Children’s Day falls on Saturday, November 14 this year. In India, the day marks the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, who was born on November 14, 1889, and was known for his fondness for children.
Schools usually celebrate on the day before, which leaves the weekend for families. You do not need a party or a big budget. What most children remember is time with a parent who is not looking at a phone. Here are a few easy ideas.
1. Let them run the day
Hand over the plan for a few hours. They choose breakfast, the game, the walk route, even the music in the car. Most children rarely get to decide anything, and they take the job very seriously.
2. Cook something together
Sandwiches, a simple cake, or rolling rotis into odd shapes. The mess is part of it. Younger children can wash vegetables or stir, older ones can follow a recipe on their own.
3. A small family library trip
Visit a library or bookshop and let each child pick one book. Then read the first chapter together that evening. It works better than any lecture about reading.
4. Make something with your hands
Old newspapers, colours, cardboard boxes and glue are enough for an afternoon. A cardboard house, a family poster, a homemade board game. Keep the finished piece on display for a week.
5. Tell them a story about you
Children love hearing what their parents were like at their age: the school, the friends, the trouble you got into. Dig out old photos if you have them. It is one of the simplest ways to feel close.
6. A note for later
Write each child a short letter about what you love about them this year. They may roll their eyes now. Many keep these letters for decades.
7. Plant something together
A few seeds in a pot on the balcony, like methi, coriander or a marigold, give a child something to check on every morning. When the first green shoot comes up a week later, the day gets remembered all over again.
If the air outside is poor where you live, keep the day indoors. Everything on this list works just as well at home.
Featured image: Image: Robyn Budlender, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
