Children deserve to grow up in an environment filled with happiness, love, and understanding. This ideal, however, isn’t always the reality. A child’s healthy development can be significantly impacted by violence, poverty, and limited access to education. Recognizing these challenges, governments worldwide have a responsibility to implement protective measures and support systems for children, while also assisting parents in their crucial caregiving roles. Understanding the framework of children’s rights within the family is essential to fostering nurturing environments where every child can thrive.
The UNCRC Definition of Family and its Connection to Children’s Rights
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a cornerstone of international children’s rights law, defines the family as “the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, and particularly children.” The UNCRC emphasizes the fundamental right of every child to grow up in a safe, supportive, and enriching family environment, ideally under the care of their own family.
This definition places a clear obligation on states to support families in nurturing their children. This support should include implementing economic and social measures that not only improve parenting practices but also monitor situations where parents may not be adequately protecting their children’s welfare. In all circumstances, children have the right to protection, and any intervention by the state must always be guided by the principle of the best interests of the child.
Diverse Family Models in Today’s World
Family can be broadly defined as two or more individuals connected by biology, adoption, marriage, or emotional bonds. This inherent diversity means every family structure is unique. Common family models include (Better Help, 2024):
- Nuclear Family: This traditional model consists of two parents, typically married or in a civil partnership, and their children. Nuclear families often have one or more children, who can be biological or adopted, but the defining characteristic is that both parents raise their children within the family home.
- Same-Sex Parent Family (Homoparental Family): In this family structure, children are raised by a single LGBT individual, a mixed-sex couple where at least one partner is LGBTQ+, or a same-sex couple.
- Single-Parent Family (Monoparental Family): This family consists of one parent and one or more children. In these cases, the parent may be never-married, widowed, or divorced.
- Extended Family: This model includes two or more adults who are biologically or maritally related, often along with children. This frequently encompasses aunts, uncles, cousins, or other relatives living under the same roof.
- Blended Family (Reconstituted Family): Formed by the merging of two separate families. This can occur in various ways, such as when two divorced parents with children marry each other, or when a divorced parent with children marries someone without children.
- Grandparent Family: In this structure, one or more grandparents take on the primary role of raising one or more grandchildren.
- Co-Parenting Family: Arising from separation or divorce, co-parenting families involve parents who decide to maintain joint parenting responsibilities despite no longer being a couple. Instead of litigating for custody, these parents choose to collaborate to provide the best possible upbringing for their children.
- Adoptive Family: This family welcomes a child born into another family and legally adopts them as their own.
- Foster Family: Foster families provide temporary care for a child, without becoming their legal parents.
- Childless Family: Couples in childless families either choose not to have children or are unable to have them. In discussions about family diversity, these families are often overlooked.
Regardless of the specific family model, the most crucial aspect is that the family environment provides protection, affection, and support, enabling children to reach their full potential through balanced development.
Challenges Faced by Families and Children
While family ideally should be a source of joy, affection, and understanding for growing children, this isn’t always the lived experience. Specific life circumstances or home environments can expose some children to a higher risk of physical and/or emotional abuse.
Violence and Child Abuse
Each year, violence against children affects an estimated three-quarters of children worldwide, with around 300 million children between the ages of 2 and 4 regularly subjected to violent discipline by their caregivers. Violence is prevalent within families often because it’s seen as an acceptable or even necessary tool for teaching children proper behavior.
Alt text: Sad child looking down, highlighting the emotional consequences of family violence and the urgent need for children’s rights protection.
However, research consistently demonstrates that early experiences of violence have a wide range of negative consequences for children’s development, impacting their physical, cognitive, and mental health throughout their lives. Furthermore, these experiences increase the risk of a child perpetrating violence (in the case of boys) or experiencing violence (in the case of girls) in the future.
Corporal punishment is a particularly concerning practice. Current data shows that only 65 states have fully prohibited corporal punishment in all settings, including the home, alternative care settings, day care, penal institutions, and as a sentence for crime.
Additionally, 27 countries have committed to legal reforms to achieve a complete ban. Specifically focusing on the prohibition of corporal punishment at home, only 66 countries have implemented a full ban, compared to 133 states that still do not prohibit this harmful practice (End corporal punishment, 2022).
Poverty
Recent statistics from 2022 indicate that 24.7 percent of children under 18 in the European Union were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (Eurostat, 2023). While household income is a primary indicator of child poverty, defining poverty solely by income is insufficient. Poverty is a multidimensional issue and a major cause of children’s rights violations in Europe.
Alt text: Child in impoverished setting, illustrating the harsh realities of child poverty and its detrimental effects on children’s fundamental rights and well-being.
Poverty is linked to social exclusion and limited access to essential services such as childcare, quality education, and adequate housing. For children specifically, it means being unable to participate in social and cultural activities with their peers (Save the Children, 2014).
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds often lack the same opportunities as their peers. Many may need to work part-time while studying, lack access to necessary learning materials, or miss out on social activities simply due to financial constraints. These children must overcome significant obstacles in modern life.
Growing up in poverty can make children feel unequal to their peers and lead to feelings of hopelessness regarding their future career prospects. They may feel they need to work twice as hard to succeed. Financial worries can also increase parental conflict and stress, potentially creating a toxic home environment (The Children’s Society, 2024).
Financial limitations also impact children’s mental health. Limited financial resources can hinder access to psychological therapy or make these services geographically inaccessible, preventing children from getting the needed support.
