All children have the same rights. “Rights” are things every child should have or be able to do. Things that everyone must respect, kind of like laws. For example, as a child, you have the right to a safe home, to a good education, to express your own opinion and to protection from all kinds of danger.

Governments are responsible for protecting your rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says that children have the right to live with their parents unless this is harmful for the child. If you do not live with your parent because your parent is in prison, you have the right to stay in contact with them. Take a look at this version of your rights as a child (image on right).

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Sesame Street’s “Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration”