8th August 2010
Still getting used to blogging so found this info on the net:
Children’s Day
Chile
In Chile, Children's Day Día del Niño is celebrated on August 8. It retains none of the international flavor as a day to recognize the needs of or rights of children, but is observed merely as a commercial holiday dedicated to buying toys for children (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Children's Day (Día del Niño) - friend or foe?
In my attempt to understand the concept of Children's Day (Día del Niño) which seems to be a big deal in many Latin American countries, I took to the Internet. I found out that Children's Day is an idea adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954. The main message of this day is to recognize children, pay homage to their importance in society, and endorses their well being. Politically speaking, the idea of Children's Day was enforced to promote the rights of all children around the world.The Declaration of Rights of a Child, simply put:1. All children have the right to what follows, no matter what their race, color sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, or where they were born or who they were born to.2. You have the special right to grow up and to develop physically and spiritually in a healthy and normal way, free and with dignity.3. You have a right to a name and to be a member of a country.4. You have a right to special care and protection and to good food, housing and medical services.5. You have the right to special care if handicapped in any way.6. You have the right to love and understanding, preferably from parents and family, but from the government where these cannot help.7. You have the right to go to school for free, to play, and to have an equal chance to develop yourself and to learn to be responsible and useful. Your parents have special responsibilities for your education and guidance.8. You have the right always to be among the first to get help.9. You have the right to be protected against cruel acts or exploitation, e.g. you shall not be obliged to do work which hinders your development both physically and mentally. You should not work before a minimum age and never when that would hinder your health, and your moral and physical development.10. You should be taught peace, understanding, tolerance and friendship among all people.I completely and totally agree with these rights granted to all children around the world and further, would personally work vehemently to always ensure that children are protected from any and all types of harm. In addition, I agree with the general mission of the UN's General Assembly's purpose behind promoting a Children's Day: "a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children."Truly it's a great principle, great mission, aims to teach great values and promotes the fraternity among children and the safekeeping of all children. What could be wrong with Children's Day?? I'll tell you: the retailers and their aim to make you feel like guilty if you don't go out and get your kids presents they've come to expect. These retailers, and their marketing strategy, aim to make you out as the best parent/uncle/grandparent/cousin/friend/what-have-you if you buy the child the latest and greatest gadget "available only at XYZ store" and for a "limited time." The underlying message here is that if you don't go out and buy said toy or gadget, you're plain wicked for not appreciating kids and how important they are to society.Oh but the retailers aren't at fault, really. Society believes the hype as we believe the hype about Christmas and birthdays and Valentine's Day. If you were to encounter someone who say, never celebrated birthdays or gave gifts on someone's birthday, I'm sure we'd all conclude the guy/woman is a nut and carry on our merry way. In this case, I'm the nut because in the States, I don't recall ever celebrating - or even hearing about - Children's Day. As I got older and began to work in the children's entertainment industry, from revenue generating level, I welcomed Children's Day in other territories as a prime time to make some "holiday" cash by selling our goods and helping my bottom line. See? Even I succumbed to the hype surrounding Children's Day; only it was from the worst angle possible! Using their desires to generate income for a business purpose. Ugly, to say the least.From a more objective perspective one thing is decidedly clear: based on the advertisements I see on TV and in print, it appears that the Chilean retailers don't embrace the true nature of Children's Day. Perhaps they don't because the consumer goes out and buys what's necessary because it's what has always occurred and what's expected. I certainly get the retailer side of things and the fact that it's all based on the general public's actions and needs. I wonder if I'll even see some kind of organized activity that truly embraces the nature of Children's Day as the UN General Assembly had hoped: promoting fraternity and understanding between children.
http://chileangringa.blogspot.com/2010/08/childrens-day-dia-del-nino-friend-or.html
Kids Day: Save up to 35% buying online

Kids Day Big money for retailers
Among the best selling products online are video game consoles, digital cameras and cellular phones.
It is the most important day for retailers after Christmas. Purchases for Children’s Day, on 8 August, are generating huge sales for traditional retail stores as well as online buying platforms, which is gaining favor with more buyers.
That’s because buying online can bring in savings of up to 35% off retail store prices, according to a survey by Chilean company MercadoLibre.com.
The survey shows that a boys junior bicycle can be bought for an average price of CLP$ 57,990 in traditional retail stores, and CLP$ 45,000 online, a 29% savings (CLP$ 12,990).
Another example is a Sony Play station games console which can purchased for CLP$ 174,990 in a retail store, can be purchased online for CLP$ 129,990 a 35% savings (CLP $ 45,000), according to the survey.
The site also ranks its top online purchases with PSP consoles in first place, followed by mini remote controlled helicopters

Online retail giant MercadoLibre Chile
(CLP$12,900), the Nintendo Wii system (CLP$165,000); digital cameras(CLP$59,900) and children’s cell phones (CLP$50,000).
Constanza Abdala, of MercadoLibre Chile states that “according to the demand that we see, parents are spending on average between CLP$ 12,900 and CLP$ 165,000, though many parents are finding options of $ 7,000
http://www.ilovechile.cl/2010/08/01/kids-day-save-up-to-35-buying-online/10243