What is morality and how can it be translated into guiding principles for children's welfare? Moral Agendas for Children's Welfare goes behind sensational media headlines to question the meaning of morality and moral responsibility towards children in today's society. It examines the roles played by politics, religion, ethics, aesthetics, law and science in identifying children's needs and rights, and critically analyzes existing child welfare policies. Five sections cover the following agendas: philosophical and psychoanalytical; psychological and sociological; religious; social policy; and child protection. This book raises uncomfortable questions about the moral justifications for current social practices and discusses the problems of how to improve the way that social institutions deal with children so as to make them more responsive to moral principles and judgements on their performance.