It's not JUST Children's Day

First and foremost, HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!

This is the 54th time we're celebrating children's day. Okay, now before you start calculating, let me tell you, this day was first celebrated in the year 1954. But it wasn't celebrated in November as we do now. October was the month for children then. Later in 1959, 20 November came to pronounced as the 'Universal Children's Day'. The idea of this day was assembled by late Shri V.K Krishna Menon. 20 November marks the anniversary of the day in 1959, when the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

In India, Children's Day is celebrated on 14 November every year. The day was preponed to 14 November as this date marks the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The reason why his birth date is chosen is (as we all know) because of his love and passion towards children.

Fun and frolic will always be there on this day but only for the ones who can afford it and who will be left behind - the downtrodden street children. Why not contribute something towards them- let your child sponsor an orphanage through an NGO or making it simple- befriend those unprivileged kids, donate toys, books, clothes. Parents can donate to provide better living conditions for the not-so-fortunate children. In India, as per my knowledge (kindly correct me if I'm wrong), no Logo has been assigned for children's day.

Well, Children share this day with World Diabetes Day. Yes, World Diabetes Day is also celebrated today - 14th November. It highlights its need for greater global awareness for diabetes. International Diabetes Federation leads a campaign for diabetes named the 'Word Diabetes Day'. The Federation’s mission is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. This year their theme is "Diabetes in Children and Adolescents". World Diabetes Day focuses on children and adolescents to raise awareness of the diabetes and its impact on children as every child has a right to a long and healthy life.

The World Diabetes Day campaign in 2007 and 2008 aims to:

• Increase the number of children supported by the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child Program
• Raise awareness of the warning signs of diabetes
• Encourage initiatives to reduce diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and distribute materials to support these initiatives
• Promote healthy lifestyles to help prevent type 2 diabetes in children

(as published in worlddiabetesday.org)

The logo for World Diabetes Day by the IDF-


For more Information on World Diabetes Day by IDF,
Click here