Children’s Rights, Child Poverty and Online Safety with Bruce Adamson

Family Talk: Scotland’s former Children’s Commissioner Bruce Adamson on children’s rights - and why carers are central to making them real.

The scale and complexity of the pressures facing children today

Bruce begins by describing the scale and complexity of the pressures facing children today. Poverty, mental health difficulties, economic insecurity, digital harms, care instability and long waits for support all overlap. As he puts it, “none of those things sit in isolation.”

Children are also acutely aware of what is happening beyond their own lives. Bruce explains that many children describe “that feeling that they’re in a world that feels pretty dangerous at the moment.” Through news, social media and lived experience, children are exposed to war, violence, displacement and global instability. Some of those children, he notes, are now in Scottish schools seeking refuge.

Trusted adults, strong relationships and properly resourced community support

The answer, he says, is not to shut children off from the world, but to make sure they are surrounded by support. Bruce stresses the importance of “trusted adults,” strong relationships and properly resourced community support. Children need safe spaces to understand what is happening, to ask questions and to feel secure.

Children’s rights are not abstract ideals

Bruce is clear that children’s rights are not abstract ideals - they are practical principles that should guide daily decision-making.

“Children have the right to be involved in all decisions which affect them,” he says. The key question is not whether children should be involved, but “how do we involve children?”

He explains that adults are often good at talking about acting in a child’s “best interests,” but less confident about actually involving children in those decisions. Children themselves say that too often “things are done for them,” rather than with them. Decisions made without children’s voices, Bruce warns, are more likely to miss the mark: “there’s a big chance we’ll make a mistake.”

Covid lockdowns as a clear example

The discussion turns to Covid lockdowns as a clear example of what happens when systems come under pressure. Decisions about school closures, exams and home learning were made rapidly, and children were largely excluded. Bruce says children were not involved in discussions about “closing schools,” “education delivered at home,” or “how exams would be structured,” with lasting impacts on education, mental health and wellbeing.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law

One of the most significant developments Bruce discusses is the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law. Although the UK agreed to the Convention decades ago, accountability was weak and often “lacked teeth.” That has now changed. Since 2024, children’s rights are legally binding in Scotland.

This means that “everyone who’s delivering a public function… has to abide by the convention,” including schools, local authorities and health services. The law strengthens duties around best interests and participation and gives additional protection to “care experienced children and young people, disabled children and young people and others.”

For carers, this is crucial. It means children’s needs are not a favour or an act of goodwill - they are enforceable rights.

You don’t need to be a lawyer

Bruce reassures carers that they do not need legal training to use a rights-based approach. “You don’t need to be a lawyer,” he says. What matters is understanding that “this isn’t a matter of charity.” Children have rights to education, health, an adequate standard of living and support to develop to their “fullest potential.”

If those rights are not being met, carers can confidently raise this with schools, social work or health services. Bruce suggests carers can say: “the child in my care… has these rights and are not being fulfilled. So what are you going to do about it?” Carers are also entitled to ask decision-makers: “have you done an impact assessment of this?”

Children with complex needs, including non-verbal children

Bruce also discusses children with complex needs, including non-verbal children. Listening, he says, is about relationship-based practice. Carers are often the people who understand a child’s communication best, and behaviour is communication, especially when children are distressed. Every child is different, and listening means taking the time to understand what works for them.

The biggest human rights issue

Bruce describes poverty as “the biggest human rights issue” facing children in Scotland and the UK. It affects education, health and emotional wellbeing and is “never a child’s fault” and never a carer’s fault. Social security, he says, should be understood as a right, with “never, ever… stigma” attached.

On mental health, Bruce argues that while specialist services matter, daily support matters just as much. Investing in carers, youth workers and community support is one of the most effective ways to protect children’s wellbeing.

The rainbow against the dark cloud

Despite global uncertainty, Bruce remains optimistic. Children do not want to be seen as “the lost generation.” They are worried and frustrated, but they also want to be part of the solution.

He describes children’s rights as “the rainbow against the dark cloud” and shares a seven-word phrase from a child that resonated with him: “My rights give me power, freedom, courage.”

Bruce ends with a clear message: the loving, stable, understanding environments carers provide are not just care - they are the foundation that allows children’s rights to be lived, felt and protected every day.