Students at Mount Maunganui Primary School have got behind annual awareness event Buddy Day again this year, with great enthusiasm.

Mount Primary School students are joining children and youth from across Hamilton, Auckland, Tauranga, Ruapehu and Wellington this term to decorate Buddies in preparation for adults to ‘care' for them on Buddy Day, happening on Friday, November 13.

Leah Collins, 10, Claire Lendrum, 10, and Lucy Julian, 9.

Buddy Day is an annual awareness day that spreads the message about doing altogether better for kids and involves 1800 adults in the five locations adopting life-size cardboard ‘Buddies' and taking them into communities and workplaces.

Buddies are used as a tool to start conversations and raise awareness about the role every adult plays in the lives of kids – from preventing child abuse to providing great environments where they can reach their full potential.

Through the adult ‘Buddy arers', the Buddies will ask people: 'What one thing will you do better for kids in your field of view - today, this week or this year?”

Prior to Buddy Day, the Buddies are created by school and preschool children, where they are dressed, decorated, and given a name and story.

'The students have been so engaged with Buddy Day,” says Mount Primary School deputy principal Hadleigh Benson.

'They thoroughly enjoyed creating and making their own Buddies. Discussions were around the name of the Buddy, its life story and various hobbies. They enjoyed creating the background story of how their Buddies came to life.”

The huge negative impact that the mistreatment of children has on the health and wellbeing of the New Zealand population is the main reason principal supporter of Buddy Day, Sovereign, became involved in 2013.

Child Matters chief executive Anthea Simcock tells how in its origins, Buddy Day was created to challenge existing attitudes and behaviours towards the way we value our children, and shift us all towards a society that prioritises the wellbeing of children in everything we do.

'We want to encourage people to do what they can to impact children's lives in positive ways every day – whether it is making a change for one child, or doing something that will make a difference for many.

'Every child deserves a great childhood, and I believe it is everybody's business to do what they can to make this happen.

'We know that child protection initiatives such as training, child protection policies and changes in legislation work towards ensuring children in New Zealand can reach their full potential.

'However, the reality is that we cannot take a nationwide journey to behavioral change without every person – every community – understanding that it's their responsibility to do better for all children.”

Participation in Buddy Day is free. Adults can register as Buddy ‘carers' and adopt a Buddy on Buddy Day, Friday 13 November at www.buddyday.org.nz

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