The Honourable Joan Burke, Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, hosted a playgroup yesterday as part of a celebration to mark National Child Day.

Minister Burke joined child care providers and children at the Family and Child Care Connections (FCCC) resource centre in St. John's. Minister Burke read a couple of stories to a group of excited children in the reading corner.

"This celebration is all about you," Minister Burke told the children. "When you are a little older, you will understand how lucky you are to have the right to enjoy your childhood freely and to be treated with dignity and respect."

National Child Day — the official date is Saturday, November 20 - is a Canada-wide celebration of two historic events for children: the adoption of the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of the Child (1959) and Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

"Our government understands that children are our greatest natural resource and we are committed to ensuring children, youth and families are supported and have access to quality programs and services," said Minister Burke. "We clearly demonstrated that children are our top priority with the creation of a new government department which is solely dedicated to their protection and well-being, The theme for National Child Day this year is the children's right to express themselves. Our department often acts as the voice for our most vulnerable children and we safeguard their basic rights to feel safe and nurtured."

FCCC is a community-based, non-profit early learning and family child care organization that recruits and approves family child care providers, as well as provides community programs and resources for families with children under the age of six.

"Research has determined that quality early learning and child care programs have an extremely positive influence on the overall development and well-being of young children," said Lynn Smyth, FCCC Coordinator. "Key to this success are the roles that parents, early childhood educators, family child care providers and our government play. We are privileged to be so closely connected to this community of people who believe in the care and success of our children. National Child Day is a special time to commemorate the rights of our children and we are happy Minister Burke could join us to share in this celebration."

Minister Burke acknowledged the important role quality child care plays in a child's development and thanked the family child care providers in attendance for their dedication to their work. In regulated family child care, children are cared for in the home of their child care provider.

"Access to child care is an issue across the province and regulated family care provides another option for parents," said Minister Burke. "I would like to take this opportunity to encourage more individuals who are interested in a career in child care to consider starting a family child care in their own homes, particularly in our more isolated communities where there may not be the volume to support a child centre. The recruitment of more family child care providers is one of many considerations we will be looking at as we develop our early learning and child care strategy in the coming months."

Regulated family child care providers can avail of Provincial Government's assistance to help run their family child homes. The FCCC also supports child care providers in the St. John's and surrounding areas by offering on-going training and home visits to ensure a high quality service that operates within provincial regulations.

"I would like to acknowledge all the groups and individuals who work for and with children on a daily basis," added Minister Burke. "Their dedication and caring provide our children with the support and guidance they need to feel safe, thrive and succeed in life. I commend the numerous groups throughout this province who have organized special events across the province to mark this important day."