Childhood, Essay Example

Throughout the human lifecycle there is no other time to take advantage of the opportunities for learning, development and growth experiences as there is in childhood. The timeframe spanning from birth to adolescence is the formative time for the development of the biological and developmental skills and maturation the individual will carry with them their entire lives. The ability to adapt and overcome adversity and disabilities is a combination of a nurturing environment including all aspects of financial, structural, and educational as well as involving an intimate and close bond in the family unit.

In many of the readings on the experience of childhood there is a centralized focus on external forces driving and forcing certain habits or contributing as influencers to a predetermined outcome after the development of childhood. The basis for a childhood that benefits the child revolves around the culture in which they are raised. The reliance on putting children in adverse conditions such as poverty or being disabled into either institutions or inadequate living arrangements increase the rate of devastating ramifications (Strong-Boag 2001). In many instances childhood is not for those children without the predisposition of structure family units, financially stable households and void of other physical or mental capacity. This should not be the case and is limiting the exponentially great benefits these children, subject to circumstances out of their control, could contribute to their families and society. Many of these predispositions on the children with adverse conditions are made based on the assumptions of those adults that have power to decide the fate of the children. This value judgment limits the children prior to them even receiving their first opportunity.

When it comes to children’s’ rights, it is up to an entity to look out for those rights. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure the realization of children’s rights (Mauras, 2011). The state being represented in Mauras’ literature points out that a larger governing body must have the best interests of the child. That being said, when a child is depraved of the opportunity to grow someone or something must ensure the capability of that child’s growth. In the overall scope for children’s rights the focus on protecting those rights have come to the forefront as increased awareness for human civil rights has rose. The basic context of what children’s rights were normally regulated to the protection from abusive situations and actions as well as basic provisions for livelihood (Mason 2005). The rights of the children to be provided the best environment to make them a successful and contributing member to society is not necessarily upheld by a governing body nor is it protected as a right of a child. Providing a protection only from those inherently negative aspects of life and upbringing is really all that the rights of a child encapsulated.

Education of those children is also a necessity to ensure the proper development during childhood. Through an agreement of those participating in the United Nations, the goal was to provide children an expanded opportunity for education by 2015 (UNECO 2008). While this was a lofty goal with little or no direct measurability for success it was focused in the right direction to provide a service to children. This expansion of educational opportunities was meant to also expand the capabilities and experiences of the children during childhood.

Children need to have the proper structure and support to create the proper environment to succeed. It is the responsibility of the larger community to ensure the way children progress through childhood is conducive to a successful adulthood. The investments in protection, education, health and overall wellness of the child during childhood will repay the society when the child reaches adulthood and can be a contributing factor to the success of the society as a whole.

References

Mason, M., (2005). The u.s. and the international children’s rights crusade: leader or laggard. University of California, Berkeley. Journal of Social History.

Mauras, M. (2011). Public policies and child rights: entering the third decade of the convention on the rights of the child. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 633: 52.

Strong-Boag, V. (2002). Children of adversity: disabilities and child welfare in canada from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. Journal of Family History. 32: 413.

United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2008). Education for all by 2015 will we make it?. UNESCO. Retrieved from: www.efareport.unesco.org