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"The universe is made of stories, not atoms." —Muriel Rukeyser

ONE CENTER'S CHILDREN'S RIGHTS CHARTER

Judy Radich, President of the Australian Early Childhood Association and director of Cooloon Children's Centre in Tweeds Head, New South Wales, Australia, was one of the presenters at the 2003 World Forum on the subject of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. Her early childhood program has developed this Draft Children's Rights Charter:

In Cooloon Children's Centre all children have....

A right to play

A right to be held, picked up, comforted

A right to feel safe

A right to play inside or outside

A right to eat when hungry

A right to privacy -- to be alone

A right not to be hurt

A right to be physically protected

A right to be directed/guided

A right to positive consistent discipline

A right to positive role modelling

A right to choose what and how much they will eat

A right to express themselves -- talk, cry

A right to be listened to

A right to say no

A right to request/ask

A right to answers to questions

A right to know who is picking them up

A right to sleep or rest

A right to get dirty

A right to choose what they will wear

A right to dress up/role play

A right to express their gender

A right to have their family acknowledged

A right to choose activities

A right to be an individual

A right to time to complete task/activity

A right to be read to

A right to be played with

A right to be touched or not

A right to fun, joy and laughter

A right to express how they feel

A right to stay home when they are sick

A right to be enjoyed

A right to qualified and trained staff

A right to challenge/question

A right to kindness