World Children’s Day is celebrated every year on 20 November with a unique theme. 20 November is not just a date on the calendar; rather, it is a gentle and powerful reminder that every child in this world carries a mind, body, soul and inherent rights which deserve care, love, safety and respect. The World Children’s Day theme for the year 2025 is ‘My Day, My Rights’. The vision behind this theme is to see the life of children through their eyes and to explore how a day looks in the life of a child, and whether their rights are truly alive in every hour of every day that shapes their childhood.
Let us imagine a child waking up with peace of mind in a cosy room, greeted by a loving family, preparing for school, eating a healthy diet, receiving quality education, playing with friends, and dreaming freely. Now imagine another child waking up frightened in an unpleasant or hostile environment, feeling alone, not fed a healthy diet, forced to work instead of receiving an education, or silenced when they wish to speak. These two days belong to the same world, but they tell entirely different stories. The theme ‘My Day, My Rights’ reminds us that every child in this world deserves a day filled with safety, joy, growth, dignity and the fulfilment of their inherent rights.
A child’s day is made up of precious moments that require the fulfilment of four basic rights of the child. The ‘right to survival’ lives when a child’s necessities of life are fulfilled, including access to adequate nutrition, clean water, healthcare and shelter. The ‘right to development’ blossoms when a child is developed physically, ambulatory, emotionally, cognitively, linguistically, socially and spiritually.
The ‘right to protection’ nurtures the security a child feels when the world is safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The ‘right to participation’ flourishes when a child is encouraged to speak, to sing, to share their thoughts without fear and to have their views seriously considered in decisions affecting their own lives, including family matters and broader community issues. When all of these rights are practised in true spirit, a child’s day becomes bright, but when they are denied, the day becomes heavy.
A society that listens to its children, protects them from harm, provides them with equal opportunities and upholds their rights builds a brighter and more compassionate future for children
The theme ‘My Day, My Rights’ urges adults to listen to the views and stories of their children. Sometimes, all a child requires is someone to listen, truly listen to the story of their day. Therefore, parents, teachers, leaders and communities must step into a child’s world, feel their joys, understand their problems, listen to their stories and make a promise that no child’s day should be filled with suffering, neglect or sorrow.
On this World Children’s Day, we must learn that every single day in a child’s life can shape their lifetime. A day would be fabulous and prosperous for a child if their rights are guaranteed, and would be gloomy and unprosperous if their rights are infringed. Child abuse trauma can have lifelong adverse effects on the physical, mental, cognitive and social development of the child and ultimately destroy their brighter future. If we wish for a brighter future for our children, we must uphold their rights not only on world days of celebration but every hour of every day so that their future becomes bright.
Every child is born an innocent and sinless human being, that is, with a pure natural spiritual state towards religion. Their feelings are natural, their emotions are true, their honesty is pure, and their fears are real. All children by birth have innate spiritual capacities which, inter alia, are self-awareness, wisdom, compassion, empathy, love, awe and wonder, mindfulness, curiosity, imagination and wondering.
However, these innate spiritual capacities can only flourish through the proper upbringing of the child by their caregivers and the fulfilment of their fundamental rights. Every day provides an opportunity for us to nurture and flourish these spiritual capacities of our children for their spiritual development and the realisation of their spiritual rights.
In conclusion, World Children’s Day 2025 and its theme ‘My Day, My Rights’ remind us that children’s rights must not only be acknowledged in speeches, policies, laws or documents but must be lived and felt every day. ‘My Day, My Rights’ is not only a theme; it is a promise. A promise that no child will ever wake up to a day filled with fear or loneliness. A promise that every child’s day should be filled with laughter, learning, protection and love. When we honour these promises, we give children not only their rights but also invest in a brighter and more peaceful world for generations to come.
A society that listens to its children, protects them from harm, provides them with equal opportunities and upholds their rights builds a brighter and more compassionate future for children.