Do Children Have Rights in Ame

Do Children Have Rights in America? Most seem to think that the children's rights movement in America is fairly new. It has actually been in existance since about the mid-1600s. "Children in the colonies had rights that entitled them to have the necessities of life, a start in life, and freedom from excessive abuse" (Hawkes 1). What's important about this precedent is that it sets up our own ideas of how children should be treated. …

…Protection. Boston: Twayne, 1991. Hodgson, Lucia. Raised in Captivity. St. Paul: Graywolf Press, 1997. Kohler, Mary Conway. "Youths Right to Participate." Children’s Rights: Contemporary Perspectives. Ed. Vardin, Patricia, Brody, Ilene. New York: Teachers College Press, 1979. Schorr, Lisbeth. Common Purpose: Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods to Rebuild America. New York: Doubleday, 1997. "Why Don’t Kids Have a Voice?" John Stossel, ABC News Special Report. ABC. 28 December 1999. 28 June 2000. http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/ABCNEWSSpecials/stossel1991228_children_promo.html.