Questions and answers on

children’s right
to influence
Questions and answers
on children’s right
to influence
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2003 Save the Children Sweden

Author: Cecilia Modig

Translation: Greg McIvor (2007), Production coordinator: Monika Sarajärvi
Printed by: Save the Children Sweden
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Photo: Thierry Foulon

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ISBN 978-91-7321-271-7. Art no: 10113

Do children have democratic rights?
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child regards children as
human beings with rights and unique thoughts, opinions and experiences. Child-
ren also depend on the support and guidance of adults for their survival and deve-
lopment and as such are vulnerable and need the protection of adults. Children
grow, mature and gradually develop their ability to understand and cope with the
world around them. They differ from adults in that they develop and change very
quickly: a child changes more in one year than most of us do during our entire
working life.
The question is whether children as human beings with human rights also have
democratic rights? Are we ready to acknowledge that democracy means that all
citizens, including children, have a right to influence? And, if so, what should such
influence mean in practice? Should children have the same democratic rights as
adults and thus the same responsibilities? Or should children’s right to influence
take a different form?

What does the Convention on the Rights

of the Child say about children’s right to
influence?
The convention articles that deal with influence, freedom of expression and the
right to information focus on:

1. The right to express thoughts, opinions and ideas (Articles 13 and 14).
2 . The right to have thoughts, opinions and ideas taken into account and being
given due weight in accordance with the child’s age and maturity (Article 12).
3. Access to information (Articles 13 and 17).
4. The right to receive and impart information (Article 13).
5. The right to freedom of association (Article 15).

The right to be heard and have influence is primarily dealt with in Article 12,
which reads:
“1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or
her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting
the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with
the age and maturity of the child.

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 3

 “2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity
to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child,
either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a man-
ner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.”

When is a child mature enough to form his or

her own views?
From the moment of birth, a child begins to communicate with his or her sur-
roundings. The child puts out a hand and someone takes it. Parents respond
to the child’s crying by trying to remove the cause of the tears. As infants, we
begin talking, communicating, smiling, listening and answering long before we
understand what words mean. One might say that children start expressing their
opinions on the very day they are born into the world. There is an established
link between communicating and interacting with newborn infants and their
subsequent development into young adults able to think freely, express their
views and respect other people’s opinions. It is basically about being treated with
respect and empathy from the start.
Article 12 deals with both the right of the child to influence by having his
or her voice heard and the right to develop. “In accordance with the age and
maturity of the child” relates to the fact that children acquire knowledge and
the ability to analyse information on an ongoing basis, gradually enabling them
to form views on an increasingly wide range of issues.

What issues affect children?

On some level, virtually all decisions taken at local, national or international
level affect children. Ensuring that children have real influence means starting
where the child is, for instance in the family, at school or in the local com-
munity. Children can also have an impact on decision-making at national and
international level, provided there is room for dialogue between children and
adults, that information adapted to children is available and that forums exist
in which children can exercise influence.
The right to express opinions and have them given due weight applies to eve-
ry child’s domestic situation, for example in terms of where the child lives and
which school he or she attends. It also applies to decisions relating to children
collectively, such as local traffic conditions, playground design and the general
environment for children.

4 Questions and answers on children’s right to influence

What does giving the views of the child “due
weight” mean?
Ensuring that all decisions which affect children are taken in the child’s best
interests is the responsibility of the countries that have signed the Convention on
the Rights of the Child. This responsibility cannot be shifted onto the children
themselves; it is a question of listening to children and giving due weight to
their opinions. A key principle of the convention is that all decisions affecting
children must be in the child’s best interests.
But how do we know what the child’s best interests are? Throughout the
ages, adults have claimed to be acting in children’s best interests even when such
actions have involved violations of their rights, humiliation, corporal punish-
ment, betrayal and abandonment. Views differ between cultures and eras on
what is best for the child. And every culture and era has its own particular blind
spots in terms of things that are said and done to children and experienced by
them in a completely different way from what the adults intend. By taking
children seriously and listening to them, while also being prepared to be flexible
in our attitudes and actions, we can better understand what “the best interests
of the child” actually are.
Reflecting on her childhood, a young woman with a physical dis-
ability says: “When I started school, the received wisdom was
that children with disabilities should be integrated into normal
schools instead of being isolated in special schools. I was the only
disabled pupil at my school. My personal assistant and I always sat
and ate at a special table and none of my classmates ever came and
sat down next to us. I felt constantly different and anything but
well integrated. Everything changed when another disabled pupil
started at the school. Suddenly we each had an ally, which made it
much easier to insist on being allowed to take part in things.”

