While May 27 is commemorated as Children's Day in Nigeria, did you know that the holiday celebrated annually in honour of children is observed by countries on different dates?

Children's Day is not just a day to celebrate children for who they are, but to bring awareness to children around the globe that have experienced violence in forms of abuse, exploitation, and discrimination. Children are used as laborers in some countries, immersed in armed conflict, living on the streets, suffering by differences be it religion, minority issues, or disabilities. Children feeling the effects of war can be displaced because of the armed conflict and may suffer physical and psychological trauma.

The following violations are described in the term "children and armed conflict": recruitment and child soldiers, killing/maiming of children, abduction of children, attacks on schools/hospitals and not allowing humanitarian access to children. Currently, there are about 153 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 who are forced into child labor. 

The International Labour Organization in 1999 adopted the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour including slavery, child prostitution, and child pornography. A summary of the rights under the convention on the Rights of the Child can be found on the UNICEF website.

Below is a short history of Children's Day as observed across the globe by different countries.

Children's Day began on the second Sunday of June in 1857 by Reverend Dr. Charles Leonard, pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He held a special service which he named Rose Day (later named Flower Sunday, and then Children's Day), dedicated to, and for the children.

Children's Day is first officially declared a national holiday by the Republic of Turkey in 1920 with the set date of 23 April. Children's Day has been celebrated nationally since 1920 with the government and the newspapers of the time declaring it a day for the children. However, it was decided that an official confirmation was needed to clarify and justify this celebration and the official declaration was made nationally in 1929 by the founder and the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare in 1925. On 4 November 1949, 1 June was established as the International Day for Protection of Children by the Women's International Democratic Federation in Moscow. Since 1950, 1 June is celebrated as Children's Day in many Communist and post-Communist countries. In Paris, Children's Day is celebrated annually on June 1, established in November 1949 by the decision of the Congress of the International Democratic Federation of Women, first celebrated in 1950.

On 14 December 1954, a joint resolution by India and Uruguay was passed in the UN General Assembly to encourage all countries to institute a Universal Children's Day, firstly to promote mutual exchange and understanding among children, and secondly to promote the ideals of the UN Charter and the welfare of the world's children. It is now known as World Children's Day, and is celebrated every year on 20 November. That date commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in a unanimous vote by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 20 November 1959. It also marks the date in 1989 when the UNGA adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is a legally binding document.

In September 2012, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations led the initiative for the education of children. He firstly wants every child to be able to attend school, a goal by 2015. Secondly, to improve the skill set acquired in these schools. Finally, implementing policies regarding education to promote peace, respect, and environmental concern.  The United Nations children's agency released a study referencing the population increase of children will make up 90 percent of the next billion people.

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