Page 14 - Meeting with Children Book

P a ge | 12

Most jurisdictions have found the implementation of
Article 12 (providing direct opportunity for the child to
express his/her views) difficult, if not impossible.
While there is a theoretical understanding of the place
of the voice of the child, the practical application of
enabling the child voice has often been caught up in
adult concepts of interviews, surveys, forms, forensic
investigation and the like. This is most often because
children are regarded by courts and non-court service
providers, as small adults who simply need to be
interviewed just like an adult. An interview with
children tends to connote the same process as an
interview with an adult. An interviewer sits with a
child and asks a series of wise and specific questions.
Questions to which judges, lawyers and parents seek
reliable answers.

Children (and when offered the opportunity, adults)
speak through stories and metaphor. They speak
through their play. Their wisdom is not always as
substantive as perhaps an inquisitor would like, but
their wisdom remains profound.

A child describes her experience of her family since
the separation. She selects objects to describe the
various members and places them on her family tree.
She speaks about the objects and describes a meaning
to give each one for each family member. No
interpretation is added by the practitioner. It is simply
her chance to have her say in her way.