If someone had listened to the child in time it would have been obvious that
the principle aimed at breaking down barriers for disabled children and help-
ing them to integrate was in fact having the opposite effect for her. The lack
of other pupils in the same situation weakened her position and made her even
more excluded. What was in her best interests might not necessarily have been
in the best interests of all children with disabilities. Hence, the overall principle
may be right but its effects may be negative for individual children. Listening
to children with disabilities as a group is vital when planning and shaping our
communities, but it does not absolve us of the obligation to listen to individual
children, too.

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 5

Can children make their own decisions – and
do they want to?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is not about the child’s right to make
decisions but the right to voice an opinion. Giving due weight to the child’s
views in accordance with his or her age and maturity does not mean that the
child has to take the decision, though there are of course many situations in
which it is reasonable for the child to do so and learn to shoulder the respon-
sibility involved. The principle of the child’s best interests should determine
how great this responsibility is. It is not uncommon for children to be asked
to make impossible choices in major, life-changing decisions while at the same
time being deprived of virtually all ability to decide on issues relating to their
everyday environment. This can happen, for instance, to children who are at the
centre of a divorce. Who can possibly take responsibility for choosing between
two people they love?

Being forced to choose between parents can be enormously pain-

ful for a child. Could we as parents make an equivalent decision
between our children? Imagine a single mother of two children.
One day the children come to her with something important to
say. “You’ve probably noticed that we seem to be quarrelling all
the time these days,” they say. “Well, we can’t live together any-
more and one of us will have to move out. We know that you love
both of us so we’d like you choose which of us you’d like to live
with.”

Whichever child the mother chooses, she will have to see one of her children
leave home, rejected and desolate. No parent could possibly make such a deci-
sion, and children should not be forced to either.

hildren at the centre of a divorce are also often forced to submit to detailed
access timetables set by their parents. The children’s hobbies and interests, such
as seeing friends and playing sport, are subordinated to each parent’s insistence
on seeing the children. It does not have to be this way, but the fact remains that
even conscientious parents who generally show great respect to their children
can be blinded by the conflict with their former partner to such an extent that
their children are reduced to the status of possessions to be shared equally.

6 Questions and answers on children’s right to influence

Do children know what their own best
interests are?
Children, in particular those who are at risk and marginalised, are often por-
trayed as helpless victims. But the fact is that children constantly seek survival
strategies, be they constructive or destructive. Everyone who wants to help and
support children make a better life for themselves needs to try to understand
children’s survival strategies. Only then can we provide them with alternatives
and the means to help them change. However, the stipulation in the Convention
on the Rights of the Child that adults must listen to children and take account
of their opinions does not mean that we should imagine that children have all
the answers.

A group from Save the Children Sweden met street children in Southern Europe
and asked them what they would change in their lives if they could. “We don’t
want the police to hit us so hard,” one of them answered. It did not occur to
him that the police would not hit him at all; only that he would like the beatings
to be less severe. Violence had been ever-present in his live ever since he could
remember and he could not imagine life without being beaten.

Dialogue between children and adults must include giving children the tools
they need to change their lives. They need information about their rights and
the alternatives to their current living conditions.

Can we discuss children’s conditions without

children being present?
Sometimes, adults gather to discuss a child-related problem and someone claims
the entire meeting is invalid because no children are present, perhaps saying
something along the lines of “children are the real experts, you know”.

However, children’s right to participation does not mean they have to be present
whenever they are discussed. Rather, the aim is to reflect children’s views and
opinions in decisions taken about them and in all contexts where their condi-
tions and lives are discussed. Children must be able to make their voices heard
in a way – and in a forum – that is appropriate for them and where they feel
they can speak openly and without fear of reprisals.

