In this paper, a case study of children's rights implementation in Bangladesh is introduced, using governance scholarship as its analytical scope. The prevailing Spiral Model of Human Rights Change is criticised for not taking into account what governance research has pointed to, and therewith remaining with little explanatory power regarding grassroots change. One major finding of the case study is that norm addressees - the children of Bangladesh - have not been reached with legislative reforms and domestic policies but through complex local governance arrangements. Further systematic case studies in governance research considering current aspects of the human security debate could fertilise theorising in the area of human rights change.