It's time to respect Children's Rights; Everywhere!

UNICEF

The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialisation, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they were born - UNICEF 

Is this the case in any country?

Personally I don’t think so. My experience first hand is in the UK and I believe that children get so little say in our society. They are still patronised and disrespected by adults who think they “know best” and by brands who should know better.

“Children” should be an inclusive noun not exclusive.

We should ask them more, listen more and respect their opinion. As with adults we needn’t agree but we should defend the right of children to have their say. Many people have been surprised by what they hear from young people and their creativity in thinking about the World around them. Children want to have a positive impact on society and if we respect this then the contribution we get back will be a manyfold increase on our input.

Many brands could learn from this, but so could mums, dads, carers and teachers and even more importantly those who presume, by dint of history, to be an influence on the young such as religious leaders and politicians.