Mother's Perspectives on Children's Rights within Irish Families

Children's rights is a relevantly new concept in Ireland, potentially affecting children and parents lives in many ways but the full impact is unknown as there continues to be a lack of research-based understanding of children lives in Ireland (DOHC, 2000, Thompson, 2012). The aim of this research is to explore how middle age mothers perceive children rights in the family by identifying mothers own understandings of and treatment of their children. A qualitative research approach involving a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with the aid of Nvivo and a purposive sampling method comprising of nine Dublin middle age mothers was employed. Four key themes emerged and it is evident the high value and respect middle age mothers have for their children, meeting their rights in many areas of their lives. However the lack of conceptual awareness and of viewing children in a rights-based approach was also found.