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 7

 A few years ago, a group of children in Thailand were invited to
make their views known to members of parliament at an open
meeting. One of the girls who attended said she knew which
police stations were protecting pimps. The comment was picked
up by the media and the resulting controversy saw the girl receive
death threats, forcing her to go underground and live under an
assumed identity for a long time.

Thorough preparation and planning is required for children to attend major

international gatherings, and steps must be taken to adjust the subject matter
and meeting format to the children’s needs. Without such preparations, the risk
is that the children will have no more than a decorative role in an adult environ-
ment and no opportunity to exercise genuine influence.

What is a “child perspective”?

The inability of adults to see the world through a child’s eyes creates difficul-
ties for children around the world every day, whether in everyday situations or
in community planning, schooling, healthcare and welfare. Most adults have
experienced what it is like as a child to be misunderstood, ignored, laughed at
and demeaned by grown-ups. Yet such memories tend to fade when we enter
adulthood, and we are generally speaking happy not to be reminded of the sub-
ordinate positions we found ourselves in as children.

A father is out walking with his young son. The father takes long
strides and the son has to jog to keep up. After a while, the father
realises the son is lagging behind and, turning round, says irrita-
bly: “Can’t you try to get a move on?”

If the man were forced to swap places with his son for a few moments he would
realise he had to take three steps for every one his father took. However much
he tried he would be unable to keep up with someone with legs twice as long
as his.

A little girl is playing alone in the fields. Suddenly a large dog

comes bounding towards her and she is so frightened she starts
crying. The woman who owns the dog calls out to the child:
“Why are you crying? He won’t bite, he just wants to play!”

If the owner were forced to swap places with the girl she would realise how fright-
ening it is when a huge animal twice your size comes running towards you.

8 Questions and answers on children’s right to influence

A teacher at a school in Sweden once gave a fifth-grade class an unusual assign-
ment. Each student was asked to write a letter to himself or herself as a grown-
up. The letters were sealed in envelopes without being shown to anyone else,
though everyone wrote their names and identity numbers on the back. The
teacher said the school would make sure the letters were sent to them in 25 years’
time, using their identity numbers to find their current addresses. Hopefully,
all the former students will one day receive their letter in the mail, reminding
them of how it once felt to be young just as they are preparing, perhaps, for
parenthood. Perhaps we should all get a letter from ourselves as a child to help
us understand how children think and feel about life.

Having a good memory is useful for an adult who wants to understand what it
is like to be a child now. But a good memory is not enough, and children do not
all see the world in the same way. All children have their individual experiences
and ways of interpreting and understanding their environment and the people
in it. At the same time, there are similarities between the way they see things
– just as there are similarities in children’s lives.

All children are continually developing psychologically and physically, and

sometimes the speed of this development can be dramatic. Children are forever
accepting new challenges, extending their limits and changing their horizons.
“Once, a long time ago, you let go of the table and started walking across the
floor. Do it again! Do it again!” wrote Swedish author Ingrid Sjöstrand in a
poem about the courage we display as infants. Of course, the conditions in
which children live, the people around them and the way they are treated all
affect their view of life.

Which child’s perspective?

A few years ago, Save the Children Norway hosted a meeting for organisations
representing working children. The aim of the event was to gain insight into
the children’s lives from their own perspective. Child labour was a controver-
sial issue at the time and many people were actively engaged in it from a wide
variety of angles. While the organisations representing the children defended
their right to work, trade unions were demanding a complete ban on all forms
of child labour and placard-carrying Norwegian children attended the meeting
also demanding a complete ban. A noisy discussion ensued, with both camps
accusing the other of being manipulated by the interests of adults.

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 9

Save the Children Norway’s position was to show respect for the right of all
children to influence, stressing that input from working children was vital for
understanding the issues involved in child labour. Listening to them with an
open mind was essential to give them the support they needed. The children had
views on what could and should be done to improve their conditions.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child says we should take children’s views
into account “in accordance with their age and maturity”. The children in the
Norwegian case were young but mature beyond their years on account of being
required to take such major responsibility at such a young age. They defended
their right to work, arguing that the alternatives were worse. Their opinions were
taken into account and the dialogue with working children has continued ever
since, being a feature of Save the Children Sweden’s work in many countries.

