Source: Jerry Markatos

I remember asking my mother every Mother’s Day and Father’s Day why there isn’t a Child’s Day. My mom was always quick to respond, “Because every day is child’s day.”

In Mexico, today is día del niño, or Children’s Day. It is an important holiday celebrated across the country. When I first heard about Children’s Day, I raised an eyebrow. I remembered my mother’s words and couldn’t agree more. I know in my family we’re always pulling resources together to see how we can afford this swimming class or maybe that little toy or possibly even a trip somewhere. Our children always come first.

But that’s only part of the reason people celebrate Children’s Day. According to the Consejo Nacional de Población (Conapo), there are currently an estimated 31.7 million children in Mexico. That means 30 percent of the population is under 15 years old. Many of these children either live or work in the street. Take a look at these numbers, put together by www.mexico-chld-link.org, to get an idea of what I’m talking about:

·Mexico City has 1,900,000 underprivileged and street children. 240,000 of these are abandoned children. (Action International Ministries).

·In 1996, the Inter-American Development Bank and UNICEF estimated there were 40 million children living or working on the streets of Latin America–out of an estimated total population of 500 million.

· Some 20 percent of the children survive by begging, 24 percent by selling goods, and others by doing subcontracting work. (”Over 5 Million Child Laborers in Mexico”, Xinhua: Comtex, 14 September 2000, citing National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), “Prevention, Attention, Discouragement and Eradication of Childhood Labor”).

· 8 to 11 million children under the age of 15 years are working in Mexico. (US Dept of Labor, Sweat and Toil of Children, 1994, citing US Dept of State, Human Rights Report, 1993).

Children’s Day, in countries like Mexico, serves as a day to recognize the importance of children in our society and the need to care for and protect them. It reminds us of the millions of children out there who do not have a family or a home or a solid support system. They are far too many.