Anchoring and Empowering Children: A Child’s Right to Participation Within a Healthy Environment

Abstract

I begin this chapter with the question, has the USA done enough to anchor all children living in the USA to the relationships, experiences, and opportunities vital to empowering them with the capacities necessary to exert their right to participation? With an estimated 13 million children living in poverty, 1.3 million living in homelessness (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 8.5 million without health insurance (National Center on Health Care (NCHC), 92,854 incarcerated males, and 25% not graduating from high school, the answer to this question appears to be a resounding no. With the plight of so many children, we have an obligation to act and move toward permanent change. This chapter explains the benefits associated with socially, spiritually, and psychologically anchoring children living in the USA to the relationships, experiences, and opportunities vital to promoting their right to participation. I do this by identifying the substantive articles related to a child's right to participation, explaining the concepts of social, spiritual, and psychological anchoring, highlighting research conducted by the Search Institute which demonstrates the significant benefits of anchoring children, and conclude by calling for ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by the USA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)