ABSTRACT
Ideas about childhood have evolved over hundreds of years of Latin American and world history. This chapter provides a glimpse into these changes and traces the long, winding path leading to the recognition of children’s rights as human rights. The adoption of the CRC in 1989 was a watershed moment in the development of a new global rights regime: the international community henceforth embraced a rights-based approach toward childhood. Theories of human rights and conceptualizations of childhood have evolved slowly over centuries. Legal definitions and ideas about what a “normal” or acceptable childhood looks like have changed significantly. Wall identifies three waves of the global children’s rights movement: child saving in the 19th century, child protection in the 20th century, and child empowerment in the contemporary age. The CRC was the first legally binding international document to establish specific rights for children along with implementation measures. It became the most widely ratified treaty in world history.
