The annual National Children’s Day for Thailand took place today. Children are considered as the most valuable resource of the country. There is a Thai saying that goes, “Children are the future of the nation, if the children are intelligent, the country will be prosperous.” To help stimulate children to be aware of their significant role in the country, the National Children’s Day was held for the first time on the first Monday of October 1955 and continued like this until 1963. Then it was changed to the second Saturday of January.
Many organizations around the country and popular tourist attractions for children, like zoos, put on special activities for children. Most of these allowed children to go in for free. Some public transport was also free today for children. In Samut Prakan, children didn’t have to pay to go to the Crocodile Farm, Ancient Siam and The Erawan Museum. Other places, like the Royal Thai Naval Academy, opened their doors especially for children and their parents. Here two boys are playing on a warship. There was also dog shows.
At the City Hall Plaza in Samut Prakan, there were many activities for the children to take part in. Many of the fun games had prizes which they gave away. But there were also some booths, like this one, where they were just handing out presents to the children. There was also free food and drinks for everyone including parents. The fire brigade was there allowing the children to have hands-on experience of putting out fires.
The emphasis was on having fun and there was certainly plenty of that despite all the crowds. The event was opened by the Governor who told the children of the motto for this year which is: “Think creatively, learn diligently, uphold morality.” He also allowed the children to go and visit his office where he works and have their picture taken with him. Children all over the country certainly look forward to this day.
You can see some more of my pictures over at www.paknamphotos.com and a video at www.paknam.com.
