A Child’s Bill of Rights

 
 

I have the right to live rather than exist.

I have a right to personhood rather than being an object of possession.

I have a right to equality with every other human being regardless of age.

I have a right to be respected with regard to my worth.

I have a right to be uniquely myself with my own identity.

I have a right to speak my own thoughts and feelings, and to be heard.

I have a right to ask “Why” and to receive answers.

I have a right to receive discipline without being yelled at, discounted, or put down.

I have a right to be encouraged to grow to maturity at my own pace.

I have a right to be free from physical harm at the hands of resentful people.

I have a right to be loved for being me.

I have a right to, with valid guidance, to think for myself, and to make my own decisions.

I have a right to be responsible for myself. 

I have a right to feel joy, happiness, sorrow, bereavement, anger, and pain.

I have a right to be a winner.

I have a right to care and be cared for, to nurture and to be nurtured, to give and receive.

I have a right to form my own convictions, beliefs, and standards.

I have a right to know and experience personal freedom.

I have a right to my own body, mind, soul, and to use them in a sharing experience.

I have a right to recognize and accept the rights of others regarding their Bill of Rights.


-Fred