Children have rights too

When Jesus centred a child in the middle of the disciples, it was more than an object lesson in humility. Jesus repeatedly treated young people with dignity and respect, as persons created and called by God to be full partners in God’s work. He did so in a context where they had little social status. For Jesus-followers, children are not the property of parents or empty vessels for adults to fill; they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as they develop their God-given potential and learn to exercise rights and responsibilities – something adults also continue to do. In my experience, we greatly underestimate the capacity of young people for moral agency. Failing to guide young people into exercising their own moral muscles can lead to stunted development of God-given gifts and it risks alienation or worse among adolescents.

Parental & children’s rights

Parental rights and children’s rights can work together when there is a clear focus on the best interests of the child. I find it troubling that the new Saskatchewan law on parental rights makes no mention of the best interests of the child. Saskatchewan’s Education Act, which Bill 137 amends, recognizes children’s right to get an education, but not their full rights within the education system. It doesn’t recognize a rights-based purpose of education – to develop the full potential of every child and equip them to contribute to all aspects of society.

Children are citizens and states have responsibilities to ensure their rights are respected, beyond protection from abuse and meeting basic needs. Adolescents have the right to access information essential for their health, development of their capacities and their ability to participate in society. Information about sexual development and healthy relationships is need-to-know information for adolescents who physically mature at earlier ages than previous generations and who deal with a great amount of misinformation targeted at them. Surveys repeatedly show adolescents do not get enough information from their parents. If they do not get adequate information in schools, they are more vulnerable to exploitative people who will answer their questions online or in the community.

The language in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is helpful because it clarifies that the best interest of children should be the main concern of parents. Children have a right to parental guidance as they learn to exercise their rights and responsibilities, in accordance with the evolving capacity of the child. As adolescents develop their own capacities, the parental role gradually shifts from direction to guidance to advice.

This is a very different spirit from current campaigns to assert parental rights in education, which consider the rights of children as secondary, if at all. We know that outcomes are better when children are centred as active agents in their own development rather than hierarchical approaches (see diagram). Child-centred schools find ways for both teachers and parents to advance the best interests of every child. Do parents always know what is best? As a parent, I am thankful others highlighted gaps I missed. Adolescents in particular need to test their ideas with other adults.

It is a problem when schools do not give parents enough information to have confidence that teachers are also guided by the best interests of children. But that problem can be addressed without ignoring or infringing the rights of adolescents to access information, their right to freedom of expression and their right to have their views taken seriously in decisions that affect them.