From time to time we bring you topics related to children's rights to the blog, and it is always good to remember them (or discover them). This simple poster about children's rights, which we encourage you to share, is from Unicef Chile and I liked it for its clarity.
Concision and clarity, because together with the ten basic rights summarized we find the icons that represent each idea in a precise and graphic way. Today we want to highlight the right number six, the right to a family, that although in the drawing it appears as a conventional family, it should be extended to any type of family.
The right of boys and girls to family life means that the family represents a positive environment for the development of children. That is why the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes a set of responsibilities for parents to protect the development of their children.
It is also noted that States must take measures to support parents in their guidance, promotion of development and care of children, something that is less noticeable in our environment (or at least it is not perceived beyond the established pediatrician visits, which may help us and orient us a lot, or perhaps not).
At present, there are many types of families that may or may not resemble that schematically represented by the drawing on the poster: a mother, a father and a child. There are single parents and homoparental families, reconstituted families, children born in and out of wedlock (more and more), adopted, foster children, large families ...
The case is that it is respected the basic right of the child to that family that takes care of it and wants it. They are good signs that in many countries (as we read what happens in Chile) there are more children living with their families and less staying in institutions.
But the data referring to family violence, the painful reality of child abuse that affects a large number of families, regardless of the type of family structure, is not good news.
Definitely, the "right number six", to have a family, where you can include multiple types of families, you can guarantee many of the other rights, and so it should be. But when that family or the absence of a family violates the rights of children, they are left unprotected, and we must act.
