Parents urged to build closeness with children on National Children's Day

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Arifah Fauzi stressed the importance of parents building closeness with their children, so that children do not feel awkward about sharing their daily lives and concerns with their parents.

“Children need to be heard. We see so often that our children today have no place to confide,” said Minister Arifah Fauzi at a press conference for National Children’s Day in Jakarta on Tuesday.

On that occasion, she revealed that a survey of 20,000 children had been conducted in Central Java.

“In that survey, there was a question like this: if you have a problem, who do you confide in?” she said.

“There is a big question in my heart especially. What is happening with their families, what is happening in their homes, that they cannot confide or have no time or opportunity to confide in their parents, so they choose to confide in their friends instead,” said Arifah Fauzi.

She expressed hope that the 42nd National Children’s Day commemoration in 2026 would serve as momentum to build collective awareness of the importance of fulfilling children’s rights and protection.

Riau Islands Province will host the peak of the National Children’s Day commemoration on 23 July.

However, the 2026 National Children’s Day commemoration will be carried out in a decentralised manner to bring the celebration closer to children across all regions of Indonesia.

Regional governments will hold National Children’s Day commemorations in their respective areas.

“We encourage regional governments at the provincial, regency and city levels, down to the village level, to hold National Children’s Day commemorations. So it is about making children happy and bringing all stakeholders closer to paying special attention to our children,” said Minister Arifatul Choiri Fauzi.