It is often said that you can judge a society by the way it treats its weaker members. This book takes this theme and examines the ways in which different aspects of children's lives are treated in a number of societies. To this end it uses the conduit of children's rights. The importance of children's rights as an ideology and in practice is critically examined by a group of academics and practitioners with an international reputation and wide experience and insight. The book offers an understanding of the moral foundations of children's rights and enables all those in whatever discipline to gain a deeper understanding of an issue which has assumed major importance with the passing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.