AbstractArticle 20 of the UNCRC entitles young people in residential care to 'special protection.' This presents a challenge to States Parties concerned with how such protection can be achieved. It is suggested that one way to do this is through the establishment and delivery of meaningful training in children's rights. This paper describes the authors' experience of delivering a training programme on children's rights for staff working in Social Protection Centres in Vietnam. It provides a critical reflection on the broad emphasis of current children's rights training in the developing world and argues for more targeted research in this area.