MEXICO.- For many, Children's Day (Día del Niño in México) may seem like a fun and cheerful holiday that celebrates our littlest ones or that simply reminds us that no matter how old we are, there will always be a place that brings out our most childish spirit.

Furthermore, aside from being a day for giving gifts and promising great amounts of fun, the real purpose behind this holiday is to 'reaffirm children's rights and assign activities that will ensure their well-being.' This is something that thousands of Mexican kids have yet to know.

Child labour is a problem that severely affects kids in Mexico, according to Autonomous National University of Mexico researcher, Mauricio Padrón Inamorato, there are at least 900,000 minors working in the country, putting aside those who are living under a homeless situation.

This number is on related to the children and teenagers whose families have great economic needs.

70,000 kids who weren't taken into account, suffer from sexual exploitation and 45,000 more are victims of different types of trafficking, such as for organs.

Far beyond Kid's Day, Mauricio Padrón assures that there is a lack in improving the institutional outline and surveillance mechanisms that guarantee child rights are complied, and given that numbers are so high, organisms such as the Office for the Defence of Children turn out to be insufficient when it comes to tackling the problem.

"Also, childhood has gone historically unnoticed under cultural terms; Mexico is a country where is understood that a child does not have rights and he/she has to do whatever their parents want" mentioned Padrón in his investigation, highlighting that it's also import an to educate adults in that matter.

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