Children’s Day, Children’s Rights, Children’s World …
Sunday 20 November marked World Children’s Day, which was established in 1954 and also marks the date in 1989 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). As the parent of two very active children with a better social life than mine, it feels like every day of my life is children’s day. I am their taxi driver, stylist, appointment-maker and general cheerleader. I do my best to help with homework and keep up with conversations about Pokémon, Roblox, football and TikTok while trying to make a healthy dinner that the ever-growing 11-year-old and the super fussy 5-year-old will both eat. It’s exhausting but rewarding – that’s a cliché, I know, but it really is true. What I perhaps don’t appreciate is that in carrying out all of the day-to-day tasks needed to keep my children active and engaged, I’m supporting them to realise the rights they have under the UNCRC – learning, playing, having a roof over their heads, being healthy, eating