Children’s Rights Debated

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29843, 8 June 1962, Page 2

Children’s Rights Debated

“We want to see children living in a community of security, honest work, steadfastness, devotion to duty, consideration for neighbours and willing to take responsibility,” said Lady Polson when speaking on a panel on the Rights of the Child, held last evening by the Christchurch area group of the Pan Pacific and South-east Asia Women’s Association.

“We would like to see children in happy homes, where there is warm-hearted affection, wise as well as loving care from parents and where there is respect for parents,” she said. Lady Polson was discussing the fourth principle of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which deals with enjoyment of social security, healthy pre-natal and postnatal care, nutrition, housing, recreation and medical care.

as “mothers’ helpers,” and given "glamorous uniforms to make the work more attractive.” There was a real need for help for young mothers who became desperately tired in looking after their children, she said. Other members of the panel were the Rev. F. J. Curnow, who is closely associated with youth work; Dr. Neil Begg, medical director of the Plunket Society; and Dr. P. J. Lawrence, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Canterbury. The chairman was Mr W. R. Lascelles.

"We are supposed to be saying how these things can be implemented and I believe we can only attain them through education and religion,” she said. Paying tribute to the Plunket Society, she said that Sir Truby King had used much the same words when discussing the needs of a child as were used in the declaration.

Introducing the discussion, Mr Lascelles said that though the Rights of the Child had been declared by the United Nations, there were no agencies to implement them. But the declaration provided a code of law in respect of the right of the individual, as did the Ten Commandments and the Magna Carta. Discussing the equality of all children. Father Curnow said he believed that every individual had the right to live a full human life in gaining its destiny, as a child of God.

“I can only speak of New Zealand in discussing the rights of a child and there are many things in our country which are not good,” she said. The Maori infant death rate was too high. There were still too many stillbirths in New Zealand and breast-feeding of babies had declined. Housing Needs

Dr. Begg said a child must be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially and helped to obtain the facilities to develop.

With the present fantastic cost of housing, there should be more pre-fabricated houses built, preferably by the State. The State should concentrate more on houses for families which deserved some assistance, she said.

Discussing recreation she said there were excellent organisations in New Zealand, all crying out for more workers and leaders.

Lady Polson suggested that girls, between the age of leaving school and training for nursing, should be trained

Emphasising the importance of the child’s first few years, when the social patterns of his whole life were laid down, he suggested that children could best be reached through young parents. "We must realise that every support given to parents will be passed on to the next generation,” he said.

Dr. Lawrence discussed the principles of free and compulsory education to develop abilitie sin a child's best interests.