In India, we celebrate Children’s day on 14th November every year. It marks the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, also referred as Chacha Nehru. He was very fond of children and is credited with setting up robust systems and infrastructures in place for their education and development. One of his most famous quotes is “Children are like buds in the garden and should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow.”
Prior to Pandit ji’s death in 1964, India celebrated Children’s day on 20th November, the day United Nations celebrates Universal Children’s Day. But after his death, as a tribute to his involvement and commitment to child issues, it was unanimously decided to mark his birthday as Bal Diwas.
And thus, was born the Children’s Day we know today.
Schools celebrate this day by way of special assemblies and activities. Parents treat their children with cards or treats. By now, I would have actively observed around 30 such Children’s Day in my life. Unfortunately, I don’t remember a single instance when this day moved me beyond the fun and festivities it carried. I only remember this day as a day where our teachers were a happy, smiling bunch; they didn’t scold us, gave us candies and performed dances and act-outs for us.
Over the years, celebration after celebration, routine over routine, we become so robotic about these things that we forget their significance and meaning. Ask any child “Why do we celebrate Children’s Day?” and pat would come the reply ‘To celebrate Pandit Nehru’s birthday”. That is, it. But it shouldn’t be.
Children’s Day is meant to be a day to raise awareness about children’s education, rights and care- not to adults and authorities alone, but to children as well.
So, here’s my advice to all parents on how or what they could do on Children’s Day (this is in no order- choose as per what you feel your child would best like).
- Explain them about the education set-up of their country. What is higher education? What does it take to be a doctor or an engineer? Why is formal education important? Show them pictures of some of our best educational institutions. Give a glimpse of what happens inside.
- Discuss the concept of formal and informal education. We are students all through our lives, the formal part may end, but the informal continues.
- Make a list of famous alumni from Indian Institutes. Start from Bollywood stars or cricket personalities if that’s what they relate to most. Move towards corporate or political leaders. Show them the career path of these tall personalities. Ex-President Late Abdul Kalam, Ex-President Pranab Mukherjee, ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh etc. are some very good examples to highlight the importance of education.
- Deliberately pick up diverse examples from fields of Sports, Arts & Culture and discuss how some people may not need to study for long years to be what they want to be.
- Discuss unique skills and capabilities, our gifts with which we are born. We are all born great, it’s our actions that determine how we utilise those gifts.
- Emphasise on your family values and beliefs. What is it that you believe in. For example, in my home, we always talk about the importance of hard work and persistence, of having a positive outlook towards things and of enjoyment and happiness. Whatever are those beliefs of your home, spend time with your child talking about these things.
- Talk about healthy lifestyle. Again, give real life examples of how our Prime Minister gets up early in morning and does Yoga, how Virat Kohli has a tough daily regimen which includes both exercise and eating, or how a Milind Soman cruises through marathons. Being physically and mentally active is very important for children.
- Celebrate with them. Make them feel special. Make them feel gifted. Make them feel as the best thing on Planet Earth! Show them dreams, ask them to think high, dream the impossible. Throw questions like, would you want to go and see the stars up close? Do you know what it takes to be an astronaut, tell them about Kalpana Chawla. Give them the power and belief to achieve the impossible. If you were to meet the Prime Minister of the country today, what would you ask or tell him?
Why does it matter to me if you wish to ignore this day and treat it as just another day? Well, honestly, it doesn’t! Your life, your choice. My only point is, we have been given a day to celebrate Childhood, to celebrate kids, to build awareness in them about all things important, why not make good use of it? Why not make it so interesting for them that they look forward to a Children’s Day, every year. I feel it’s a wasted opportunity as we don’t know what we are supposed to do on this day!
There are various ways to make all this more fun & interactive for your child. Get their gang of friends together, throw in some delicacies or shakes. Play a game they like, and spend some time showing or talking about these things. You can’t cover all this in one day, for sure. They have a limited attention span, our little munchkins, but imagine if you consciously do this every year, how much would you have covered in 30 Children’s Day!
Go back to Pandit Nehru’s quote that was mentioned in the first few lines of this post. The children are like buds, we need to give them the exposure that helps them blossom. Utilize all such available days, make it fun and exciting for them, and talk to them about all things important!
Cover Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash
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