RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CHILDREN

Children should grow and develop all round–physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. For this, proper care and facilities should be provided to them. Children need food, clothing, shelter, health facilities, education, protection, entertainment and above all, freedom. All children have a claim for these things in a society. These are the basic rights of children.

Children can demand these things from their parents and elders. Most of the children are not aware of their rights. Hence, it is the responsibility of the adults to make them aware of their rights.

Children are tender are small. Children are dependent on the elders. The future of every child depends on the care, facilities and opportunities they get during their childhood. Therefore, if children do not get what they need, they cannot grow up to become worthy citizens of the country. In order to grow up properly, some basic needs are to be fulfilled as their right.

Some Right of Children
All the Children have the following rights:

• Right to food.
• Right to clothing.
• Right to shelter.
• Right to education.
• Right to entertainment.
• Right to good health and proper nourishment.
• Right to name and country.

These are some of the rights. All these rights are called rights. It does not matter weather a child in rich or poor, has parents or in an orphan, is strong or weak, sick or healthy, all have the same rights.

Protection of Child Rights
An international conference held under the supervision of UNO in 1989 AD, concerning the child rights, passed the resolution to protect child rights. Nepal also signed the charter of the convection. The conference advocated the rights of children to name, to a country along with care from family, to good and health and proper nourishment. All these right are in fact, the basic necessities for survival. The conference also believed in a child right to lead his/her life as he/she wishes, getting an education, participating in sports and entertainment, etc. Children have the right to express their thoughts freely and independently.

It is the duty of every country to protect the rights of its children. Keeping this in mind, Nepal too passed a Bill on child rights in 2049 BS. There are some provisions in constitution regarding the child right, such as:

• Provision of free education for all the children.
• Special arrangements for the protection and promotion of children by the state.

There are many other agencies which are working for the protection of child rights. These organizations can be approached for help. For example, Nepal Children’s Organization helps the poor and orphans by providing food, shelter, education and health facilities. UNICEF is playing an important role in spreading awareness about the child rights. Similarly, ILO is working to abolish child labour.

Duties of Children
While children have rights, they also have certain duties to perform. Some of their duties are:

• Respect their parents, teachers, elders and love youngsters.
• Pay attention to personal hygiene.
• Help people in need.
• Sharing things with others.
• Use polite language.
• Study, play, eat and sleep at proper time.