What are rights and responsibilities?
Rights are needs or the things that we should all have.
These are things like the right to learn by going to school, or the right to be safe.
We also have responsibilities.
These are things we are expected to do, such as following rules or being kind and helpful to others.
Watch - Explore rights and responsibilities
Watch the Community Club friends learn about different needs and rights, and responsibilites.
Ruth: Hi everyone!
All: Hiya!
Becky: Shh, he's asleep.
Lucy: Uh, who is asleep?
Becky: Look, my new baby brother Jonah.
All: Aww.
Ariana: He's so sweet.
Harry: Ah, it must be great to have a baby brother to play with.
Becky: Well, he's a bit too young to play at the moment, but we'll play together lots when he's older. I am his big sister, I need to help look after him, don't I mum?
Ruth: Yes, at the moment Jonah has lots of different needs. And so we're responsible for making sure he's kept safe, clean and well fed.
Mo: My grandma has some needs too. She isn't very well at the moment so has to be looked after. When I can, I like to play cards with her, she really enjoys it.
Ruth: That sounds nice Mo. Do the rest of you have any responsibilities in your life?
Lucy: We have a dog called Teddy and I have to make sure I feed him, wash him and clean up after him, or he could get sick.
Harry: That's a lot. It's my responsibility to do the tidying up at home after I do my homework. Mummy is often tired after work so I help out.
Ruth: It's great to hear the ways you take responsibility for different things. It's important to remember that at certain points in our lives, each of us will have different needs or want some extra help from others.
Every citizen in the community has the right to be safe and cared for. We have the responsibility to ourselves as well as to others to make sure that…
Becky: Aww, he's awake! Don't worry, big sister's got this under control. Yuck! Um maybe I'll leave the baby care to the expert.
What are some of my rights?
Everybody, including children, have rights.
Learn about some important children’s rights in the images below.
Image caption, The right to education
You have the right to go to school and to learn new things.
1 of 4
What are some of my responsibilities?
Each of us has different responsibilities in our lives.
Can my responsibilities change?
As we get older our responsibilities can change.
Your parent or carer looks after you at the moment, but when you grow up you will be more responsible for yourself.
One day you might have a family of your own, so you may be responsible for other people as well.
What other responsibilities might we have in our life?
Yourself - You can lead a healthy life and look after your wellbeing.
Work - You might have a job one day and be responsible for doing certain tasks.
Bills - One day you may live in your own home and be responsible for paying bills, like water, heating and food.
Pets - You might own a pet and be responsible for cleaning, feeding and caring for it.
Time to discuss!
Have a short discussion with a friend or family member about the different rights that you have.
Are there any rights you would like to have?
Activity
What are your responsibilities?
- Think about some of the responsibilities you have.
To help you get started, think about finishing the sentences below:
- At home, I have a responsibility to…
- At school, I am responsible for…
- In the community I am responsible by…
Using a piece of paper and some coloured pencils, draw some of them.
Quiz
What can you remember about rights and responsibilities?
Have a go at this quiz to check your understanding.
BBC Bitesize newsletter. activity
Sign up to our BBC Bitesize newsletter to receive monthly news, stories and updates on latest Bitesize content.
More on The world around me
Find out more by working through a topic
- count3 of 5
- count4 of 5
- count5 of 5
- count1 of 5
