ABSTRACT
There is growing recognition of the vital importance of the early years for children’s current and future development, with early intervention becoming a key international driver shaping early childhood policies and practices to address inequalities. However, ongoing global economic and refugee crises facing Europe threaten the practical implementation of children’s rights across the continent. Within the fields of childhood studies and children’s rights, there is an emergent call for research to understand more about the intersectional experiences of inequalities that different groups of children face due to interactions between race, gender, class, ethnicity, age, disability and others. This chapter engages with the politics of childhood by showcasing striking differences in children’s rights policy and rhetoric through critical comparison of the policy and legislation contexts concerning young children’s rights in two Minority World countries: Greece and Scotland. The chapter identifies that both countries face gaps in the implementation of children’s rights in practice, and it argues for a move towards an intersectional rights policy agenda that will advance young children’s rights by driving the operationalisation of the theory and praxis of intersectionality.
