Surf Coast Shire will focus on nature play - how will you acknowledge Children’s Week?

National Children’s Week is a celebration in Australia of children’s rights, talents and citizenship, held on the fourth Wednesday of October to coincide with Universal Children’s Day. Each year the theme of Children’s Week highlights a particular Children’s Right, with the 2019 theme being based on Article 24 – ‘Children have the right to the best health care possible, safe water to drink, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help them stay well’.

To mark the occasion, a diverse range of events and activities are organised at National, State and Local levels to focus the attention of the wider community on children, their needs and achievements.

This year, Children’s Week will be celebrated from Saturday 19 - Sunday 27 October, and thousands of children and their families around the country will be involved in activities and events during "The Week" through the participation of schools, playgroups, childcare, kindergartens, cultural groups, libraries, departments and community groups.

For the Surf Coast Shire Council of Victoria, Children’s Week will feature a range of free events, including teaming up with the YMCA Kids Go Bush program which will feature rope swinging, tree climbing, hut building and mud-pie making.

“It’s all about getting children and young people outside and active,” YMCA Kids Go Bush Nature Program Coordinator Elizabeth Haines said, while emphasising the value of outdoor learning.

“Outdoor learning is proven to improve all aspects of early childhood development, and certainly strengthens a child’s physical development in building core strength as they swing on ropes, to balancing on the uneven ground or logs rather than a standardised playground.

“Children are smart and they’re going to do what their confidence level allows. They might only climb to a certain branch when they’re three years old but by the time they’re 10, they will climb the whole tree. It’s dynamic risk assessing – what branches can I stand on and how far should I go?” she added. Children’s Week is run by different organisations in each state and territory and many of these have their own websites.