A number of court cases are being decided and laws are being passed that have an impact upon the First Amendment rights of children in the United States. In addition, groups such as the national Parent Teachers Association, Action for Children's Television, the Council on Dental Health, and the American Public Health Association are lobbying for legislation that would limit the types of communication available to children. The U. S. Congress in turn is pressuring federal agencies like the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to make rules defining material permissible for children's consumption. Although this trend seems to be gathering momentum, there are as yet no mechanisms for defining what the rights of the children are and no approach that allows for the uniform application of those rights. The "heightened judicial scrutiny test" would give lawmakers and judges alike guidelines to be used in insuring society's interest in the protection of children and the child's interest in becoming an informed member of the adult society. The heightened judicial scrutiny test involves answering two questions: (1) Does the regulation at issue serve an important government objective? and (2) Is the regulation substantially related to the achievement of that objective? (RL)