TY - JOUR T1 - Right of children to be heard JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open JO - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001161 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - e001161 AU - Donna Koller Y1 - 2021/12/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/5/1/e001161.abstract N2 - Even if people are still very young, they shouldn’t be prevented from saying what they think. (Anne Frank)Children now comprise 30% of the world’s population.1 In one way or another, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the life of every child on the planet. Children have experienced school and childcare closures, limited play and social interactions, increases in domestic violence, abuse, poverty—and some have experienced the profound loss of losing a loved one.2 The pandemic has exposed the fragility of children’s lives and has profoundly threatened their fundamental human rights.Many of the global and long-term consequences on children’s social, emotional and physical well-being are unknown, but it is already clear that child well-being and pandemic management require urgent and full attention. Even during a pandemic—and perhaps especially during a pandemic—we must find ways to elevate the discourse around children’s rights and uphold the ethical and moral imperatives set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).3Among all childhood rights, being listened to may be the most important, and is a central tenet of the UNCRC (Article 12). Children can only participate and develop social agency if adults listen to them. By listening to children, we can learn about them and what they believe is essential for their health and well-being. This is particularly important in the current social context, in which the pandemic has increased social inequities and children have lost significant developmental opportunities.Research can provide … ER -