In addition to parents, governments and government-supported institutions — including child welfare authorities, police and health-care institutions — share responsibility for the health, safety and overall well-being of children and youth.
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In the wake of an infant death in Kingston, Ont., it is critical for this tragedy to inform changes to policy and to systems that uphold the right to safety and well-being for all Canadian children.
Enshrining and enforcing the status of a ‘protected class’ for children engaged in athletic work would be a major step toward achieving children’s rights in sport.
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With the Paris Olympics and the 35th anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child approaching, now is the ideal time to focus on protecting the rights of child athletes.
A focus on sporting success can compromise children’s wellbeing and safety.
People protesting against inclusive sexual orientation and gender-identity policies in schools are seen next to protestors supporting such policies in Saskatoon, Sask. on Sept. 20, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
In the wake of transphobic protests, the ‘rights’ of parents are being falsely positioned in opposition to the rights of transgender and non-binary children rather than focusing on supporting families.
One student in a study said they would have loved to receive emails about school closures: ‘I always had to ask my parents. Sometimes they don’t read the emails.’
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Insights from youth about COVID-19 school closures and youth exclusion from pandemic-related decisions suggest we have an opportunity to improve how we support youths’ rights.
Family vlogs can be a double-edged sword that provide families with income, but also lead to exploitation.
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Vlogging has emerged as a new source of intimate entertainment, and for creators, potential income. However, they also raise serious questions about exploitation and the privacy rights of children.
As drag storytime events are cancelled around Australia, children and young people, who are centred in the debate, have been rendered silent and invisible.
Children face the effects of prejudice over who has and who lacks rationality, logic, and authority.
Strategies that may help reduce support for corporal punishment — as well as reduce its use and intentions to use it — include individual and group-based programs to develop positive parenting skills.
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Extensive evidence shows the harms of spanking, and 65 other countries or states worldwide have already banned it. Why has Canada not done the same by repealing Section 43 of the Criminal Code?
New Zealand is making some progress in its treatment of children and young people. But there is still a way to go to meet its obligations under international law.
Our assumptions about what it means to be young have left millions of people disenfranchised.
In a Spring 2022 survey of parents with kids between ages six and 17 years, more than 50 per cent perceived that their child had needed help regarding their emotional or behavioural problems in the past six months.
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Canada ranks 30th out of 38 wealthy nations in supporting the mental health and well-being of children. The need to invest in and prioritize mental health for children and young people is urgent.
Who is determining children’s capacity to decide whether or not to wear a mask and what’s at stake in their decision?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A new law intended to strengthen oversight of Oranga Tamariki and other agencies tasked to protect children has the potential to do the opposite.
Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation children play in water sprinklers during National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations in Mississauga, Ont., on June 21, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Malorie Kanaan, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Under international law, children have the right to be heard in legal proceedings directly or indirectly affecting them. Canada must step up to ensure all human rights apply to kids as they do adults.
A child from the Mayuruna ethnic group stands on a pier on the banks of the Atalaia do Norte River in Amazonas state, Brazil, on June 12, 2022. Federal police and military forces are searching and investigating the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous affairs expert Bruno Araujo Pereira.
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Assistant professor, School of Psychology, Scientist, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa