Abstract

Making decisions when caring for children and young people involves a delicate balancing of the child’s rights and needs as well as the rights of the parents. Those who look to the law for guidance will find that it is often unclear. The courts have asserted the parents’ rights to make decisions concerning the child’s treatment, in so far as these accord with the child’s welfare. Children have the right to be consulted about decisions concerning their welfare. Some people see an anomaly in relation to treatment in that, while a court has overruled in the case of a competent child’s right to refuse treatment, a child considered competent may initiate consultation and consent to treatment without their parents’ knowledge or consent. The child’s right to confidentiality appears to override the parent’s right to the information parents need if they are to be aware of, let …