Expressions of Children and Families on Children’s Rights: Lessons from STM: EC 2019

The Shaking the Movers: Early Childhood (STM: EC) event was held at Ryerson University and was the first to invite young children to participate in learning about and discussing their inherent rights. In this article, five graduate students draw on young children’s and family members’ expressions, with regard to children’s right to non-discrimination (United Nations General Assembly, 1989, Article 2), as well as lessons learned, and their suggestions for future STM events. Children and families experiences as presented in the STM: EC report (Robichaud et al., 2019) were examined and the following themes emerged: children’s ideas and thoughts about their rights, spaces for children to learn about their rights, and adults’ views and ideas about children’s rights. The authors provide evidence on how events such as STM are beneficial in understanding children’s expressions and ideas regarding their rights, and the importance of creating spaces that foster children’s rights. Keywords: Shaking the Movers, children’s rights, right to non-discrimination, children’s expression, early childhood education