Is your company respecting children’s rights?

Disney +, an oil company, and a marketing firm – What could they have in common?  Despite their differences, all these companies, in one way or another, interact with or impact children.

For companies like Disney+ or LEGO, the connection is obvious: they design products or services for children. Others may have a more indirect link – through advertisements aimed at young audiences, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives like sponsoring sports events, or, negatively, through the engagement of underage workforce. But even when children are not the intended target of any of the companies’ activities, every company has an impact on children.

Employees are often parents or carers, and workplace policies can have a significant impact on their wellbeing and work/life balance, with repercussions on the child and the whole family.[1] Anyone who has juggled deadlines and a child refusing to eat dinner or put on shoes on a snowy day knows how work stress can affect family life. When stress becomes a constant part of our daily routine, these small struggles can quickly spiral, turning fleeting frustrations into lasting tension for both parent and child, and making it difficult to find the time and mental strengths to take care of children in a nurturing and meaningful way.

Work policies also play a crucial role in influencing gender norms. When workplaces uphold rigid structures—such as inadequate parental leave for fathers, inflexible working hours, or biased hiring—they place the burden of caregiving on women and limit gender equality. Conversely, progressive policies can be powerful strategies to tackle discriminatory gender norms and promote more harmonious family life.[2]

Companies also influence childhood poverty. While it may sound as something very far away from us, it is not: one in five children in Austria is at risk of poverty, and around 88,000 live in absolute poverty.[3] Job security, fair wages and promotion opportunities can lift families out of financial stress, impacting both their mental health and the well-being of their children – consider that during the COVID-19 pandemic, children were more adversely affected by their parents‘ financial insecurity than by school disruptions.[4]

Any company leaves a long-last mark for children: a tires manufacturer which pollutes a river impacts children’s lives – not just the children who are playing in or drinking the polluted water, but all children as future generations. The same goes for the promotion and acceptance of practices which have consequences for the enjoyment of other children’s rights, such as companies which, through corrupt practices contribute to the privatization of hospitals, education and other public services.

Finally, have you ever thought about what kind of image of society is your company portraying? Even when products, services or marketing are not targeting children, media are constantly sending them messages about social norms, behaviours, and lifestyles. These subtle yet pervasive messages shape children’s perceptions of success, happiness, and values. The way companies portray women, minorities, disability and even children influence how young people see others and even themselves.

Why should we care about children? Why does it matter?

True: all these issues – pollution, work-life balance, social inequality, poverty – do not just affect children. Adults benefit from better policies and environment too. So, why focus on children?

The answer is simple: children are impacted in distinct, intersecting, often enhanced ways, and this impact is mostly overlooked. Let’s see why.

• They are not just tomorrow’s adults: they are today’s human beings! Any decision we take today influence the type of world we will leave in children’s hands tomorrow. While this is undeniably important, it is also a simplistic answer. When we only think of children as “adults in progress”, we overlook their current experience: children are fully human being with rights, needs and voices that matter
• We fail to recognise their agency. Children influence their surroundings, express their perspectives, and advocate for their needs, even if society—especially corporations and decision-makers—rarely grants them this space. The challenge is not their lack of capacity but our failure to recognize and respect it. This stems from adultism: the structural belief that children’s views are less valid simply because they are children.
• They are more vulnerable. Negative events, such as poverty, climate change, or violence, have often a much greater impact on children, and these events affect more children than adults. Nonetheless, they generally do not have a say in any of the decision-making arenas.

How can your company effectively uphold children’s rights: a Vademecum

Here is what any company, no matter their target audience, should do to respect and sustain children’s rights. If the company is directly engaging with children, a specific child safeguarding policy should be in place!

• Family-friendly work policies & workspaces[5]
  • Ensure at least 6 months of fully paid parental leave – including care for sick children and adopted children, no matter their age.
  • Guarantee that women are not discriminated against based on pregnancy, breastfeeding, or family responsibilities.
  • Foster male caregiving, by promoting male caregivers’ parental leaves.
  • Support breastfeeding, which includes allocated time and safe spaces for breastfeeding and expressing milk.
  • Support access to affordable and quality childcare.
  • Grant flexible working arrangements.
  • Promote equal opportunities for employees with focus on decent work, promoting education and skills training, ensuring social mobility and access to employment to marginalized or vulnerable groups.
  • Provide participatory financial literacy trainings for employees.
  • Provide dedicated support for single parents.
• Safe and ethical products and services directly addressed to children:
  • Consider child safety in product design (e.g., non-toxic materials).
  • Offer educational and developmentally appropriate content.
  • Provide clear labelling and parental guidance where necessary.
• Community & Environmental responsibility
  • Minimize pollution, emissions and waste.
  • Invest in sustainable practices that protect future generations.
  • Educate and involve children in environmental initiatives.
  • Support child-friendly community initiatives.
  • Avoid projects that contribute to environmental damage.
• Ethical business practices and supply chain
  • Prevent child labour at all levels of production, complying with international standards.
  • Ensure fair wages and working conditions for employees, reducing economic pressure that could lead to child exploitation.
  • Conduct child rights impact assessments in the supply chain.
  • Uphold ethical business practices by actively rejecting corruption, exploitation, and unfair dealings.
• Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Invest in programs that enhance children’s well-being (education, healthcare, play).
  • Support child-focused community initiatives (e.g., building schools).
  • Ensure CSR efforts involve meaningful child participation where possible.
• Ethical marketing
  • Promote positive, empowering, inclusive and constructive image of children, women, people with disabilities, or minorities.
  • Do not promote harmful stereotypes or content inappropriate for children.
  • Sustain positive values.
  • Avoid placing ads for harmful products (e.g., alcohol, gambling, fast food) where children can easily access them.
  • Refrain from using child influencers or models.
• Digital safety
  • Design digital services with safety, well-being, and responsible screen time in mind.
  • Provide parents with clear tools to manage children’s digital engagement.
  • Ensure websites, apps, and platforms comply with child data protection laws (e.g., GDPR).
  • Implement age verification measures where necessary.
• Respect children’s rights and agency
  • Recognize children as stakeholders in business decisions that affect them.
  • Engage with children in ethical and meaningful ways (e.g., advisory panels).
  • Promote inclusion and accessibility for children with disabilities.
• Child Rights Trainings and Advocacy
  • Establish grievance mechanisms where violations of child rights can be reported.
  • Partner with child-rights organizations to review company impact on children.
  • Train employees on child rights and ethical decision-making in business practices.

[1] Fantoli-Frommelt, S., Lean, S., Rayes, D., Moody, J., & Nazila. (2024). How family-friendly policies in the workplace contribute to child, youth and caregiver mental health: An evidence brief. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). https://www.unicef.org/media/163441/file/UNICEF-Mental-Health-Family-Friendly-Policies-2024.pdf

[2] World Health Organization. (2023). Transforming mental health for all: World mental health report. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/363862/9789240060067-eng.pdf

[3] Caritas Österreich. (2025, April 30). Armut in Österreich: Zahlen & Fakten. https://www.caritas.at/ueber-uns/medienservice/armut-zahlen-und-fakten

[4] Xiao Y, Brown TT, Snowden LR, Chow JC, Mann JJ. COVID-19 Policies, Pandemic Disruptions, and Changes in Child Mental Health and Sleep in the United States. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e232716. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.2716

[5] The content integrates and expands from UNICEF. (2019). Family-friendly policies: Redesigning the workplace of the future – A policy brief. https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/UNICEF-policy-brief-family-friendly-policies-2019.pdf