Child Participation in Ghana: Responsibilities and Rights

Scholars have long debated the definition of a child and when an individual becomes a youth or an adult. The debate revolves around so-called Western ideas that the life span is divided into clear cut age-based categories such as childhood, adolescence, adulthood and senescent (Eriksen 2001). This life cycle thinking assumes that children, under parental guidance, should enjoy their lives: happy, beloved, well taken care of and protected from hazards (Korbin 2003; Stephens 1995; Such, Walker and Walker 2005). The assumption that childhood is universal and a process every child goes through to prepare for adulthood has been challenged, and