It is a week before Father’s Day. Children’s Day 2023 is set for Sunday June 11. It is a day that America is missing.
John Ross, advocate for Children’s Day , #KidsNeedChildrensDay, on the second Sunday in June, notes “The tragic event in Tennessee in March shows that our country still needs a deeper commitment to its children. Yes, kids need Children’s Day. Our commitment as individuals and a community is to love our children on this special Sunday and throughout the year. We need it now more than ever. This is a call to action.”
Ross is part of an informal grass-roots movement spear-headed by the website nationalchildrensday.us. This site and many others hope the attitude of Americans will change regarding a special day for children. And building on this hope is commitment to ongoing betterment of our children.
Here are a couple of facts that show the care our children must have. By establishing a National Children’s Day in the United States, these concerns can be brought forefront:
- Most nations of the world have a special day for children. (Listing of 93 countries) Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children’s_Day
- An analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research nonprofit, that relied on 2020 data compiled by the CDC found that firearms were the No. 1 cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. Those deaths included accidents, suicides, and homicides. The analysis found that in 2020 alone, gun-related violence killed 4,357 children (ages 1-19 years old) in the U.S. By comparison, motor-vehicle deaths accounted for 4,112 deaths in that age range. Source: https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/03/29/guns-leading-deaths-children-us.
Governors of the state of Illinois have proclaimed the second Sunday in June to be “Children’s Day.” The cities of Aurora, Ill.; Batavia, Ill.; Yorkville, Ill..; and other such cities have issued past proclamations as well. Batavia has issued a 2023 proclamation.
Children’s Day observations in the United States predate both Mother’s and Father’s Day. The day to celebrate children dates from the 1860s and earlier. The Methodist Episcopal Church at the Methodist Conference of 1868 recommended that the second Sunday in June be observed annually as Children’s Day . The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1883 designated the “the second Sabbath in June as Children’s Day.”
Chase’s Calendar of Events cites Children’s Sunday and notes that The Commonwealth of Massachusetts issues an annual proclamation.
Numerous churches and denominations currently observe the second Sunday in June.
The Children’s Day website, nationalchildrensday.us, asks individuals, churches/houses of worship, schools/places of education, government/community and businesses to sign commitment cards directed at affirming America’s children. Pledging to “commit myself/ourselves, in the next year, to love, cherish, nurture (physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual needs) and affirm.”
—John Ross