That year, the Ministère de la Famille used the theme of self-expression in young children to make World Children's Day. It was a way for the Ministère to highlight those funny things children say that show their vision of the world.
Of the gems of children's words collected, four were illustrated and used to produce the Ministère's 2014 Holiday greeting cards.
Here are a few gems we collected::
After finding a bow that had fallen off a gift lying on the sidewalk, three-year-old Louis-Philippe exclaimed:
“Look mommy! A gift cap!”
Kids are discussing their parents' jobs. Three-year-old Olivia knows exactly what her mom does:
“My mom works at the Réjudorange” (Régie des rentes).
After returning home, Léa-Rose, four, is helping her mother undress her sister:
“Mommy, let me help. I'll take off my sister's THUNDER plants!”
Léa, four, has put all the rubber duckies into a pot. When her educator asks what she's making, she answers:
“It's a duck conflict, of course!”
On a cooler day, Juliette, four, is shivering:
“Mommy, I'm cold! I'm getting goose HUMPS on my arms!”
Ève-Marie, who is three, is playing kitchen with her big sister. She offers her a bowl of soup:
“Your soup, do you want it hot, TIMID or cold...”
Giving his mother a hug before bed, Ulrik, five, says:
“Mommy, I love you so much, it's incommeasurable!”
Sacha, three:
“My dad's name is Jean-Jacques, and my mom's name is Sweetheart!”
Mathis, five:
“Daddy, what's your teacher's name at your work?”
Victoria, five, waiting impatiently for her red-headed friend to come for a sleepover:
“Mommy, I can't wait to see Jade and her pretty marks!”
Killian, four, wants his daddy to pick him up earlier:
“Can you buy a different job so you can be closer to daycare, like mommy?”
Zac, three, looking at pictures of his mother, pregnant:
“Mommy, when I was in your tummy... why did you eat me?”
Florence, four, wondering about gender…
“Is the house a girl?”
Malik, four, accidentally gets slapped:
“That boy handed me!”
Joliane, four, lights up the back of her brother's hand and can see his veins:
“Felix, look! When I put a light on your skin, I can see your roots!”
Molly, four, speaks her own language:
“Wong de wong de wong tong tong!”
Her daddy asks: “Molly, what language is that?”
And she answers: “It's Asian fusion!”
What do we mean by “kids' gems”?
Kids' gems are mistakes. For instance, some vowels are more difficult to pronounce, and most young children can only say them correctly as of four years old. The child makes wrong a cause-and-effect link. So when learning a new word, the pronounce part of it like a word they recognize. Sometimes, logic guides children in their words, like when they learn to count and they say nineteen, twentyteen, and so on…
Freedom of expression: a fundamental right recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Convention includes two articles on freedom of expression:
- Article 12 : “...the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child...”
- Article 13: “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers...”
The Convention also mentions that the child's opinions shall be taken into consideration, based on the child's age and maturity level.
The exercising of this right to freedom of expression is guided by respect for the rights or reputation of others.
To find out more about the child's freedom of expression, visit the new section dedicated to this under children's development.
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