Wilfrid Laurier University Press A Question of Commitment: The Status of Children in Canada (Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada)

With the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), commentators began to situate the evolution of the status of children within the context of the ""property to persons"" trajectory that other human rights stories had followed. In the first edition of A Question of Commitment, editors R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell provided a template of analysis for understanding this evolution. They identified three overlapping stages of development as children transitioned from being regarded as objects to subjects in their own right: social laissez-faire, paternalistic protection, and children's rights. In the social laissez-faire stage, children are regarded as objects, and largely as the property of parents. In the paternalistic protection stage, children are seen as vulnerable and in need of protection. The children's rights stage lays emphasis on children as rights-bearers, as individuals in their own right with entitlements. In this second edition, new essays assess the extent to which children's rights have been incorporated into their respective areas of policy and law. The authors draw conclusions about what the situation reveals about the status of children in Canada. Overall, many challenges remain on the pathway to full recognition and citizenship. About the Author Thomas Waldock is a professor in Child and Family Studies and Social Work at Nipissing University. He is the founding faculty member and Chair of the CHFS Program. His research relates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to the child welfare field, with a particular focus on child welfare paradigms and caregiving. R. Brian Howe holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto. He is a professor emeritus and former director of the Children's Rights Centre at Cape Breton University. He has published six books and numerous articles on human rights policy, children's rights, and children's rights education. Katherine Covell holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto. She is a professor emerita and former executive director of the Children's Rights Centre at Cape Breton University. She has acted as a national and international advocate for children, and has published widely on children's rights and child development, including the UN report Violence against Children in North America (2005).