Are children still seen and not heard?

Adults know best and ‘children should be seen and not heard.’ This historical Victorian claim reflects adult superiority about what’s best for children. With shifting societal values, and the landmark United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1990), Western parenting typically favors more demo-cratic parenting styles. In higher income countries, there is a trend toward having fewer children and investing more emotional and financial resources into these children. The significant emotional investment of parenting means that children are precious, and parents have high hopes for their children’s future success.