Every child has rights. No matter what country they're from, no matter how old they are, no matter if they're a boy or a girl, they have rights. Even though every child has rights, these rights are violated every day. But what exactly is a right? Rights make sure that everyone has what they need to survive. For instance: 

* Children have the right to have a name at birth.
* Children have the right to know their parents and be taken care of by them.
* Children have the right to good quality health care and to clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment so that you can stay healthy. 
* Children have the right to have privacy from people.
* Children have the right to be protected from child abuse.
* Children have the right to be protected if they don't have a family.
* Children have the right to decide if they don't want to be adopted by a family they dislike.
* Disabled children have the right to have special care, education, and training.
* Children have the right to be protected from drugs.
* Children have the right to not fight in wars if they are under fifteen years of age.

So now you know what rights are, but do you know that children's rights are protected by the  "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child." The United Nations (UN) approved the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.  A convention is an agreement between countries to obey the same law. When a country ratifies (agrees to uphold) the convention they are legally bound to do what it says.  That means the governments have to make sure that every child has all the rights in the Convention. All but two countries in the world have signed the Convention, they are the U.S.A. and Somalia. 

There are 54 rights in the UN Convention. One right is being healthy. Another is that children have the right to see a doctor, even if their family is very poor and can't afford expensive treatments. Children have the right to have food and water. They should always have clean water that won't make them sick. They have the right to be full after every meal and to have to opportunity to eat nutritious foods with a lot of variety. 

A child also has the right to an education. They should be learning in school not working. If they're working, they can't get an education. If they can't get an education, they'll never get a better job that pays fairly.

Some rights are more complicated to understand. Everyone has the right of freedom. Children should not have to work no matter what color your skin is. They shouldn't be judged by what culture they're from or by their religion. Everyone should be able to think and believe in what they want, and even to say it out loud. They should have the right to express their opinions without fear of punishment. Basically, a child's right is to live fairly.

So now you know what some rights are and what rights children should expect to have, but what were children's rights like a long time ago? Obviously, new laws and rights have been made through the years, so it was very different a long time ago. In the past, children did not have nearly as many rights as today. There were no laws protecting children against bad working conditions, slavery, or the right to go to school. Even in America it wasn't against the law to make children work very long hours in dangerous conditions. Because of child labor, in the early 1900s some kids never even learned basic school skills like their ABCs. Some children started working in factories when they were eight. Kids climbed on dangerous machines while they were working, putting their lives in danger. Some very young children were even tied to their machines in the factory so they wouldn't run away.

You're probably thinking, "Phew, glad that's over. Nothing like that is happening now." But many children in the world still do not have their rights protected. In Africa, there's still slavery going on. In India, child labor is still a big problem. In many undeveloped countries, children do not have enough to eat or access to good medical care. And what about school? It's hard to care about getting an education when your family is starving.

But people around the world are working hard to make sure that more children are protected. Amnesty International, UNICEF,  and the International Save the Children Alliance are three organizations (visit our Helping Hands page to learn more) that are working very hard to make sure children are safe and healthy. Working together, we can make sure all children in the world have rights.

Citations

Magazines

Carpentiere, Elizabeth. "Editors Message." Faces.  September, 2003: pp. 2-3.

Website

The History Place. "Child Labor in America 1908-1912." 1998.
<http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/> 
(December, 2003).

Images

Images of children, food, three hands, building and map from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> 
Images free for non-profit and personal use. 
(October-February, 2003-2004). 

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