Putting a spotlight on babies’ ‘voices’

Landmark conference, The Right Start, delivered by Starcatchers in partnership with Children in Scotland and Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights), will take place in Stirling next Thursday and explore babies, their rights, voice and the arts. Ahead of the conference, our Head of Policy, Projects and Participation, David Mackay, discusses the importance of understanding babies’ experiences and progressing their rights in Scotland.

Anyone who has spent any time in the company of a newborn baby or infant will know that they are born ready to communicate. Whether crying for food, signaling distress or simply wanting to play, babies share this with us by communicating in unique and special ways. Attuning to a baby’s verbal and physical cues, or their ‘voice’, is a vital part of the role of any caregiver – it helps us to understand their needs and support them to thrive. Listening to and responding to babies’ communication is also essential in fulfilling their human rights.

Unfortunately, across society we still struggle to think of babies as rights holders. Perhaps this is because they can’t share their views in the same ways as older children (i.e. it's not as easy to ask them what they are thinking or feeling). Or maybe it’s because they are so reliant on other people (often parents or carers) to have their rights fulfilled. It’s possibly a bit of both. As children’s rights come into sharper focus with the introduction of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scottish legislation, it’s really time we tackle this issue.

My daughters were 14 and 16 when the UNCRC Incorporation Act came into force in Scotland last summer. Over the past 8 months, it’s been interesting to reflect on my experiences as a parent of young children. After a decade working on early years policy and projects, my understanding of how babies experience the world around them and communicate is certainly now more heightened.

Thinking back, I remember that before my eldest daughter could speak, we became adept at observing and interpreting her movement, her behaviour and her signals. As she began to talk, one of her first words was ‘more’ or, more accurately, “maawaar”. This word, often delivered in a loud but very cute drawl, was used to demand more stories, more hide and seek, more play, more fun! At times, as a sleep-deprived parent, this was exhausting, but she was telling me what she wanted and needed from me. Play is the main way babies learn and develop, helping them to explore their world and build important relationships. Between birth and the age of three, a baby’s brain develops around one million new neural connections per second. Although this is now a familiar fact to me, it still delights and amazes me every time I hear it.

The new UNCRC legislation in Scotland is already impacting the way we listen to children and young people. Just last week, I read about how a deaf teenager has won a legal case to have a British Sign Language interpreter in her school lessons, supporting her right to education. This is really positive news, but how do we ensure the voices of our youngest children are heard and understood in line with their rights under the UNCRC? This is the focus on an upcoming conference, The Right Start: Babies, their rights, voice and the arts, taking place at The Barracks conference centre in Stirling next week on 6 March.

The conference - a partnership between Starcatchers, Children in Scotland and Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) - will explore babies’ rights and the vital role of play and the arts in unlocking children’s voices.

The day will explore all things baby – from the importance of baby laughter for development and communication to innovative rights-based approaches being delivered in Early Learning and Childcare settings. We will explore work taking place in Wales and Ireland to embed babies’ rights in education and policy-making, and hear about an exciting new theatre production created for babies under 12 months.

The conference will also help us to consider how we share babies’ experiences of the world around them. If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend reading Together’s State of Children’s Rights Report 2024. The report includes stories from babies and infants told by their parents and carers as they observe and respond to their babies’ everyday behaviour. It’s really very touching but also makes us consider how we might begin to see the world through a baby’s eyes.

I am looking forward to an energising conference next week. Hopefully, it will be a catalyst for progressing babies’ rights here in Scotland and will give us plenty of food for thought about how we can ensure babies’ rights, their ‘voices’ and their experiences are front-and-centre as we develop new policy and services for children and families.

To find out more about The Right Start conference, please visit Starcatchers' website