Children's Rights

When the phrase "children's rights" is mentioned, people do not realize that children have as many rights as adults do. When we were young, we were always told that "Children are to be seen and not heard." As we were growing up, this was the philosophy that we were to live by. However, through the years, that has changed, where it seems that children have as many, or more, rights in some cases than adults do.

Children's rights are defined in several different ways. They are defined in areas such as civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights. Their rights tend to be of two general types. There are those which advocate for children under the law and those placing a claim on society for protection from harms perpetrated on children because of their dependency. These have been labeled as the "rights of empowerment" and of the right to protection. One Canadian organization categorizes children's rights into three catagories: Children have the right to an adequate standard of living, health care, education and services, and the right to play. These include a balanced diet, a warm bed to sleep in, and access to schooling.

In some cases, the children even have the right to divorce their parents or even sue them. There is much opposition to some of these rights. Protection, exploitation, and child labor laws are supported by most, but they feel other laws have gone too far. When it gets to a point when a child can tell their parents how things should be done, we need to worry. If the child does not like the way it is done, they just sue or leave them. What is a parent's job and shouldn't they instill these things into their children? Modern time has changed many things, so what will the future bring?