Children's Bill of Rights & Responsibilities

Right to Inherit A Better World

Every child has the right to expect the world that he will be a part of to be better than the world his parents were a part of when they were children. Children have the right to expect their parents to make the world better for the next generation. Every child has the right to know that there will be a future for him to grow into, and that he can be an active and important part of it.

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You will have the responsibility to make the world better for your own children.

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Right to Determine Interests, Practices, Studies and Pursuits

Every child has the right to have constructive interests of his own. Every child has the right to expect family and friends to support those interests. Every child has the right to the time needed to develop and practice his own interests, and to have them be considered a part of his education.

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You have the responsibility to look around, be interested, and to try many things. You have the responsibility to be honest about the things you are not interested in, so that your parents and others do not waste time helping you learn about them. You have the responsibility to take the things that do interest you seriously, have fun with them, but to also really make an effort to learn about them.

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Right to Control Own Time and Space

Every child has the right to decide for himself where he will go or be. Every child has the right to determine how their time shall be used.

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You have the responsibility to listen and try to understand when your parents or other adults explain why they want to move you somewhere, or when your time is to be used a certain way. You have the responsibility to understand that you are a part of a family or other group, and that sometimes they need your help.

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Right To Their Own Ideas and Beliefs

Every child has the right to their own beliefs and ideas, including the right to involve himself or not in any given religion. This is the child's right, regardless of the beliefs of his family, or of others around him.

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You have the responsibility to be honest about what you believe or do not believe. You have the responsibility to respect other people's beliefs, even if you do not share them.

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Right To Be Involved in Decisions Involving Them

Every child has the right to have explained to him, in a manner easily understood by the child, any pending decision that is being thought about and that would change the life of that child. The child also has the right to have his own ideas and opinions about such decisions, and to express them. The child has the right to be consulted regarding any decision that will change his life.

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You have the responsibility to listen and to work to understand when decisions being made are explained to you. You have the responsibility to express your opinions and ideas, but in a calm and respectful way. You have the responsibility to remember that your parents (or the adults you are dealing with) are "in charge" in such cases.

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Privacy

Every human being has the right to a reasonable amount of privacy, including children. Parents and others should knock and wait to be invited in before entering a child's room, once the child is old enough to understand this.

A child should have the right to have his personal possessions considered private, within reasons. (Destructive or harmful objects such as weapons or drugs are not "private" for anyone in a family — everyone would need to know they are in the house.)

Every child has the right to have talks with whomever they need to, and to consider those talks to be private. No child should have to tell another about talks he's had (written or spoken) with others. (This, again, is within reason. Dangerous "talks" with strangers on the Internet and elsewhere are not a part of this right. Parents have the responsibility and right to keep their children safe.)

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You have the responsibility to have a safe room, to never bring anything dangerous into it or your house such as a weapon, drugs, or living things that your family does not know about.

You have the responsibility to care for your possessions, unless you do not want them anymore. You have the responsibility to know that if you break your things, your parents (or other people) do not have to replace them.

You have the responsibility to choose to talk to people who really do care about you, and not just "to anyone". You have the responsibility to not "just complain" about things, but instead to try to make them better. You have the responsibility to see to it that your parents know whatever they need to know to safely take care of you, your house, and your family and neighborhood.

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Right To Know the Family That They Came From

If a child has been adopted, they have a right to know this. Further, they have the right to know about and even meet and become acquainted with their birth family, if that's what the child wants.

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If adopted, then you have the responsibility to remember that the people who have adopted and raised you love you, have taken care of you, and are your parents in every way but birth, and you have the responsibility to treat them with the proper respect and love. You have the responsibility to be willing to not be accepted by your biological parents, even if they choose not to meet you.

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Association

Every child has the right to have those friends and acquaintances that they wish to have, with the exception (to be used sparingly) of people the parents consider a danger to the well-being of the child. Each child has the right to pursue friendships and acquaintances as they wish, to spend time with friends, and to enjoy them. Each child has the right to expect that his family and friends will not degrade or attack his choice of friends.

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You have the responsibility to select good friends who truly care for and about you. You have the responsibility to be a good friend to your friends, at least as good a friend as you wish them to be to you. You have the responsibility to make sure that your family knows about your friends. You have the responsibility to defend your friends if others say bad things about them.

