Alert: CRC Harms Children

Reader,

I came across an article from the BBC which further supports the argument that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is harmful to children. The article was written by Kathryn Wescott on February 14, 2007, entitled, "Why are Dutch children so Happy?" Check it out: it is an eye-opener.

Kathryn begins by sharing that the Netherlands was rated the #1 country in providing the greatest "child well-being." Apparently, parents spend a great deal of time with their children, and all of society is centered around children, "especially young children," Wescott writes. What is not shown by the report, however, are the negative side effects of all of this "attention."

The child-centered society of the Netherlands produces the natural consequence in their society: children rule. Wescott turns to the opinion of Prof. Paul Vangeert, the Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Groningen. He writes:

"[The children's] wishes become so strong that parents have to work very hard to give them what they want. Sometimes, there can be a lack of balance between the happiness of the child and that of the parent."

Ysbrand, a Dutch college student, notes the difference between life as a child and life as an adult: "Now I'm left to look after myself . . . . My parents say that I need to care for myself and to be independent. It's hard. I don't have much money as a student, and to go out is expensive." At the age of 18, Ysbrand is finally beginning to understand the effects of this child-centered mindset.

But it gets worse: there is a mortal danger to minors in these countries because they are so "free." Ysbrand notes in his own childhood that "while he has been drinking and smoking for some time, his parents have never really seen it as a big issue." Laura Vos, a 16-year-old girl, notes:

"In this country, it's very free, you can do anything you want," she told the BBC's Newsnight programme. "You can smoke at 16, you can buy pot in the store next to the school. You can do what you like and because it's not illegal, it's not that interesting for us to provoke our parents with it."

Where does all of this freedom come from? Policies which take parental guidance out of the picture. This is why we need the Parental Rights Amendment. This is not just a scare tactic: there is actual harm to our children and our society, and it is imminent today. We must defend the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children - we must stand up for parental rights today.

Take your place today,
Sign up at http://www.parentalrights.org/ today,

Centaur

"The time is right." -- Glenstorm