Before the Philippines started observing National Children’s Month, many countries
around the world had already been celebrating ‘Children’s
Day.’ It began in June 1857
when Reverend Dr. Charles Leonard conducted a special
service for the children.
Initially, he first called it ‘Rose Day,’ then ‘Flower
Sunday,’ and was finally renamed
‘Children’s Day.’
The first country that turned this celebration into a
national holiday was Turkey back in
1920. However, the global adoption of this holiday didn’t happen
until 1925 when
International Children’s Day was proclaimed in Geneva,
Switzerland during the World
Conference on Child Welfare. On June 1, 1950, many communist
and post-communist
countries started adopting the International Children’s Day
as well, including a joint
resolution between India and Uruguay in 1954.
The Philippines first adopted the Convention on the Rights
of the Child by the United
Nations on November 20, 1989. The National Youth Commission
(N.Y.C.), the Council
for the Welfare of Children (C.W.C.), and the Department of
Social Welfare and
Development (D.S.W.D.) were tasked to come up with
activities, plans, and charitable
events to help children in need.
The focus of National Children’s Month is to offer help to
those children who suffered
from abuse, poverty, natural calamities, and violence. In
fact, in 2013 alone, there was a
disturbingly high rate of children who suffered from sexual
abuse and exploitation.
