Listening to Children

I have written before, on various occasions about child participation (in this blog you can read what that is exactly, HERE). Like many other things the pandemic crisis has brought this topic to the forefront. Overall, there seemed to be a gradual improvement in governments and decision-makers being more willing to ask children for their insights and perspective and actually taking them into account. Then the crisis hit and all the hatches are down again.

It was as if taking children’s views on decisions affecting their lives into account had been a game, an enjoyable leisure activity, but now that things were getting serious, the children were expected to just sit back down and let the grown ups handle things. Major decisions were taken with enormous impact on children’s lives – things like closing schools, lockdown, online education, cutting off opportunities to meet with friends and families – without asking any children for their input, and seemingly barely putting thought into to how it would affect them.

Children simply became the collateral damage of decisions made for adults. Because they are less likely to die from Covid-19, decision-makers appear to think that they do not require major consideration.

This has been very obvious for the entire duration of the pandemic. However, it was really brought home to me when I read an article last month, in which the UN announced that they wanted youth activists (young people aged 18 to 28, by the way, not children, apparently Greta Thunberg lacks what it takes to give substantive advice according to them) to advise on the climate crisis and pandemic recovery. Although they do not include children, still this seems like a step in the right direction.

What struck me was that the article contained the following line: “The question of how to incorporate the views of young people into the UN decision-making process at the annual climate negotiations is a difficult one for the UN and the UK, which will host the next round of climate talks”

Why? Why is is more difficult to incorporate the views of young people than to incorporate the views of middle aged men? I really do not see the challenge. And the fact that apparently other people do, is an indication of how far we still have to go before young people and children are finally heard and taken seriously.

Please share this blog to help spread awareness.