Barriers to Education
Parents are crucial in children’s education, serving as their first and most important educators. Research shows that parental education level is a strong predictor of children’s academic achievement, school performance, and the development of their physical, cognitive, and mental health skills (Tamayo Martinez et al., 2022).
Lack of parental education significantly hinders their ability to enrich their children’s development. Regarding homework and schoolwork, parents with lower levels of education are less equipped to provide adequate academic support.
Conversely, parents with higher education levels are more likely to provide effective support. Recent EU statistics from 2022 highlight this disparity: only 10.2 percent of children under 18 with highly educated parents were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 61.9 percent for children whose parents had lower levels of education.
Protection and Legal Gaps
To prohibit violence against children, some countries have implemented constitutional reforms, while others have added provisions to family codes, child protection laws, and domestic violence legislation. It’s crucial that these prohibitions are supported by detailed provisions in specific laws to address various forms of violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking, and harmful traditional practices. Legislation must also address violence in specific settings like schools, care and justice institutions, and the home (UN, 2024).
Countries like Austria, Ireland, Mongolia, Kenya, Laos, Peru, and Sweden have implemented comprehensive bans on violence against children. Notably, Sweden in 1979 became the first country to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment as a disciplinary method by parents. Ireland followed suit in 2015, banning all forms of corporal punishment of children (UN, 2024).
Despite progress in recent years, significant work remains. Legislation must, at a minimum, set clear limits on social and legal tolerance of violence in all countries. Investments are needed in intervention programs to reach as many children as possible, regardless of their location. Prevention of all forms of violence and continuous monitoring of progress are also essential (World Vision, 2019).
Solutions and Intervention Plans
While family can be an enriching environment for children, it can also present challenges and threats to their development.
Alt text: Diverse group of children joyfully playing, symbolizing positive family environments, children’s rights to play, and the importance of nurturing childhoods.
To address violence against children, it’s vital to ensure legal frameworks prohibit all forms of violence against minors and provide access to quality response services for child victims of violence. Beyond legal measures, addressing cultural, social, and economic inequalities that contribute to violence and shifting cultural attitudes that condone violence are imperative (Prevention Collaborative, 2024).
These comprehensive approaches also contribute to the eradication of child poverty and improve children’s access to education. Community-based parental support programs are crucial in assisting parents in their child-rearing journey and developing their caregiving skills (Trivette C. M. et al., 2014). Furthermore, professionals working with children in social work and related fields need adequate training to identify potential threats and support families effectively.
In all situations where children lack necessary support and services, states have a responsibility to intervene to ensure they receive appropriate assistance and no child is left behind. In the shared goal of safeguarding children’s development and well-being, everyone has a crucial role to play.
Civil society organizations (CSOs) also play a vital role in supporting activities and intervention plans for children. They often complement government efforts in providing services focused on developing children’s social, relational, physical, and emotional capacities. NGOs are also essential in creating pilot projects and consolidating best practices that can inform future public policies.
Written by Arianna Braga
Translated by Gracielita Escobar
Reviewed by Gisela E. Valdés
Last updated March 29, 2024
References:
End Corporal Punishment. (2022). Progress. Retrieved from End corporal punishment at: https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/, accessed on 07 March 2024.
Eurostat (2023). Children at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Retrieved from Eurostat at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Children_at_risk_of_poverty_or_social_exclusion#:~:text=Children%20aged%20less%20than%2018%20years%20growing%20up%20in%20poverty,and%20socially%20excluded%20as%20adults., accessed on 29 March 2024.
GOV.UK (2024). Child adoption. Retrieved from GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/child-adoption/birth-parents-your-rights, accessed on 7 March 2024.
Prevention Collaborative (2024). Violence against children at home. Retrieved from Prevention Collaborative at https://prevention-collaborative.org/about-violence/violence-against-children-at-home/, accessed on 29 March 2024.
Save the Children (2014). Child Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe: A matter of children’s rights. Retrieved from Save the Children at https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/child-poverty-and-social-exclusion-in-europe-low-res.pdf/, accessed on 29 March 2024.
Tamayo Martinez N. et al. (2022). Double advantage of parental education for child educational achievement: the role of parenting and child intelligence. European Journal of Public Health, 32(5), 690–695. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/32/5/690/6585034, accessed on 28 March 2024.
The Children’s Society (2024). What are the effects of child poverty? Retrieved from The Children’s Society at https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/ending-child-poverty/effects-of-living-in-poverty, accessed on 28 March 2024.
Trivette C. M. et al. (2014). Community-Based Parent Support Programs. Retrieved from Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development at https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/parenting-skills/according-experts/community-based-parent-support-programs, accessed on 29 March 2024.
UN (2024). Legal ban on violence against children. Retrieved from UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children at https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/content/legal-ban-violence-against-children, accessed on 2 April 2024.
UNICEF (2021). Every child has the right to grow up in a safe and nurturing family environment. Retrieved from UNICEF at https://www.unicef.org/thailand/press-releases/every-child-has-right-grow-safe-and-nurturing-family-environment, accessed on 28 March 2024.
World Vision (2019). Small Cracks, Big Gaps: How governments allow violence against children to persist. Retrieved from Relief Web at https://reliefweb.int/report/world/small-cracks-big-gaps-how-governments-allow-violence-against-children-persist, accessed on 2 April 2024.
