Sunday was día del niño or children’s day here in Chile. While spending 20 minutes waiting for an ice cream along with what seemed like every child in Santiago – hey, I was killing time waiting for someone, and it’s a really good ice cream place – I started thinking more about what the day means.

Let me say off the bat that the whole idea is crazy to me – isn’t every day children’s day? I mean, it seems like if you’re doing the whole parenting thing right, then for the most part your chidren are wandering around in self-centered bliss, happily enjoying their childhoods with the occasional after school ice cream and unexpected new toy. The idea behind mothers and fathers each having a day is that kids learn to take time out and appreciate all the good things their parents are doing for them.

If this were a day highlighting the plight of children who don’t have such exemplar families or the rights of children, then I could get behind it. According to Wikipedia, that oh-so-scientific of sources, children’s day was originally related with the World Conference for the Well-Being of Children held in Geneva in 1925. Universal Children’s Day, proclaimed by the UN in 1954, is celebrated on November 20 and aims to promote understanding among children as well as children’s welfare. The UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and later the Convention on the Rights of the Child were both adopted on November 20.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26636506@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Now, have you ever heard of anything being celebrated on November 20? If you live in the US probably not – I certainly haven’t. Although there is a history of national children’s day dating back to the 1800s, and Presidents Clinton and Bush Jr. both declared specific children’s days, the US hasn’t ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The only other country not to have ratified it is Somalia. No comment.

I doubt many Chileans have ever done anything on November 20 either. Here, día del niño is celebrated the second Sunday in August, and it mostly seems to promote consumerism. Between the fast food lunch, day out at the park, afternoon ice cream and the crash that  comes after the sugar rush accompanied by a tantrum thrown because it’s time to go home, I don’t see a whole lot of welfare promotion. I did, however, see a child no more than two years old being gifted cotton candy literally half her height. Happy children’s day, your parents got you the gift that keeps on giving – diabetes!

Source: D Sharon Pruitt, http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/ / CC BY 2.0

I remain a bit mystified by the whole thing, honestly. Christmas and birthdays sound like enough time to spoil any future kids; I’m not sure that another day where every child in the country descends upon all open spaces and sweet things is strictly necessary. But hey, I’m not a parent yet, so you never know.

Is children’s day celebrated where you live? I’d be interested to hear about more traditions around the world!

Emily Williams is a US gringa living in Santiago, Chile. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, Don’t Call Me Gringa, and loves hearing from readers!

Tags: Children, children's day, Chile

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