What, then, of the Norwegian children’s freedom of expression? All children

have the right to take part in debate, to show interest in social issues and to speak
their mind without fear of reprisals. Nevertheless, providing the right kind of
support to the working children in this case meant taking due account of their
views and opinions.

Are the best interests of the child the same as

the best interests of children in general?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is primarily about the rights of
the individual child, not the rights of children as a group. The convention
acknowledges the right of children to form groups and to gain added strength
and influence from working together collectively. However, the best interests
of the majority do not always overlap with the best interests of the individual
child, and dilemmas can arise.

A class of Swedish ten-year-olds is about to be split into new groups. In the

belief that children should have a say in issues important to them, their teacher
informs a parents’ meeting that each child will be allowed to choose two class-
mates for the next class. A parent asks if the children can also choose who they
don’t want in their class. Initially, the teacher is unsure how to respond but
eventually agrees.

Certainly, many children in a class find it reassuring to be able to choose a cou-

ple of friends to move into their next class with. But for some, the process simply
reinforces their sense of being left out and is of no benefit whatsoever.

10 Questions and answers on children’s right to influence

How should we speak to children?
The 20th century saw a strong increase in Western society’s knowledge and
awareness relating to children and childhood. The emergence of professionals
with expertise in children and child development helped to deepen our under-
standing of children and their needs. The downside of this trend was that it also
put the relationship between children and adults on a more professional footing,
contributing to an apparent increase in uncertainty and anxiety among parents
about doing the wrong thing.

The initial bombardment of parental directives and guidance eventually gave

way to a climate which generally tries to reassure parents that they are doing
a good job. Nevertheless, many adults still seem to view children and young
people as different beings whom you need special training to talk to. It is all too
easy for children, and especially teenagers, to get the idea that they are invisible
to adults, or that adults do not see them as worth talking to. Silence, after all,
sends out signals.

All human beings – whether children or adults – appreciate it when others show
genuine interest in them and their opinions. Such interest makes us feel impor-
tant and valued and encourages us to communicate our thoughts and opinions.
Every journalist knows that the best way to get someone to talk is to show an
interest in them and what they have to say.

One or two things are worth bearing in mind when interviewing

children.
Children, especially when they reach school age, know from experience that
when an adult asks them a question it is almost never because the adult does
not know the answer, but to find out whether the child does. There are right
answers and wrong answers, and the child knows that he or she must give the
answer the adult wants to hear. A child’s eagerness to please and give the right
answers can get in the way of finding out what the child really thinks and
feels. When dealing with children, many adults are delighted to hear all the
“right” answers and then praise the children for being so clever and grown-up.
However, children cannot always be expected to have fixed opinions in specific
matters. Their views often crystallise during conversations with other children
and adults, which is why it is important that we listen to them and ask questions
that enable them to speak freely and try out their opinions.

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 11

Everyone knows that it is better for children to go to school than live on the
street, and street children know this too. In their years of living on the street
they have developed different strategies for survival, such as stealing for food
or taking drugs to suppress their hunger and loneliness. These strategies can
also include being resourceful, independent, strong and staying together as a
group.

On one occasion, a group of adults asked a group of street chil-

dren to tell them a few positive things about living on the street.
The children immediately said things like learning to fend for
yourself and choosing what you eat. When asked what was nega-
tive about life on the street they said sleeping on hard surfaces,
stealing and not having a future. The children were also asked
about the advantages and disadvantages of attending school, and
were again able to reel off a long list. The children were thus able
to express a view based on their own experiences, and the adults
gained insight into how schools need to adapt to the street chil-
dren and their special circumstances. It is vital when communi-
cating with children to use language they can understand, speak-
ing clearly and using straightforward words, though without
resorting to baby talk or the kind of babble that many adults use
when addressing children.

How can we promote children’s right to influence?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child says we must listen to children
and take due account of what they say. This might sound self-evident to most
people. But if we really lived up to this, the insight and knowledge we gained
would bring about fundamental changes in the states that have ratified the
convention.

