The report, Young Children's Citizenship: Ideas into Practice, stresses the importance of young children's involvement in decision-making in their lives. It says they need to be involved not only in developing obviously child-related services and policies, such as play and education, but also in wider community issues such as housing, transport, health and welfare. By involving children in public decision-making, organisations and public bodies can ensure the quality and appropriateness of the services they provide.
Ruth Marchant, one of the report's authors, said, 'We feel it is important to extend the debate about children's participation to include access to public and private space. It is obviously important to involve children in children's issues, but there is a tendency to forget they are citizens as well and use parks, buses and hospitals in the same way as adults.'
The report also observes that most consultation is with older children, and there is a growing need to apply the ideas of citizenship to the youngest members of society. Ms Marchant said, 'Young children are a unique group in being frequently present but not included in social processes.
'We often act as if young children are not there, and their invisibility as citizens creates a culture in which it is difficult for their views to be ascertained and heard. They have very different needs and interests to older children, yet many consultations with children effectively exclude anyone under the age of 12, or even eight.'
Examples presented in the report demonstrate that young children do want to be consulted, and many enjoy being asked for their views. One is, 'A child of four, who was asked at the end of a research interview "Can I ask you one more thing?" and the child replied, grinning, "Yes, or lots".'
According to the report, there is clear potential for children to move beyond simply expressing their views on an issue, to taking an active part in making decisions and effecting changes.
The report reviews current developments in the move to include young children in decision-making, and considers a range of practical issues that it says should be addressed if citizenship for young children is to be effectively integrated into professional policy and practice.
Young Children's Citizenship: Ideas into Practice can be downloaded free from www.jrf.org.uk or purchased as a paperback report, priced 13.95 plus postage and packaging, by calling 01904 43003.