Every Hungarian child is a TREASURE for Hungary, regardless of whether they are born anywhere in the world. The well-being and protection of Hungarian children is our common cause and responsibility, whether it is the physical and mental health, development and safety of our children - read on the website of the Mária Kopp Institute for Population and Families (KINCS).
In a letter written on the occasion of Children's Day, it is announced:
The focus of Hungary's family-friendly measures is on children, whose responsible upbringing is the most important investment in the future. For this purpose, one of the most extensive family support systems in Europe operates in Hungary. As a result of the government's child- and family-oriented policy, 200,000 more Hungarian children were born compared to the period before 2010.
Since 2010, the government has introduced a number of measures to make the lives of nearly 2 million Hungarian children under the age of 18 as happy and balanced as possible. Children's education is supported by child welfare measures such as nursery development, compulsory kindergarten from the age of three, free or discounted institutional and holiday meals for children, the provision of free textbooks in primary schools, secondary schools and vocational training, or Erzsébet Camps. Children's physical and mental health is supported, among other things, by daily physical education, healthy canteens, the teaching of morals or religious studies in schools, early childhood development or extensive pediatrician and nurse care.
Today, nearly 600,000 children benefit from free or discounted meals for children, and since 2010, the state has spent three times more on this. Textbooks are free for more than 1 million children, 100 percent of those studying in public education. More than 300,000 children benefit from free and compulsory kindergarten education, and 70 percent more young children can attend kindergarten today than in 2010. Since 2012, approximately 1 million children have been able to vacation in Erzsébet Tábors.
For Hungary, the birth of every Hungarian child is extremely important, both inside and outside the borders. It is no coincidence that the Hungarian government supports Hungarian children born abroad and their families.
Within the framework of the Umbilical Cord Program, Hungarian families living abroad can receive maternity support and start-of-life support for young people in the same way, and can open a baby bond under the same conditions as those from the home country. So far, nearly 40,000 parents of Hungarian children born abroad have taken advantage of these opportunities. Two-thirds of the requests came from the Hungarian-inhabited areas of the Carpathian Basin.
In 2021, 5.6 percent, i.e. five thousand, more children were born in Hungary than in 2011, which was a historic low in our country. The number of births increased despite the fact that since 2010 the number of women of childbearing age has decreased by nearly 20 percent. In the last decade, 200,000 more Hungarian children were born compared to the period before 2010. As a result of the government's child- and family-friendly policy, the community of Hungarians grew with these 200,000 young children, contributing to the survival of the nation and securing our future.
Source: Mária Kopp Institute
Photo: hirado.hu
