Charles Dickens created Tim to highlight the struggles of poor and disabled children in Victorian Britain. Back then, children like Tim had no guaranteed rights. But today, in Wales, children’s rights are supported by Welsh laws, which require the government to consider the UN Convention on Rights of a Child when making decisions, from healthcare and education to support for those with disabilities. In this blog, we will explore those rights and how we can help protect every ‘Tiny Tim’ today.
Who Was Tiny Tim?
Tiny Tim is one of the most memorable characters from Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas Carol. In both the book and the films, he’s shown as a small, fragile boy who walks with a crutch. His father, Bob Cratchit, often carries him on his back. This isn’t just about Tim being young; it reflects how much the family struggles. They are poor, and Tim’s illness makes life even harder for them.
When Dickens wrote the story in 1843, London was a crowded, dirty and polluted place. Many children were sick because they didn’t have enough food, clean water or proper medical care. Diseases like rickets, tuberculosis and polio were incredibly common. In fact, half of all children in London at the time had rickets, and a third didn’t survive to their fifth birthday.
So, What Was Wrong with Tiny Tim?
Dickens never tells us exactly what illness Tiny Tim has. Some people think he might have had rickets, polio or cerebral palsy. But the truth is this: the biggest thing ‘wrong’ with Tiny Tim was poverty.
Dickens created Tim to show how harsh life was for poor children in Victorian England. By making readers care deeply about this kind, hopeful boy, he drew attention to the real-life suffering caused by disease, hunger and neglect. Tiny Tim represents all the children whose lives were cut short because their families didn’t have the money to keep them healthy.
𝚂𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢:
Tiny Tim represents disabled children in the story, but today, disabled children in Wales and the UK have rights that protect them, and these rights are designed to make sure they are included, supported and treated fairly. Disability today can be physical, learning-based, sensory, mental-health related, or even invisible. Most importantly, disabled children today are protected by law.
The Welsh Government has adopted the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 ensures that Welsh Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers always take children’s rights, as set out in the UNCRC, into account when making decisions. These rights include:
Article 24 UNCRC – The Right to Health: Every child has the right to receive and access to the highest attainable standard of health. This includes medical assistance, mental and emotional well-being, access to therapy and mental health support, clean water, nutritious food and a safe and clean environment.
Article 28 UNCRC – The Right to Education: Every child has the right to primary (and preferably secondary) education that is compulsory and free and school based discipline respects their dignity and rights. This applies to all children, no matter their race, gender, background, or disability.
Other Welsh-specific legislation introduced to support children includes the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act. This Act goes even further to support the additional learning needs (ALN) of children and young people. It places a duty upon local authorities and schools to ensure that: anyone helping a child must listen to them, young people and parents are fully involved in important decisions, and every child with ALN generally has an Individual Development Plan.
If a child doesn’t understand their rights, they can have a case friend to support them, and they can also have an advocate, who helps make sure adults know what they think and how they feel. This ensures children are never left out of decisions about their own lives.
𝚂𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑, 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎:
The Cratchit family represents working-class children whose opportunities were limited by poverty. Today, children in Wales and the UK who experience poverty also have rights that protect them. These rights are designed to make sure that all children, no matter how much money their family has, are cared for, supported, and treated fairly.
UNCRC rights include, but are not limited to:
Article 6 UNCRC – Right to Life, Survival and Development: obligates states to ensure the maximum possible survival and development of the child. This includes protecting their well-being and ensuring they can grow up in conditions that support their development to their full potential.
Article 27 of the UNCRC – The Standard of Living: The right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development, including proper nutrition, clothing, and housing. While parents have the primary responsibility for providing this, governments must take appropriate measures to assist families who cannot do so themselves.
Child Poverty Strategy for Wales [2024]: The Welsh Government has a strategy that uses children’s rights as its central principle. The strategy aims to ensure all children can access their rights regardless of their families’ income. Under this strategy, actions by the Welsh government have been taken to increase access to free school meals (HAF Programme), as well as access to schemes that support children during the holidays. As well as this, the Pupil Deprivation Grant is allocated and used to help children and young people reach their full potential.
What Scrooge Can Teach Us About Children’s Rights
Before he changes, Scrooge shows what happens when people ignore children who need help. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and this highlights why we should always make sure children feel valued and cared for.
After his transformation, Scrooge becomes someone who cares. He helps Tiny Tim and pays attention to the needs of others. This change can be seen as a message about how important it is for all of us, and for society, to support children.
In Wales today, the government takes children’s rights seriously. The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure helps make sure that children’s voices, needs and rights are considered when decisions are made.
Just as Scrooge learned to care for children, Wales aims to make sure every young person has the chance to grow, feel safe and thrive.
My name is Honee Crocker, and I am a third-year law student at Swansea University with an ambition of becoming a family law barrister. This stems from supporting vulnerable individuals and marginalised communities.
Beyond my studies, I work with Women’s Aid, advocating for women and children under 18 who are experiencing violence and abuse, an experience that has shaped my understanding of the law’s real-world impact.
Whilst on a work placement within family law, I saw how the law can affect children with disabilities, which is why I felt inspired to write about Tiny Tim, because protecting people who need help is one of the most important things we can do as a society.
When I am not busy with work, I enjoy spending time with my French bulldog, Beau, who enjoyed sleeping on my lap whilst I wrote about Tiny Tim!
Many thanks to Belinda Moseley from Geldards for checking the legal content of this blog.