BEIJING, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Children are in need of help and guidance when pursuing their personal interests, according to a report on children's welfare released here Thursday ahead of the Universal Children's Day on Nov. 20.

    The report, issued by the Xinhua News Agency and leading global market research company, the Nielsen Company, presented the living conditions and development of children, as well as the protection of their rights. It was based on a survey of more than 2,000 people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Poland and Brazil.

    Target sample included parents of children between three to 14 years old and researchers on children topics including specialists in pediatrics, psychology and sociology, as well as editors of children magazines and charity NGO members.

    Data were collected online in the six countries except Nigeria, where face-to-face interviews were applied. The sample size of parents was 300 per country, with a gender quota of 1:1.

    The sample size of specialists was 10 per country, covering different professions. The interviews were done via telephone.

    Although children in the above countries had comparatively adequate time to pursue their own personal interests, they had not received adequate help and guidance, the report said.

    Of all respondents to the survey, close to 70 percent considered "social skill" a must for a child's development.

    Around six in every ten respondents believed the children needed to improve on "ethics and morals", while "sex education" was also worth great attention, according to more than half of the people polled.

    Meanwhile, around half of those surveyed believed the children needed to have a better grasp of foreign language skills, while 40 percent said their children should improve understanding of their native languages and cultures.

    Forty-seven percent of the people said the children should improve on natural sciences and knowledge of physical hygiene, nearly half on social sciences, and around four of every ten on arts, according to the report.

    In addition, the report said that children's cultural products, including books, audio and video products, and movies and TV programs for children, had basically met the children's need in terms of quantity, but still needed improvement in terms of quality.

    The report was released amid media coverage on the upcoming Nov. 20, which marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the United Nations in 1989.

    Xinhua and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have launched a global media campaign for children's rights in the run-up to Nov. 20 and a 24-hour global live multimedia coverage on the day, dubbed the "Global News Day for Children". It will be the first time that global media report at the same time on the same topic.

    More than 600 media organizations worldwide have participated in the joint campaign, a move to expand on the impact generated by the World Media Summit held in Beijing early October, which concluded that care for the mankind should first go to children.

    The CRC is the first legally binding international agreement on protection of children's rights, which requires abidance from the legal systems of all countries that have ratified the document, including China.

Special report: Global News Day for Children