National Children's Day 2019 Posted on 10 May 2019 by Julia - Kent-Teach in General National Children's Day UK (NCDUK) is all about the importance of a healthy childhood and how we need to protect the rights and freedoms of children in order to ensure that they can grow into happy, healthy adults. This year, National Children’s Day UK is taking place on Sunday 12th May and people can run any kind of big or small event that they want for the week up to and including the day. From small family outings, to whole school and community events, local authority initiatives, talks, seminars and city-wide celebrations, it's an opportunity for everyone to raise awareness about the things they care about or projects they are running. An increasingly important national event Over the five years since its launch the day has attracted the support of thousands of organisations throughout the UK. These include community groups, children’s centres, nurseries, schools, local authorities, hospitals, hospices, museums, theatres, play organisations, arts centres, local charities, business and shopping malls! Why is it so important? Because happy and healthy children create happy and healthy societies. And yet children in the UK are having a hard time. Currently: 30% (4.1 million) currently live in poverty 22% are clinically obese (with the number of 10 and 11-year-old children classed as severely obese in the final year of primary school now nearly double those found in reception classes) one in eight (11.2%) children under 19 in England currently have a mental health disorder 2 million children in England live in families with substantial complex needs.1.6 million children have no established, recognised form of additional support. Wendy Ellyatt, Chief Executive of the Save Childhood Movement said: “Children are our future - and protecting the health and wellbeing of children is everybody’s business. No matter what role we have in society, we need to work together to ensure that every child in the UK feels safe, loved, valued. If we want to create a more caring and compassionate world, we must start with children”. How can you take part?You can run any kind of event or activity, big or small, in the week leading up to and including NCDUK. Last year, schools and business took part in all sorts of events such as charity runs, art and craft fairs and magical storytelling sessions at local libraries. Check out what went on in 2018 to get more ideas on what you can do for 2019. It doesn’t have to be huge, all you need to do is make special memories for your children and have fun!Get in touch and let us know what you get up to!Developing happy and healthy children in schools is becoming more and more a part of school life but fitting this in on top of the day job of teaching can be tough. For advice on improving the mental health of children, have a look at our blog from last year’s Mental Health Awareness Week Measuring and Monitoring Children and Young People’s Mental Wellbeing. Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 is also just around the corner, so keep your eyes glued to our blog for more top tips coming soon.