Resources for Families

Knowing Your Child’s Rights

Human rights are for everyone, young and old, no matter where you come from or live, what you like or believe. Human rights are about dignity, equality, and respect for everyone. Human rights cannot be taken away from you!

The world’s children have had their human rights documented in an international agreement called the ‘United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’ (UNCRC).
The UNCRC was introduced in 1989 and has been ratified by more countries in the world than any other international agreement, including Australia who became a signatory in 1990. Becoming a signatory means we commit to upholding these child rights and to working to ensure they are protected under national, state and territory laws. You can find out about all the rights encompassed in the UNCRC here.
Some of the key rights children need to know include the following:

• The Right to Freedom of Expression
• The Right to Education
• The Right to Good Health
• The Right to Play
• The Right to Protection

Access the series of Knowing Your Rights Fact Sheets below teaches children what their rights are and what they can do to make sure these rights are recognised and protected. 

Respecting the Online Rights of Children
and Young People 

We want children and young people to embrace the internet to learn, share, collaborate and participate in civic life with free expression.  We also need to ensure that when they do so they are kept safe. When it comes to dealing with young people’s personal information it is important to be mindful that the most valuable commodity in the evolving world of technology and digital information is data.  More than this, data is inextricably linked to the individual identity of its owner. We therefore have absolute responsibility to ensure that when young people share their data with us, we treat it with the care and respect it warrants.

This series of fact sheets provides some practical tips for organisations and parents on how to ensure data collection practices and policies protect children and young people’s privacy, including how to be mindful of the long-term repercussions of a child or young person’s digital footprint.

Sharenting?

Many of the most engaged, conscientious and caring mums and dads around, have been shown to be the main culprits of ‘sharenting’ – sharing photos and /or stories about their child without any consideration of the impact this might have on the child’s privacy and agency, either at the time, or when they’re old enough to be on social media themselves. Before any of us post another pic or video of our child or grandchild online let’s learn the simple ‘Click, Pause, Decide, Enjoy’ method  to ensure we protect our child or young person’s privacy!

The Things that Matter to Children

Through the Commissioner’s Student Voice Postcard initiative South Australian primary school aged children have consistently said that there are four things that worry them most. Not surprisingly, one of these is the environment, another is school and homework, a third is needing assistance navigating relationships with family and friends, and the fourth is not being listened to by adults.

Listening to the views, perspectives and experiences of primary school-aged children is relevant to all levels of government, but it also applies to local businesses and community organisations, as well as to schools and families. Not listening to what children tell us at this age means we risk alienating them at a time in their lives when they’re looking for reassurance that trusting the adults in their lives is worthwhile.

The following snapshots provide insights into what primary school aged children think about school, job skills and the future, and what worries them most. 

What SA Kids Have Told Us About…

Since 2017, SA Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly has spoken with thousands of South Australian kids to find out what they think are the most important issues of our time. The following fact sheets present their views and ideas in relation to a range of topics including Climate Change, Homelessness, Civics & Leadership, Learning, Play, Diversity and Inclusion, Environment, and Work with additional topics in the series being added over time.

Designed to inform leaders, decision-makers, researchers, policymakers, educators and parents and guardians, the resources offer insight into what matters most to young South Australians. They make clear what young people believe our priorities should be, highlighting what they would like adults to focus on fixing now for the benefit of future generations, as well as themselves.

View the accompanying short videos for each topic on the CCYP Youtube Channel

Being Child and Youth Focused in an Emergency

Our planning for emergencies, disasters and recovery, must address the unique needs of children and young people across our metropolitan and regional communities. It must also include an understanding of the specific community infrastructure they require to build their resilience and reduce their vulnerability during and following an emergency or disaster. 

Adults who are responsible for emergency management must commit to the view that children and young people are critical stakeholders. This means in practice they must ensure their operations reflect this view. This guide provides some practical ideas for ways in which this can be achieved. Some of the ideas have come from children and young people themselves. They include ideas on ways their competencies can be best utilised during an emergency as will as enabling them to contribute ideas and actions to the recovery process. This will also ensure that their interests, ideas and expectations can be considered and factored in while their emerging capacity for leadership is simultaneously nurtured. 

Bullying Prevention

Children and young people have lots of ideas on how to prevent bullying. They would like to get involved in anti-bullying programs and learn skills to build friendships. This collection of fact sheets contains information that children and young people want their parents, teachers and coaches to know about how they believe bullying can be prevented, as well as ways in which they think anti-bullying strategies would be best implemented at home, school, sport and other recreational environments.

School Uniforms

Some people love them. Some people hate them. Their desirability has been discussed at length with cost, practicality, and their ability to influence academic performance, traditionally at the centre of these debates.

Smacking and physical punishment

People often have strong opinions about whether smacking is right or wrong, helpful or harmful, or whether parents should even have the right to smack their children. It can be overwhelming for parents when outsiders, including other parents, onlookers, politicians or various experts, weigh into the debate about how they should raise their children.