Only two countries have yet to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child—Somalia, and the United States. Jo Becker explains why.

Though it may seem like a quintessentially 19th century problem to many Americans, child labor is surprisingly prevalent throughout the First World.

Though there continues to be resistance internationally to making 18 the minimum for military service, provisions in the CRC for education and security provide other outlets for children in areas […]

Human Right’s Watch’s Jo Becker delineates the recruitment of child soldiers, and the abuses they suffer once they’ve been drafted.

Twenty years after the Convention on the Rights of the Child, countries around the world are still struggling with implementation.

Ann Venemen dissects the consequences of letting another generation go without education, health care, and basic civil rights.

Veneman admits it’s a challenge to find a set of standards that fits every country and context, but argues against a sliding scale of rights.

UNICEF head Ann Veneman shares some of the frequently overlooked abuses that children are subject to the world over.

The former child soldier decries the violence that many children still face.

Ishmael Beah shares his own experience of being a child soldier.

Immigration Law Expert Lenni Benson explores the fate of children who are brought to the US—either by a family member or a smuggler—and whether they should be forgiven their “illegal” […]

Harvard Psychologist and Education Expert Howard Gardner explains the importance of targeting education outreach to the specific needs of individual communities.

Farrow insists it is necessary for people to acknowledge and own up to our capacity to do terrible things to each other.

Farrow, who has traveled extensively as an ambassador for child’s rights, confesses that she no longer cares about an acting career.

Farrow, adoptive mother of fifteen, discusses how central a role adults can play in the lives of children.

Other authors fret about the impact of the Web, but Augusten Burroughs “would not want to even be alive” without it.

Something must have been in those cookies Emily Dickinson was baking, because she “seemed to have been in touch somehow with a lot more than she was in touch with.”

Augusten Burroughs has called humor the “spoonful of sugar” that relieves the bitterness of his work—sometimes. But does it come naturally?

The author of “You Better Not Cry” didn’t start writing till he was 24–when he did he quickly learned the importance of reading random, often “really bad” books.

The “You Better Not Cry” author describes the holiday as a gem of happiness wrapped in a package of tragedy.

According to Columbia grief therapist Dr. Katherine Shear, we shouldn’t mourn his passing from relevance just yet.

The grieving process, says the Columbia psychiatrist, doesn’t happen in defined stages; it’s about breaking an “attachment system.”

Is grief an illness? When does “normal” grief become clinical? Columbia’s Dr. Katherine Shear shares insights from her groundbreaking research.

Bereavement expert Dr. Katherine Shear reveals what happens inside the grieving brain and offers strategies for coping with loss.

Columbia bereavement therapist Dr. Katherine Shear discusses her personal encounters with the emotion at the heart of her work.