World Children’s Day 2025

Thursday, 2 October 2025 14:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Jeevani Pereira

World Children’s Day is celebrated in Sri Lanka on October 1st annually. This year the theme for World Children’s Day is “Nurture with Love - To Lead the World”.

The week leading up to Children’s Day has also been declared as the National Children’s Week. It will take place from 25th September to 1st October. Several programmes and initiatives will take place during this time.

Interestingly the date for World’s Children’s Day changes according to region and country. It was first proclaimed during the World Conference of Child Welfare in 1925 and since 1950 is celebrated by several countries on June 1st. Several other countries began celebrating it on November 20th to commemorate the issuance of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly.

While here in Sri Lanka we celebrate it on October 1st each year, the day is a great reminder that children are often overlooked and are among the more vulnerable in our society. Giving them a space to grow in security and freedom, looking after their interests and making sure that their rights are protected, is a sign of a healthy and thriving country and people. Most importantly helping them grow in their creativity too, gives children the opportunity to discover their potential and what they would like to be when they grow up.

While conventional education is and always will be a strong foundation for our children, we must not forget that every child cannot fill the formulaic mold. As parents and teachers, giving room for a child’s imagination and encouraging them with what they are good at, can help nurture them to become good leaders and grow to bring true change in the world around them.

In the Junior Mirror, which is the children’s section of the Daily Mirror, you will find a space for your kids to discover creativity and grow their imagination. So get your children to read, to write, to draw and paint, encourage them to do more activities that they love, to nurture a future in which they will find contentment, joy and peace.