Affirmation of Children’s Rights versus Children’s Responsibilities to the Family

Abstract

Everyone’s personal dignity guarantees freedoms and rights regardless of age, which means these freedoms and rights are also granted to children. Children’s rights highlight children’s subjectivity and draw attention to their special status, which is, in fact, determined by the child’s dependence on adults, but is still not passive or submissive. This emphasis on the child’s rights sort of equalises the child’s legal situation which is results from their physical and mental immaturity and dependence. However, every human being – including a child – has duties in addition to rights, which remain in relative balance. Thus, they contribute to the formation of the child’s personality in a balanced manner. Focusing solely on the enjoyment of rights and simultaneously neglecting duties distorts this balance and contributes to the development of attitude of taking everything for granted, laziness, and choosing to live at the expense of others. It seems therefore necessary to restore the balance between the focus on children’s rights and the marginalisation of their responsibilities.