ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by discussing rights in general, including the distinction between positive and negative rights, and the connection between rights and obligations. It then discusses the advantages of thinking of obligations toward children in terms of rights. Next, two main theories of rights are discussed: the will theory, which claims that rights protect choices, and the interest theory, which claims that rights protect interests. The implications of each theory for children’s rights are then explored. Next, the chapter briefly recounts the early 20th -century child protection movement and the children’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and how they set the stage for current theorizing about children’s rights. Next, the chapter discusses specific rights often attributed especially to children, including the right to an open future and rights to distinctive goods of childhood. The chapter concludes by discussing some criticisms of children’s rights, and replies to those criticisms.
