Promoting children's right to play

Practice shows that playing is not only fun, a legitimate desire of children but also a useful activity for their intellectual and emotional development. Because playing helps improve physical health and motor skills, helping children stay active. Playing also helps stimulate intellectual development, arouse curiosity and train children in problem-solving skills. Through playing, children can also control their emotions, discover their own strengths; at the same time, learn how to work in groups and effective coordination skills.

Ms. Leslie Miller, Acting Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam, affirmed that play is essential for quality education and is one of the most powerful tools for children's development. Children's right to play is also one of the basic rights recognized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Vietnamese Law on Children. However, unfortunately, not all children have the opportunity to play freely.

According to UNICEF estimates, about 160 million children worldwide are forced to work instead of play.

According to UNICEF estimates, about 160 million children worldwide are forced to work instead of play. In Vietnam, there are still children who are not guaranteed the right to healthy play. According to the results of the Sustainable Development Goals Survey on Children and Women in Vietnam in the period of 2020-2021, jointly conducted by the General Statistics Office and UNICEF, 6.6% of children aged 5-17 participate in both household work and economic activities (considered child labor). More than 50% of child laborers have to work in difficult, hazardous conditions with quite long working hours (40.6% of children in this group have to work more than 40 hours/week).

On the other hand, authorities and many parents themselves are not fully aware of the value of recreational activities, so they do not spend enough time and appropriate, safe space for these activities.

Practice shows that promoting children's right to play needs to be identified as one of the important tasks today. From there, efforts should be made to ensure that all children from cities to rural areas or remote areas have access to playgrounds, toys, music, and sports facilities; build playgrounds suitable for children, ensuring safe and healthy play spaces. In addition, parents can participate in playing with their children, both increasing the time with their children and helping to limit the time children spend on harmful social networking platforms.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thuc-day-quyen-vui-choi-cua-tre-em-post814039.html