts.
The three-year-old
Boring
Three-year-old
To be fair, this one isn’t very well and didn’t want to engage. That’s okay – because the issue is about empowering children to have a voice. On this occasion – they’re saying no, and we can respect that.
The five-year-old
I don’t really know about this. But I think we’ve learned about this. It was before the weekend.
Listening is respect. If we say something, grown ups should always listen. But if daddy says something, we should do that straight away.
For children’s health. If children don’t eat, they won’t grow.
Five-year-old
It’s good to see this topic has been engaged with before. It was very cute for them to pick up on listening and respect.
It’s funny they mentioned listening to us as daddies, as that doesn’t work in practice. Suffice it to say – they certainly feel like they can represent their voice when asked to do something. It is interesting to reflect on that, though isn’t it – the impression that a grown-up is listened to without question, but maybe not the child. Obviously – they often need to listen without question for their safety – but sometimes their voice is essential. It’s a hard balance, and I can only hope I empower them to have that voice safely.
Totally not surprised to see health represented via food – it’s their obsession.
The six-year-old
Well. I think it is a really special day as – it might be about – like – how people believe in children.
Children can – Well. Grown-ups protect children. Need to make sure they have food, and are warm, and are safe, and make sure we brush our teeth, and have shoes on outside, and make sure we don’t have nits.
Mental health is also about children. Like when a child is talking, and someone else wants to talk, they need to wait until they stop talking.
Also. Like if I was a teenager, but you said don’t go too far – then I did and got lost. Someone could take me. If people did that they would be in trouble with the police.
Six-year-old
Children’s safety was forefront here – which perhaps represents how we’ve had to introduce some ideas of parental roles (in contrast to their previous life experience).
It was funny to see that represented in teenage reflections too. We’re a long way off that age – but it’s important to also reflect on maintaining that respect and care for older children too.
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