The essay examines the state of children’s rights in Aruba 40 years after achieving status aparte, asking whether this autonomous status has enabled or constrained progress in protecting children and improving their quality of life. Using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as its framework, it assesses Aruba’s implementation of children’s rights and draws on six periodic reports submitted since the CRC came into force in Aruba in 2001 to identify progress and ongoing gaps.