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Teacher's Sheet = Student's Sheet =
		Activity 1:
		Wants vs. Needs
		Activity 2:
		Needs to Rights
		Activity 3:
		The 4Bs of Rights
		Activity 4:
		Write your own Convention
		Activity 5:
		Rights Action Plan

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) lays out the fundamental human rights of children. It was adopted by the United Nations more than 15 years ago
  
• 192 countries have agreed to make the CRC part of their laws. This makes it the most widely supported international agreement in history. There are only two countries that have not yet ratified the CRC—the USA and Somalia.
  
• In the three days leading up to the United Nations' Special Session on Children in 2002, just over 400 children from a total of 154 countries attended The Children's Forum at the United Nations. During the forum the young delegates explored ways to improve the rights of children and young people worldwide.

Popular Misconceptions about Child Rights

MYTH: If children have rights, parents and other adults who care for children will lose theirs.

FACT: The fact is that everyone has rights, including parents, and they apply at all times. You can use your rights up until the point they interfere with the rights of someone else – and this applies to parents and teachers, too.

Further, Article 5 of the Convention says:

States Parties [governments that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child] shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention.

Seven of the Articles of the Convention deal specifically with family and alternative care and many other Articles confirm the rights of parents to direct and guide their children. Because of the special responsibility parents and guardians have to ensure that their children's rights are respected, they are entitled to support and assistance from the government and others in society. Parents are the most important people in a child's life, and this role is not weakened by acknowledging that children have rights nor devalued by writing down children's rights in a legal document.

MYTH: If you tell children about their rights, they will think they can do whatever they want.

FACT: Actually the opposite is true: rather than becoming egocentric, when children learn about their rights they actually become more respecting of the rights of others. Having rights does not equal having free licence and children very quickly understand (in our experience much more quickly than adults) that their rights must be balanced with the rights of others. Children want to know and understand the rules that place limits on their own behaviour, as well as on the behaviour of others. They also know that an adult stepping in to make a decision that is beyond a child's capacity is an expression of caring and concern.

What children need from adults is a clear differentiation between privileges (that can be taken away) and rights (that can't be taken away) and fair and consistent application of the rules that ensure rights are respected. As children begin to learn how to stick up for their rights, undoubtedly they will make mistakes. See these growing pains as opportunities to help to affirm their entitlements as human beings, teach safe and effective advocacy skills, and draw attention to the fact that everyone has rights.