Listen to children: my day, my rights
World Children’s Day 2025 parents' toolkit
World Children’s Day on 20 November is UNICEF’s global day for children, by children.
It marks the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and serves as a call to action for schools, communities, and institutions to engage with and support children.
The 2025 theme for World Children’s Day is "my day, my rights". We're encouraging the world to actively listen to children to understand what their lives are like, and how their rights are present, missing or pursued every day, promoting children's right to participation. Children should be empowered to voice their opinions about the world they want to live in, and it’s all of our responsibility to listen and support their visions.
Let's go!
The power of parenting
The importance of listening to children
How to get involved
Having conversations about child rights
The power of parenting
As a parent or caregiver, you play a critical role in nurturing your child’s voice. You are their first support system, and they look to you for guidance and encouragement. By creating an environment where your child feels safe and heard when expressing their thoughts, you’re helping shape the next generation of leaders, thinkers and doers.
The importance of listening to children
- Builds confidence and self-esteem: When children feel heard and understood, it boosts their confidence. It shows them that their thoughts and ideas are valued.
- Encourages critical thinking: Listening to your children helps them develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It encourages them to think deeply about the world and their place in it.
- Nurtures creativity: By giving children the freedom to express their vision for the future, you’re helping them to think creatively about the challenges and opportunities they may face.
Strengthens your bond: Open dialogue fosters trust between parents and children. It ensures that children feel comfortable coming to you with their dreams, concerns, and ideas.
#WorldChildrensDay
Learn more about World Children's Day 2025.
How to get involved this World Children's Day
Here are some practical ways to engage your children around World Children’s Day.
Listen: Give your children space to express their ideas, even if they seem too ambitious. Ask questions and engage with what they’re saying.
Reflect: Take time to reflect on what your child is sharing. How can their ideas shape your family, your community, or even the world?
Support and engage: Help your child pursue their dreams and visions, whether through creative activities or conversations.
1. Family conversations: Talking about the future
Set aside dedicated time for a family discussion where everyone can share their thoughts on the future. This can happen over a meal, or something that you do together as a family.
Ask open-ended questions such as:
- What kind of world do you want to live in when you grow up?
- What are some things you would like to change about the world?
- How do you think we can make the future better for everyone?
Listen carefully to their answers, ask follow-up questions, and encourage them to explore their ideas. Record or write down their thoughts. Consider making this a yearly tradition to see how their visions evolve.
2. Creative family projects: Collage, art, and writing
Create a collage: Gather magazines and newspapers and help your child create a collage that represents their dream for the future. This could include pictures of a clean environment, advanced technology, happy families, etc. Hang the collage in a place where you can all see it regularly.
Art or writing project: Encourage your child to draw or write about the future they envision. What will schools look like? What will cities be like? How will people live? You can even frame their artwork or share it on social media as part of World Children’s Day using the hashtag #WorldChildrensDay.
3. Future journals and letters
Start a “future journal”: Encourage your child to keep a journal where they can write down their thoughts about the future, including major issues like climate change or disruptive technology.
Write a letter to the future: Ask your child to write a letter to themselves 10 or 20 years from now. Encourage them to include their ideas, hopes and dreams for the future. Revisit the letter in the future together to reflect on how their visions evolved.
4. Participate in community events
Join local World Children’s Day events: Many communities organize events for World Children’s Day where children can showcase their talents, discuss their ideas, or participate in activities. Look for local events through schools, NGOs, and community centres. Attending these events with your children can help them feel part of a larger movement.
Organize your own event: If there aren’t any events nearby, consider hosting a small gathering with other parents and children or proposing this to your child’s creche or school. This could be as simple as a playdate or community meet-up where kids can discuss their ideas for the future and participate in activities like art or storytelling.
Engage with others: Follow UNICEF on social media and explore with your child examples of what other kids are doing around the world. Discuss how their ideas are similar or different, and how together, all these ideas can make a difference. Following UNICEF is also an opportunity to learn more about issues that affect children around the world.
Your child’s perspective is important. They may see the world differently to you, but their fresh views can offer solutions that are both innovative and hopeful.
Learn more: World Children's Day 2025 campaign
Conversations about child rights
Are children’s rights the same as human rights? Learning about child rights is the first step in becoming a child rights defender.
- Read the child-friendly version of The Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Explore resources for parents and teachers on child rights
Watch “We All Have Rights” a video explaining child rights to children aged 3 to 6
Starting a conversation
Here are some tips on holding supportive conversations:
And topic guides to some of the most pressing global issues:
