Suffering from poverty, poor education, and hardworking is how one would describe a young girl or boy under the sad circumstances of child labor. Child Labor is when children younger than a set age are sent off to be employed to provide for their family instead of attending school to further their education (Haile 366; Cullen 9). Poverty and child labor go hand in hand, when households do not have the substantial amount of resources their only choice is to make their children participate in various labor actions (Haile 365). If the children would not be working then the whole family would be at risk of death (Haile 365).
When parents send their children to provide for their family it only makes their family development worse for long term (Haile 365; Cullen 9). The children should be in educational facilities trying to learn about subjects that could earn more money in the future; however, they are working to earn what little money they can for their family (Cullen 9). Consequently they will never get the education they need to receive a real job and the cycle just continues (Haile 365). On the other hand, when the family is presiding in an area where it is difficult to find a quality school then the parents believe that the children would benefit more from spending their time learning real work ethic (Haile 365; Cullen 9). There are more factors that are taken into consideration when researching why child labor is such a large issue in today’s society (Haile 366). For instance imperfection in the labor and capital market, family expectations, religion, and culture are all contributing factors (Haile 366).
As mentioned, child labor is usually found in developing countries with high poverty rates; however, this issue can happen a...
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Haile, Getinet, and Beliyou Haile. "Child Labour And Child Schooling In Rural Ethiopia: Nature And Trade-Off." Education Economics 20.4 (2012): 365-385. Business Source Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
Nepal, Apsara, and Mani Nepal. "Is Child Labour A Substitute For Adult Labour? The Relationship Between Child Labour And Adult Illness In Nepal." International Labour Review 151.1/2 (2012): 109-121. Business Source Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
For such families, “sustaining children’s natural growth is viewed as an accomplishment” (Lareau 34). Lareau also reported that many working class and poor parents feel that educators hold the expertise, and usually fear doing the “wrong thing” in school-related matters (Lareau 357). What this usually leads to is trying to maintain a separation between school and home (Lareau 358).
Shah, Anup. "Child Labor." - Global Issues. Anup Shah, 17 July 2005. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. .
Throughout time children have worked myriad hours in hazardous workplaces in order to make a few cents to a few dollars. This is known as child labor, where children are risking their lives daily for money. Today child labor continues to exist all over the world and even in the United States where children pick fruits and vegetables in difficult conditions. According to the article, “What is Child Labor”; it states that roughly 215 million children around the world are working between the ages of 5 and 17 in harmful workplaces. Child labor continues to exist because many families live in poverty and with more working hands there is an increase in income. Other families take their children to work in the fields because they have no access to childcare and extra money is beneficial to buy basic needs. Although there are laws and regulations that protect children from child labor, stronger enforcement is required because child labor not only exploits children but also has detrimental effects on a child’s health, education, and the people of the nation.
One of the primary causes of a failing education system is the insufficient amount of support from parents to improve education. For instance, majority of parents who send their children to impoverished schools are not playing an active role in their children’s education. Consequently, there are many factors that keep parents away from supporting their children’s educational needs. Parents may be working more than one job to maintain a roof...
What is Child Labor?Child Labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. Around the world and in the U.S., growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into work. It is estimated that 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are currently working under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative.1 Underage children work many different types of jobs that included commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic services. Some children were involved in illicit activities that included drug trade, prostitution, and other traumatic occupations that included serving as soldiers. Child Labor involved threatening children’s physical, mental, or emotional well- being. It involved intolerable abuse, such as slavery, child trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor or illicit activities and prevented children from going to school.
Child labor laws need to be enforced more because governments are paying little attention to those who abuse the laws; therefore children are being abused physically by long hours and economically by low pay. Farmers and many businesses in third world countries are accused of taking major advantage of these laws. This topic is highlighted as one of the highest controversial issues in labor politics. Child labor is a major issue in countries such as Africa, Argentina, and Bangladesh. For example, in Africa, some children do the work of a grown man for as little as one dollar a day. On the other hand, in the United States some studies show that child labor is a bigger problem in the U.S than some third world countries (Barta and others). Many farmers are facing a huge problem; the government is attempting to keep children from working long hours on their family farms.
Child Labour In the past few years, a great deal of attention has been drawn to the global problem of child labour. Virtually everyone is guilty of participating in this abusive practice through the purchase of goods made in across the globe, usually in poor, developing nations. This issue has been around for a great length of time but has come to the forefront recently because of reports that link well known American companies like Wal-Mart and Nike to the exploitation of children. Prior to this media attention, many Americans and other people in developed nation were blind to the reality of the oppressive conditions that are reality to many.
Sadly, the children had no choice but to work for very little pay. Their mothers and fathers made so little money in the factory system that they couldn’t afford to let their children enjoy their childhood: “Other working children were indentured—their parents sold their labor to the mill owner for a period of years. Others lived with their families and worked for wages as adults did, for long hours and under hard conditions” (Cleland). The child had no other choice, but to work for these big businesses.
Why are children being forced into labor in todays society? Childhood is a vital and powerful experience in each individual's lifetime. It is the most important and impressionable period of learning. Throughout all of the highs and the lows, childhood is remembered forever. Although children have many rights, in some developing countries these rights are not always protected. Older, manipulative adults are taking advantage of children to make a profit for themselves. This is known as child labor, and it happens much more than many people realize. Child labor is corrupt and there is no place for it in our modern world today.
Child labor refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely or by requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work (International Labor Organization). Child labor has been a big problem ever since the Victorian Era. Many counties worldwide have used and still to this day use child labor. Though there are many laws that have been implemented against using children to work, many countries tend to ignore them. In my paper I will be discussing countries where child labor is present, push to stop child labor, companies that use child labor, the effects on children, and the reasons for child labor.
Statistics indicate improvement in child labor issues, but trends can be reversed easily. Some child labor is more service-oriented and not a part that can be challenged by a boycott or legislation. Child labor in some countries involves being a servant who does not produce goods. Before identifying the consequences of child labor, probable causes and possible cures must be identified.
Child Labor is not an isolated problem. The phenomenon of child labor is an effect of economic discrimination. In different parts of the world, at different stages of histories, laboring of child has been a part of economic life. More than 200 million children worldwide, some are as young as 4 and 5 years old, are slaves to the production line. These unfortunate children manufacture shoes, matches, clothing, rugs and countless other products that are flooding the American market and driving hard-working Americans out of jobs. These children worked long hours, were frequently beaten, and were paid a pittance. In 1979, a study shows more than 50 million children below the age of 16 were considered child labor (United Nation labors agency data). In 1998, according to the Campaign for Labor rights that is a NGO and United Nation Labor Agency, 250 million children around the world are working in farms, factories, and household. Some human rights experts indicate that there are as many as 400 million children under the age of 15 are performing forced labor either part or full-time under unsafe work environment. Based upon the needs of the situation, there are specific areas of the world where the practice of child labor is taking place. According to the journal written by Basu, Ashagrie gat...
So I believe that the issue of child labour is not simple. As Unicef’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report argued, children’s work needs to be seen as having two extremes. On one hand, there is the destructive or exploitative work and, on the other hand, there is beneficial work - promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest. ‘And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development.’ My firm belief is that there is a difference between child labour and child work and that in both cases the issue is whether or not the child is deliberately being exploited.
In document UN/ CRC/ 531, analyzed through UNICEF, an estimated 25% of the world’s children (developing world) are in the web of child labor. To add to this, nearly 70% of all girl/female laborers go unregistered, often performing acts of prostitution and strenuous domestic housework. This form of unregistered work is dangerous to young girls because the employers often abuse their employees sexually and physically, as well as psychologically scarring them for years. This alarming fact can be attributed to the inequality of education given to young girls.
A well-educated parent can have a better understanding of raising children and molding them for their adult life. For instance, an educated parent will probably make higher wages, therefore are able to invest more money in their child’s welfare. (Kaushal, 2014). Parents that raise their children in an impoverished environment most likely won’t have the money, which could decrease their chances of procuring the resources needed for their child’s education. Kaushal, (2014) stated, “Children learn from the attitudes and behaviors of their parents, which are often informed by knowledge, acquired through education” (Introduction, para. 6). For that reason, learning patterns of the poor social class could be passed down from one generation to the next which may make it more difficult for kids to gain a proper knowledge. Since culture is passed down from generation to generation, a parent’s actions may always affect the decisions their children make in life. This could make it extremely challenging for children to achieve a better lifestyle for their future families as