Waikato Hospital is getting in early to celebrate Children's Day with its paediatric patients and their families.

Children's Day, celebrated nationally on Sunday 7 March, is being brought forward to today (Friday 5 March) at Waikato Hospital.

The annual awareness event that celebrates children has a theme this year of 'Praise and encouragement', which will incorporated into today's festivities at the hospital.

Kicking off with healthy but 'untypical' hospital breakfasts for paediatric patients, sponsored by HEHA (Healthy Eating, Healthy Action), the celebrations for Children's Day continue.

Waikato District Health Board's Visual Communications team has created special edition Children's Day tray liners for the breakfast which are bright and colourful and include a word puzzle, join-the-dots and colouring-in games.

At 10am, the Funky Monkeys, a children's song and dance group, will perform for these patients in the Elizabeth Rothwell auditorium, followed by another musical performance by Ngaire Daniels and Toia Diprose-Chase and heaps of giveaways from Children's Day promoters, and face painting.

"We are really excited to have our own edition of Children's Day here at Waikato Hospital - to bring a little bit of celebration and light to the days of our child patients and their families," said Waikato Hospital social worker Sue Griffin.

For more information about Children's Day, visit www.childrensday.org.nz