This is a reprint of John Holt's controversial book about the rights of children and how adults and children can live and learn together more enjoyably and transparently by rethinking their relationships. Under the guise of care and protection, children are kept in the walled garden of childhood, outside the world of human experience, for longer periods than ever before in human history. But for many children and parents, the walled garden of childhood is more like a prison, where authorities compel and limit personal actions. What if children had the right to do, in general, what any adult may legally do? The reader who dares to confront such a question will discover new family relationships, not based on parental control, but on the joy of shared experience and responsibilities.

Publisher's Note
Acknowledgments

Preface

1. The Problem Of Childhood

2. The Institution Of Childhood

3. Childhood In History

4. The Family And Its Purposes

5. On The Loss Of Authority Of The Old

6. The Many "Crises" Of Life

7. The Burden Of Having Children

8. One Use Of Childhood

9. On "Help" And "Helpers"

10. The Competence Of Children

11. The Child As Love Object

12. On Seeing Children As "Cute"

13. How Children Exploit Cuteness

14. Love May Not Cure Everything

15. What Children Need, We All Need

16. On The Use Of The Word "Rights"

17. The Right To Vote

18. The Right To Work

19. The Right To Own Property

20. The Right To Travel

21. The Right To Choose One's Guardian

22. The Right To A Guaranteed Income

23. The Right To Legal And Financial Responsibility

24. The Right To Control One's Learning

25. The Right To Use Drugs

26. The Right To Drive

27. The Law, The Young, And Sex

28. Steps To Take

About The Author

Books Published by HoltGWS