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Care and Nurturing

Every child has the right to be provided a safe, healthy and reasonably comfortable place to live. Every child has the right to clean water to drink and bathe in. Every child has the right to decent food decently prepared, and enough of it to not be forever hungry.

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You have the responsibility to do everything needed to keep your body healthy and well. This includes bathing often, brushing teeth, eating good foods, avoiding bad foods, drinking a lot of water, getting good exercise, getting enough sleep, and anything else that you need to do to stay well. You have the responsibility to help keep your home safe and clean, especially your own rooms. You have the responsibility to (if slowly) learn how to prepare good food for yourself and for others.

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Play and Leisure

Every child has the right to a reasonable amount of leisure ("free") time. This time should be used as the child wishes. Every child has the right to enjoy some sort of outdoor activities and play, and as close to every day as is possible.

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You have the responsibility to be smart and safe while playing. You have the responsibility to avoid hurting or injuring others or yourself while playing. You have the responsibility to play fairly using the rules of any game that you play with others.

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Safe Work

Every child has the right to be productive, and to enjoy being productive as well as to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Every child has the right to create whatever they wish to create. Every child has the right to productive action in a safe environment, and done in a way that is safe for the child. No person has the right to enforce "productive" labor on a child.

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You have the responsibility to be productive whether at work, at home, in school, or anywhere, for a large part of almost everyday. You have the responsibility to create things that are wonderful and that will make the world a better place to live in for as many people as possible. You have the responsibility to help make certain that anywhere you are working the environment is and stays safe for you and for others. You have the responsibility to refuse to work when you feel that it is wrong to do so.

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Education

Every child has the right to a thorough education, to be tailored carefully around the child's evolving interests, skills, and needs. Every child has the right to learn about subjects that interests him. Every child has the right to work to develop skills that interest him. Every child has the right to reject excessive study time, or excessive demands in regards to study. Every child has the right to reject the study of subjects which the child feels are not productive for him, within reason.

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You have the responsibility to fully get involved with your own education, to learn as much as you can as thoroughly and quickly as you can. You have the responsibility to decide which subjects or skills really interest you. You then have the responsibility to really learn about the things that interest you and to become "expert" in them if you can. You have the responsibility to at least attempt each subject presented to you. You have the responsibility to be honest to teachers and others about subjects you do and do not wish to study.

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Not To Be Exposed or Trained into Prejudice

Every child has the right to refuse to be exposed to forms of bigotry, prejudice, or hate of others by family, through education, or by any other means.

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You have the responsibility to walk away whenever anyone tries to "sell" bigotry or hatred of others to you. You have the responsibility to have your own ideas and opinions about others. You have the responsibility to treat each person you meet with respect and as "an equal", unless that person gives you reasons to not trust, respect or like them.

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Medical Care

Every child has the right to any medical care needed to guarantee the health and well-being of the child.

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You have the responsibility to take care of your own health as best you can. You have the responsibility to tell your parents or other adults if you are sick or injured.

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Legal Protection

Every child should have the right to the same recourse to law as any adult. What is more, the law should make special efforts to protect children. A child has the right to have their testimony heard and accepted, as would any adult.

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You have the responsibility to always tell the truth about things that you've seen, heard, or that were done to you, and that were bad or wrong. You have the responsibility to tell your parents about anything you've seen, heard, or had done to you that you believe was bad or wrong.

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Vote

Every child of a reasonable age should have the right to vote, and to participate in the politics of their nation as those politics most certainly will change the child's life. Every child has the right to self-determined political opinion and suffrage, not to be limited or shaped by family or others. The right to vote should start when the child understands the issues, regardless of age.

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If you are going to vote then you have the responsibility to find out about the issues, to understand them, and to form your own opinions and ideas based on facts. You have the responsibility to vote based on your decisions only.

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Not To Participate in War or Conflict

Every child has the right to refuse to participate in military service. Every child has the right to refuse to support any military action or effort that they disagree with. Every child has the right to walk away from any fight or battle and not "lose face" from having done so.

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You have the responsibility to attempt to discover the real reasons why a war or conflict is being fought. You have the responsibility to decide if your nation deserves to be aided by your joining the military, or not. You have the responsibility to join or not join based on your beliefs, and to be willing either way to accept what happens next.

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Sign Your Name!

Demonstrate your agreement that children should have these rights, and that you will do your best to respect them in your home and life.