The 14th of November has held a lot of significance in all our early lives. Today, as the world gears up for Children’s Day 2019, the importance of this day is all the way more. This is no longer a day of mere celebration of innocence. Before we delve into the modern-day children’s day, let us first take a look into how this day came to be celebrated in the first place.
Children’s day history
The history of the Children’s Day celebration in India dates back to 1956. Back then, it was celebrated on the 20th of November, as suggested by the United Nations. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who the first Prime Minister of India, was very popular with kids and saw to it that this day was celebrated with due enthusiasm. Following his death, the birth anniversary of this great leader came to be celebrated as Children’s Day. This was enacted through a parliamentary resolution to give a befitting farewell to Pt. Nehru. Since then, the 14th of November became a day for raising awareness on the wellness, rights, and education of children.
Modern Take On Children’s Day
It is the callous attitude of generations of Indians that has led the metropolitan cities of India to rank among those having the worst air quality index. Environmental pollution has scaled unimaginable heights. The last couple of weeks saw the city of Delhi in the news because of its poor air quality. In fact, at the moment, 4 Indian cities rank among the top 10 most polluted cities of the world. Not only do things like this put the health of children at risk, but it also raises questions about their future.
Thus, for Children’s Day 2019, we need to make the next generation aware of the environmental consequences of their actions. The insensitivity on our part has forced the next generation to start early in their quest to preserve the environment. Here is a list of some innovative ways in which you can celebrate Children’s Day.
Teach them about food wastage
From a tender age, children should be taught not to waste food. Inculcating this habit early in life will lead them to become responsible citizens in the future. This Children’s Day 2019, you can take things a notch higher and teach kids to make their very own fruit enzyme cleaner. These organic cleaning agents are very easy to make and can be prepared from fruit peels. Preparing a cleaning agent from scratch will make them more responsible for littering the environment.
Get your kids to collect household fruit peels for a few days and place them in an airtight container. To then, they will add a teaspoon of powdered sugar and allow it to stand in a cool, dry corner. As the mixture starts fermenting, you can teach your kids the concept of fermentation. Get them to open the lid of the container every alternate day to let out the bad odor gas left by the fruit peels. At the end of the week, help your kids filter out the liquid, which is now ready to be used as a cleaning agent.
Organize a quiz for your kids
If your child is of school-going age, the chances are that they would be hearing some eloquent Children’s Day Speech. As a guardian, you must make your child realize his responsibility towards the environment as well. An efficient way of teaching this subject would be by organizing a quiz for your ward and his friends on this day. Keep chocolates or other small gifts handy to give out to them on successfully answering the questions. If they fail to answer a question, make sure that you discuss the answer before moving to the next question. Try to include details of the different environmental protection acts as well.
Teach them to live in harmony with other creatures
It is important to make children realize that the earth belongs to animals, birds, and plants as much as it belongs to them. It is never too early to make them aware of their responsibilities. An interesting way of bringing up this subject and making Children’s Day 2019 more memorable for them would be to teach them to make a bird feeder and invite birds to their home.
Give your kids a 1-liter tetra pack, to begin with. Then, about 2 inches from the bottom, help them to cut out a 3-inch semi-circular hole. Do this on only one side of the tetra pack. Now let your children run a thin rope through the upper part. Then get them to fill a portion of the pack with bird feed and help them fix the bird feeder on a tree. In urban homes, where a tree might not be easily available, the grill of a balcony would work just as fine.
Visit a place close to nature
The environmental awareness programme that one would watch on TV or YouTube does nothing to teach children about their roots. You can celebrate Children’s Day by going away from the polluted city life and going to a place that is close to nature. Based on the place you live in, this may be a beach, hilltop, or a fishing trip. Try to avoid conventional picnic spots as they tend to be crowded on Children’s Day. While visiting a place, try to talk to your wards about the significance of the area. As your little ones see different plants and animals in their natural surroundings, try to talk about the role of each of them in the food chain. Remember that for little kids, seeing is believing, and the more you tell them while they are experiencing it, the better will be their chances of retaining the same.
Thus, as you can see, the celebration of Children’s Day 2019 needs not to be conventional and monotonous. As the world is changing, so are the rights and responsibilities. This Children’s Day, by familiarizing the next generation with their environmental duties, you will be setting them on the path of a sustainable future. Now one cannot have a gift better than this one, can they?