European Policies to Promote Children's Rights and Combat Child Poverty.
The upbringing of children relies heavily on shared responsibilities between parents and society. The Council of Europe Recommendation (2006) 19 on Policy to Support Positive Parenting and the European Commission Recommendation (2013) Investing in Children: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage, both aim at supporting parents to care and provide for their children in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. By means of a document analysis this article examines what kind of parental practices and provision to parents the recommendations suggest to safeguard children's rights in the family. Three findings are highlighted: first, both recommendations reflect a commitment to respecting children's rights while at the same time acknowledging parents as children's primary caregivers. Second, both recognize parents' rights to work, while also recognizing the necessity of adequate income support if work is not available or income too low. Third, adequate resources are defined as a combination of universal policies and services, which guarantee a minimum level for all, and targeted measures reaching out to the most disadvantaged. The recommendations' emphasis on children and parents as partners and on the families' economic situations are valuable for future development of family and child policy and support programs.
['Sandbæk|Mona|M|']
D000293:Adolescent D002648:Child D000067576:Child Health D002675:Child, Preschool D005060:Europe D006291:Health Policy D006806:Human Rights D006801:Humans D007223:Infant D007231:Infant, Newborn D010290:Parents D011203:Poverty
child poverty positive parenting children’s rights progressive universalism support and provision for parents