Including Children Within the Political Process

With the 2012 U.S. Presidential election drawing close, we are once again witnessing an enormous void in the political debates and discussions regarding children’s needs. Neither of the presidential candidates has offered a clear plan that will ensure sufficient care and attention to the needs of children in the United States.

But this is not unique to the present political scenario of the United States. In election agendas across the world, issues related to young children below the voting age seldom get the same prominence as those pertaining to the electoral population at large. It is time that the importance of prioritizing investment in children’s education and well-being be clearly perceived, well understood, and actively pursued. Some nations are making efforts to better understand the needs of their children by developing reports to analyze areas of need and creating plans for the development of programs that bolster childhood education and child well-being.

•  England and China, along with some other nations, have taken bold strides in the direction of reducing child poverty and improving early childhood education programs. A 2012 report, Ending Child Poverty by 2020, shows that the number of children living in poverty in England went down by 900,000 between 1999 and 2010, and that an additional 900,000 were prevented from falling into poverty during the same period. These improvements were attained through the government providing an additional funding of £150 billion (that is, around $ 240 billion) for the benefits system, mostly aiming at lifting families just above the poverty line.

•  Another recent report, The Competition That Really Matters: Comparing U.S., Chinese, and Indian Investments in the Next-Generation Workforce (2012), talks about the ambitious Chinese national goals, which among other things, aim at a 50% increase in preschool enrollment by 2020. This push is an outcome of a strong public commitment and national economic strategy toward improving early childhood, education, and technological advancement in China.

•  The United States, as America’s Report Card 2012 indicates, has made some great strides in children’s health and early education. However, there has been a steady decrease in federal spending directed to these areas in recent years. Hence, not surprisingly, the nation has witnessed high rates in child poverty (record high of 22% in 20 years) and infant mortality (among industrialized nations), besides an increasing gap in students’ math and reading proficiency levels in comparison to their international peers. These are major concerns that call for urgent consideration, investment, and advocacy for children’s rights at the local, state, and federal levels. The national agenda for future progress will remain incomplete without a firm commitment to ensure that children from all social strata can have equal opportunities and access to resources that will enable them to contribute to that process.

The stark absence of children’s education and well-being issues from mainstream election agendas is not limited to the context of any one country. Even though nations may develop illuminating reports on children’s needs and take steps toward implementation of programs addressing children’s issues there is far more that needs to be done on a global scale. In general, children are not at the forefront of political conscience worldwide and are often completely invisible during times of debate. 

Economic security, child education, social stability, and health and safety-related concerns are universal in nature. Children cannot organize themselves to voice their needs and demands during crucial decision-making junctures of national action. Hence, it becomes the responsibility of those stakeholders in society with voting rights to hold policy-makers and elected candidates accountable for prioritizing children’s needs in their legislative and budgetary decisions. Children need to be heard!