Proclamation 6734—National Children's Day, 1994

With every baby born in America, our Nation reaffirms its hope for the future. As parents and care givers, our responsibility is clear. Our most solemn obligation to our children cannot be merely that we hold a torch to guide their way around every dark and treacherous corner. Rather, we must strive to kindle a spark within each child—a spark that will become the flame of knowledge and imagination, the fire of justice and compassion. This is a task for which humanity has great experience and for which humans have little preparation. But in this task our Nation must succeed. So that when our children look to a future that seems, for many, clouded and uncertain, they have the power within themselves to light the way for all of us.

One of the most important steps in meeting that crucial challenge is providing for the health and safety of our children as they grow. That homicide and suicide are the leading causes of death among our youth is a national tragedy. We have enacted legislation that expands and improves the Head Start program, providing health, education, and social services for children of low-income families. America's new Childhood Immunization Initiative will help to vaccinate at least 90 percent of our Nation's infants—the most sweeping effort of its kind in American history. Our new crime bill supports programs that encourage youth to escape the destructive confines of gangs, and it goes a long way toward keeping guns out of the hands of juveniles.

But no government program will be truly effective without the caring involvement of every one of our citizens. Parents and siblings, teachers and neighbors—all of us must work to instill a sense of self and a sense of purpose in the lives of our youth. Children are our hope and our inspiration. For every finger painting that graces our kitchen walls, for every ball game that fills our streets and playgrounds with laughter, we join today in celebrating the many blessings our children bring.

The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 389, has designated the second Sunday in October as "National Children's Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 9, 1994, as National Children's Day. I call upon all Americans to express their appreciation and their love, on this day and every day, for all of our Nation's children. I invite Federal officials, local government, and families across the land to join together in observing this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have here unto set my hand this seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON