Step into the shoes of kids to know their needs
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E-mail China Daily, June 6, 2022
"I hope the road near the kindergarten gates is beautiful like a rainbow.""Minty toothpaste is so fiery. Can't they make new ones that suit us?" "Bookshelves in libraries are too high for us to reach." These are some of the responses children gave to a national survey asking them what their dream city should be like.
One needs to get into a child's shoes to understand how they perceive things. Only by listening to their voices and meeting their needs can cities become more child-friendly, which should be a good way to look at things on Wednesday, which is also International Children's Day.
Children are the hope and the future of every family, as well as nation, and cultivating a child-friendly society is of utmost importance. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) has rightfully raised the level of caring for juveniles. The China Children's Development Plan (2021-30) has also raised the goal of building child-friendly cities and communities and "seeing the world at one-meter level", which is the average height of children.
From that height, one can see so many things that can be improved for a child. Surely, toothpastes can be made less minty, or fiery; bookshelves in children's libraries should be low enough for children to easily reach the books; roads in front of schools could be one-way lanes to ensure safety.
It does not take too much to make things child-friendly. It just requires more inclusive policies, more friendly services and more caring hearts. For example, babycare institutions are needed in communities so that babies get cared for when their parents are at work. There should be subsidies for children with disabilities to help them grow healthily.
On International Children's Day, we hope all these children's dreams will come true soon.
