Why Every Child Needs a Family: Reflections on International Day of Families
Family means a circle of care, where every child is seen, heard, protected and given the freedom to thrive. It goes beyond biology. A network of care, love and protection that fuels child development is what a family is. When children grow up in safe, nurturing environments, supported by engaged caregivers and communities, they thrive.
Each year, International Day of Families is celebrated on 15 May. This year, let’s reflect on what roles families play in a child’s life and how we as a society can offer community support for families. Moreover, with this guidebook, we can learn how collaborating with a leading child protection organization can help us make significant changes to the lives of those who rely on us for support.
The Role of Family in Child Protection
On World Day for Families, we must recognise how resilient family structures are essential in guiding children towards safe, protected, and empowering childhoods. Below are some of the significant means through which families safeguard children:
A loving word from family becomes a child’s lifelong anchor of confidence
A safe home wraps a child in the armour of protection against the world
A family’s care turns meals, schoolbooks, and medicine into stepping stones for dreams
Through family, a child discovers who they are and where they belong
A guiding hand at home shapes choices that lead to brighter, kinder futures
What Makes a Family Important to a Child?
It is within the family that a child's first world is built. It is in the family that a child learns to believe, to hope, and to develop. For all children, regardless of their financial condition, the caring family is the refuge that shields them from injury. Families do not just build emotional development but also serve as a basis for child well-being, learning, nutrition, and health.
However, whenever the families themselves are economically vulnerable, migrating, or mourning, the children may not receive adequate attention. Under these circumstances, the timely intervention of a child protection organization becomes most important.
How Child Protection Organization Support the Families in Child Development
This year’s theme of the Global Day for Families is Family-Oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development. The United Nation’s goal here is to reinforce the idea that empowering families is not just a social priority. It is a sustainable development imperative. We must understand that prioritising child welfare, access to education, and economic empowerment of households is the best approach towards a better future.
Bal Raksha Bharat (also known as Save the Children India), a top child protection NGO, works closely on this theme. They work day and night to provide each child with the essence of family, love, affection, security, and belongingness. Through their initiatives focused on family support, they work to ensure that every child, regardless of circumstance, has a fair chance at health, education, and hope. Because when families are empowered, children are unstoppable.
How Can You Make a Difference?
The spirit of the Global Family Day extends beyond biological bonds. It speaks to the idea of shared responsibility. Anyone can become a part of this mission to protect and nurture children.
An act of kindness, be it volunteering, creating awareness, or contributing a donation for NGO cause, can really make a difference to a child's life. By supporting an organisation working towards child protection, such as Bal Raksha Bharat, we can invest in the making of secure childhoods, caring families, and resilient communities.
A young boy, named Bhola in Bihar, for example, was accidentally left behind when his parents went out for seasonal work. Through community-based outreach to Bal Raksha Bharat, which has already impacted the lives of more than 10 million children, the family was reunited. The parents were made aware of critical information on children's rights and the importance of education. Today, the boy grows up with his family, goes to school daily, and aspires to be a teacher.
These are not isolated stories. Every time a family is strengthened or rebuilt, it creates a better future for a child. This is what this global family unity day really marks: rebuilding safe, loving spaces for every child.
Building Family-Like Support Systems
Reunifying children with biological families in some cases is not possible. In these instances, we as a society should work towards their well-being. Alternative care systems, like foster families and community-based care models, provide children with the emotional and social safety nets required, and our donation for NGO helps progress such campaigns.
In addition, organisations like Bal Raksha Bharat even invest in family-strengthening programmes. These include parenting workshops, financial education training, and psychosocial support, particularly for single parents and caregivers. All this is done while upholding the dignity, diversity, and resilience of families.
A Call for Togetherness
This is the day to honour families for their central role in shaping communities, society, and, most importantly, children. A family is not only a home to each child; it's a feeling of identity, support, and care. For millions of children, a nurturing and supportive family environment can be the key to unlocking their full potential. Families provide the strong foundation children need to grow into confident, independent individuals. In this International Day of Families, let us pledge our collective solidarity to ensure each child feels secure in a family, by birth, community, or loving care.
By cooperating and supporting effective child protection measures, we can ensure that no child feels alone, is not safe, or is forgotten. We should all belong to a world where all children have a family of their own.
FAQs
What is the International Day of Families?
It falls on 15 May every year to celebrate the family's contribution towards the community and the safeguarding of children.
Why are children better off in families?
They are offered love, security, and care, the backbone for child development, education, and happiness.
What does an organisation for child protection do?
It prevents abuse, neglect, and exploitation and helps to strengthen families to build protective environments for children.
What if children cannot remain with their biological family?
Alternative care, such as foster families or community-based support, ensures children still enjoy protection and love.
How do I help children and families in need?
You can donate, volunteer, or raise awareness for NGO programmes benefiting vulnerable children and families.