Parenting in Poland

In Poland, the fulfillment of the rights of the child is relatively satisfactory. However, the country still has to work on the elimination of some principles and practices that contravene the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In Poland, approximately one in four children lives in poverty. There is hardly any government financial aid for families, especially for those with newborns. In Poland, poverty is closely linked to the widespread unemployment that plagues the country. The child poverty rate is one of the highest in Europe and mainly affects large and single-parent families.

While children living in certain remote regions of the country, belonging to the poorest families, suffer from malnutrition, other young people in Poland face the opposite problem. The obesity rate has seen strong growth in recent decades. Currently, about 20% of the Polish population has been diagnosed with obesity. This disease is mainly due to overeating or poor eating habits, and it is especially worrisome among children. Their health is more vulnerable than that of adults and they can easily be seriously affected. Obesity causes many harmful effects on the health of children, and can reach very dangerous levels and put their life at risk.

In Poland, discrimination is carried out on the basis of race, sex and sexual identity. However, the Roma are still far from being fully accepted. They are socially marginalized and often become the target of dangerous and violent racist acts, especially children.
Gay adolescents are also subject to strong discrimination, including by public administrations and some authorities. Numerous laws have been proposed to prohibit the circulation of information about homosexuality in schools, and even to prohibit homosexuals from teaching. Fortunately, none of these laws have been passed, although they are a sad reflection of the refusal of Polish society to accept all types of sexual orientation.

In Poland, the opinion of the child is systematically ignored. The population is deeply rooted in traditional ideas that advocate absolute parental authority, without paying attention to the ideas of the child. Therefore, they are hardly heard, even when they are the main topic of the debate. Laws and programs that concern children do not take their views into account and are therefore not adequately adapted to their needs.