The following questions are worth asking:

When taking a decision relating to children, have we listened to the chil-
dren who will be affected by it?
Have the children had a genuine opportunity to influence the decision by being
given a chance to say what they think in a format suitable to them and of their
own choosing? A suitable format may involve gathering children into small
groups to discuss the issue, noting their views and communicating them to the
decision-makers. Such discussions must meet several criteria if they are to give
children genuine influence:

12 Questions and answers on children’s right to influence

1. The children must have access to understandable and relevant information to
help them form an opinion and make up their mind.
2. They must have enough time to discuss and consider the question.
3. They must be clearly informed about the reason for the conversation and their
scope for influence.
4. All the children in the group must be given an equal opportunity to say what
they think.
5. If the purpose is to agree on a collective standpoint and decision, these must
have the support of all the children in the group. In this regard, it may some-
times be advisable for the children to vote individually (and in private) to
ensure that the views of the less verbal children are not ignored.

How should the children’s opinions be presented in the meeting summary?

Have the children been able to talk to adults about the question in hand? What
opportunities have the children had to state their opinions – orally in small
groups, in meetings with decision-makers, in writing, in private and anonymous
votes, and so on?

What do the children think about their opportunities to influence deci-

sions that affect them?
What other opportunities do children have to express their opinions regularly
at school and locally (student councils, youth councils, etc.)? Are alternative
formats necessary to enable children and young people to influence decisions
affecting them? Are some groups of children and young people better able to
exert influence than others?

What opportunities do children have to influence decisions about them

as individuals?
Have children had a say in their parents’ decision on which school they attend?
What opportunities exist for children facing difficulties (for instance those at
the centre of a divorce, in psychiatric care or in the care of social services) to
express their opinions in formats appropriate for them? Are their opinions and
comments respected? Many studies have revealed that children who are taken
into care are rarely asked what they feel about it either before, during or after
the period in care. Someone turns up in a car and takes the child away, without
telling him or her where she is going, how long she will be away or why. Social
services visit the foster home and talk to the foster parents about the child’s wel-
fare, but the child is rarely given the opportunity to explain his or her feelings
to the social worker in private.

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 13

What opportunities do children have to make their voice heard on their
own terms in the media?
Does press coverage reflect and take children’s views and opinions into account?
When journalists write about children they often do so based on their own
preconceptions about children and their capabilities and understanding. There
may be little difference between an article about children and one about the
birth of cuddly tiger cubs in a zoo. In the worst-case scenario, children can be
fooled into performing like mannequins while the adults wave cheerily to each
other above their heads.

Of course, some journalists do strive to accurately portray children and their

thoughts and opinions. But doing this requires time and patience. Unlike
adults, children generally cannot reel off pat answers to specific questions but
need time to think and a quiet and secure environment to feel free to say what
they really think.

Giving children a voice in the media and the opportunity to use the media
themselves on their own terms to tell their stories is a key method for making
children visible as individual members of society.

14 Questions and answers on children’s right to influence

Further reading available for download:
Hart, Roger A., Children’s Participation: From tokenism to citizenship, Unicef
International Child Development Centre (now Innocenti Research Centre),
Florence, 1992
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/che/cerg/documents/Childrens_participation.pdf

Lansdown, Gerison, Promoting Children’s Participation in Democratic Decision

Making, Unicef International Child Development Centre (now Innocenti
Research Centre), Florence, 2001
http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/insight6.pdf

Save the Children, Children and Participation. Research, monitoring and Evalua-
tion with children and young people, Save the Children UK, London, 2002
http://www.crin.org/docs/participation.pdf

Bernard van Leer Foundation, Young Children’s Participation. Rhetoric or Gro-

wing Reality? In Early Childhood Matters 103, ISSN: 1387-9553, The Hague,
2004.
http://www.bernardvanleer.org/publication_store/publication_store
publications/Young_childrens_participation_Rhetoric_or_growing
reality/file

Lansdown, Gerison, The Evolving Capacities of the Child, Save the Children and
Unicef Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, 2005.
http://www.unicef-irc.org/cgi-bin/unicef/Lunga.sql?ProductID=384

Borden, Rebecca, Taking School Design to Students; National Clearinghouse for

Educational Facilities, Washington, D.C., 2004.
http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/schooldesign.pdf

Clay, Di, Key Stage One: Participation and school councils toolkit, School Coun-
cils UK.
www.schoolcouncils.org

Questions and answers on children’s right to influence 15

Save the Children Sweden fights for children’s rights.
We influence public opinion and support children at risk
– in Sweden and internationally.

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