Happy 25th!

So, this is another blog for my Children at Risk course. I had the option of submitting it online instead of blogging, but it's actually pretty relevant to my thesis topic--involving clients in the decision-making process of programs that impact their lives--so I thought it would be fitting to include it here. This post is in response to the 25th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by 193 countries. I found Article 12 to be particularly of interest, as it guarantees the right of children to participate in proceedings that impact the life of the child:

"1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law."

How interesting, to include children in making “grown-up” decisions. My initial thoughts on this were as follows: I’m not a parent, but I have had some experience with children, and am not sure I trust their judgment. They seem either fickle or stubborn, easily swayed by immature impulse or the presence of candy. Having been a child for quite some time myself, I think if I had had my way, I would have eaten macaroni and cheese every day until high school, owned fifty cats, and lived in a sofa fort. While I certainly wanted to be part of family decisions, I didn’t care about or understood politics that impacted my experience as a child. However, I believe I could have if someone had bothered to explain them to me. How can anyone have an opinion on something they know nothing about?

Understandably, “The participation of children in all matters that affect them has sometimes been seen as undermining the role of he family and the authority of parents” (Laurence Gray, The ‘Right’ of the Child to Speak and Be Heard). We expect children to obey their parents in daily life without “backtalk,” and to allow children input in family decisions feels threatening for some people. Any time we allow for someone else’s input, we give them power, but we also give them responsibility. They become involved in the decision and its consequences. When I was a kid, we moved to a new house and I got to pick my bedroom: either I got a small room with my own bathroom, or I got a big room and shared my bathroom with guests. I picked the big room, and had the responsibility to keep the shared bathroom clean. I learned, even through small decisions, that with the power to make decisions comes responsibility.

This can be expanded to bigger issues relating to community life or politics, which we relegate to adults. Children cannot vote, and are effectively excluded from participating in civic life. They have very little responsibility, partly because we would not trust them to contribute, and partly because we do not feel they are ready for the responsibilities that come with the right of participation. We think they wouldn’t understand the problems, or be mature enough to come up with solutions. Like many assumptions, this is not true. "Young people can design and manage complex projects together if they feel some sense of ownership in them...Involvement fosters motivation, which fosters competence, which in turn fosters motivation for further process" (Hart, Children’s Participation, p. 5).

As is noted by Reddy and Ratna in A Journey in Children’s Participation, “The three essential elements of empowerment are: an organisation or forum, access to and use of relevant information and access to resources (structural, material, human and financial)” (p. 6). This applies to empowering all groups of people, not just children. Of course, as often happens when we give power over to those with a different viewpoint, we must be ready to listen with an open mind: “We must also be prepared for the fact that children will say things we do not necessarily agree with, they will ask embarrassing questions for which we do not have ready answers and they will disagree on the stands they take based on the differing realities they face” (Reddy & Ratna, p. 13).

While it may be difficult to deal with these questions, including the perspective of children in solving problems allows for constructive solutions never before considered. Their involvement may even change what we consider to BE the problems. Allowing children the right to participate benefits society through working together in the present—but even more so, in shaping the next generation of responsible citizens. If we can protect the rights of children, involving them in ways that give voice to a generation often unheard, we will gain a better understanding of the world as it is and how to advance it.

“Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”

Khalil Gibran, The Prophet