I am often asked a number of questions regarding to the feelings, views, and capabilities of children in our society, and while I state clearly now I am by far no expert on the matter of the mind of a child, and the statements are merely my views, thoughts and opinions on the questions at hand, all are intended to create and stir -up a discussion. Therefore I strongly encourage you to leave your own thoughts and ideas, in the comments section of this post.
Earlier this week I was asked the question, “what is the children's perspective, ie what do they think, hopes, aspirations, fears, etc.?” I think this is a great topic for discussion, and one that is given little thought to by most. Unfortunately one I have delved into, but not as in depth as I would like. From my own discussions with children, it would be quite varied by age and somewhat by region. However children are much more preceptive to the issues of the global world than we give them credit for. Children are also very positive role models in society, especially in that of a developing society. I recently wrote about the Children's Parliament in the DRC, which maybe of interest to you. In addition please see the postings that have been done on child humanitarians, in my Humanitarian Spotlight section.
I was also asked a series of questions, by a friend and I wanted to share my responses to him with you:
1) Do you think that children should be allowed to vote?
Honestly, with our system and topics of legislation, No. Mainly as I feel they are not the decisions that a child is yet ready to make. We have a hard enough time in this country getting our adults to vote. While I stated that I didn't think children should be able to vote, I do believe there are a number of areas where, children of a certain age (varying on topic), could contribute to. Regardless of legally allowing a child to vote, we can not deny their voice, nor the fact that quite often they are paying better attention to the world than we are.
2)If they were able to vote what would they vote for?
From my own experiences with children, I think that they would vote for most issues of human rights, such as the death penalty, abortion, war, etc. Children have a clear and decisive mind, at a rather early age, especially if given the right environment to freely express themselves and develop their own opinions, therefore a child is probably less likely to be on the fence about many of the issues.
3) I had an interesting discussion tonight on this subject and the response was children would not know what they are voting for. Is that true?
I think the answer is a bit yes and no. On some issues they understand more than we give them credit, but on detailed policies I think it is asking too much. Ask a child if another child should be denied an education, should a man die for a certain crime, should we go to war, etc., and I think they have a clear understanding.
4) If children could vote and policies began to focus attention on pure concerns of children would there be a reduction of child trafficking?
Obviously again the issue of age comes into effect, for it could surely be said for most 13-17 year olds, could see the issues as clear as an 18 year old. Would their be a decrease in child trafficking if children could vote, is an interesting question. The answer I really don't know. As the topic is only emerging into the public spotlight in recent years, its safe to say that many voting adults could not have curbed it for lack of information or policy to vote on. However if children where thrust into voting while in public spotlight, I could see an increase in passed legislation. The sad reality is we have many good laws around the world, and is in no way legal to hold a human as a slave, yet despite all of our laws and the age of our voters it continues.
Again I want to state these are only my thoughts based on my own work and experiences, I am not a child of today and therefore cannot speak from such a perspective. I know I have only touched on the topics, but I think these deserve some more thought and debate. I hear there is an upcoming TV show about kids running their own town, ‘Kid Nation’, of which there has been a great deal of debate over issues of abuse, which I will cover in a coming post. The show may be worth a watching as a social experiment, but I do know without a doubt, that kids are smarter than we give them credit for. However I look forward to hearing what all of you have to say. As and end note, I will talk directly with some of the children I work with to see if I can get some of their opinions on the site.
Links of Interest:
Inspiring Kids Make a Difference
Kids Helping Kids – UNICEF
Kids Help Kids
