Childhood is a period of life to be devoted to education and training. But today in the year 2015, child labor is still being performed throughout the world and there are estimated 215 million boys and girls that start their day at work in a mine or in a field rather than a classroom. Child labor is work done by children that harms them or exploits them in some way. In many places such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ghana and other countries, incidence of child labor is either rising or is significant and decreasing very slowly. Child labor affects physical health, emotional health, and education of millions of children in developing countries. One of the main reasons behind child labor is poverty when children have no other option left other …show more content…
Education is a very important part of development for children. Children who are drawn to child labor are basically driven because of economic deprivation, lack of schooling and engagement of family for daily needs. In the article, “Nobody Likes a Person Whose Body is Covered with Mud”, Zakria inform us that “children who have never been to school, along with those who drop out, appear to be in a doubly disadvantageous state: (a) They are denied the chance of availing themselves of educational opportunities (a handicap for life), and (b) these children assume adult responsibilities at a very early age, which has negative implications for the development of a balanced personality. Thus, they are denied the opportunity of enjoying the rich-ness of life’s experiences” (Zakria, 2014). Children who are already contributing economically to their family income may be less interested in academic achievement, resulting in lack of motivation that affects both their learning and their future prospects. Work done by children often jeopardizes their chances of becoming productive adults. Additionally, a child who works will not be able to have a normal education and will be doomed to become an illiterate adult, having no possibility to grow in his or her professional and social
The novel Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys does an excellent job illustrating the troubling issue of child labor. The extent of child labor in a country is directly linked by the nature and extent of poverty within it. Child labor deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity. It is detrimental to physical and mental development. Today, there are an estimated 246 million child laborers around the globe. This irritating social issue is not only violates a nation’s minimum age laws , it also involves intolerable abuse, such as child slavery, child trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor, and illicit activities. In Between Shades of Grey , Lina and her ten year old brother are unrightfully charged 25 years of labor at a work camp in Siberia. It prevented the children from going to school and used them to undermine labor standards. In the harsh winter and even worse living conditions, they watched their mother as she starved to death.
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.
The problems is that children are facing harsh condition that may harm their health from the long 8 hour of work, while only earning 10 cents per day (Doc 7). Child Labor is a problem that will become a danger to children life. It evidently is unfair that a child only earn 10 cents for the amount of labor they put to get money. Children are too young and immature to handle tough labor, they should be educated to succeed. However, for the children in labor, they are facing long-term health problems from dust and debris in mine or factory that may shorten their lifespan (O.I). If the problem were to continue, it would affect the population of US led to development of child labor
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.
One of the worst places for child labor is China. According to Liu, the actual legal age to work in China is 16, but their laws are very lightly enforced. Even though their laws are lightly enforced, children in China are still pushed into working at a young age mostly because of their family’s poverty. Chinese child labor has taken the lives of thousands of young children after the child may have worked to many hours or may have been infected from toxic materials (Children Rights). The most common work that kids participating while doing child labor includes mostly agriculture, industrial work, and services (Children Rights). Chinese child labor has an enormous impact on children physically, mentally also, and deprives them of their
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 labor has detrimental effects on kids physically, psychologically, and educationally. Physically, the manual labor that children have to go through everyday takes a toll on them. According to a study by the
However, this does also depend on their educational success, meaning that if children learn and develop at a standard rate; as well as having the help to push this – through the use of education within their schools, and within their home life. This can be harder for the working class as they may not be able to afford a tutor for their children and at the same time could be unable to teach their children themselves, as they may not have had a full education – which in some cases could be less than their children. “This will lead to a building of confidence, self-esteem and self-reliance. As they mature, we hope they will take on more responsibility for their learning.” (Wentworth, 2015). This is from an about me page of a primary school, showing that schools care about their individual students, and it also indicates that they will help children fit into society- helping them into different social classes, and therefore enabling social mobility, Therefore in order for children to reach their full potential schools could run after-school sessions for children to get extra help and further socialisation, this could also be achieved through half term clubs; but children should also receive help at home as education cannot be the sole responsibility of the school, “a child who has grown up around and been inseparable from a father who is an expert carpenter, and been allowed, expected and encouraged to try his hand at woodwork will, in time and given the necessary patience and inclination” (Evans, 2006). This tells us that children do not simply need to be in a classroom to gain some sort of learning, but can learning though observations as well as by helping out their parents; however in the example given about, this child may end up doing the same job and being
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.
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...
Some children expect for everything to be done for them, though this is sometimes the parent’s doing. The majority sit around and watch people do their job for them. Most kids receive allowance without working for it. They will be fired from jobs later in life if that is how they are raised. It will also backfire on them in a relationship when they want, or expect, their partner to do all the work.
If a child has a part-time job, they can learn the value of money. 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.’
If we try to solve these problems, the rate of child labour will reduce by 50 percent. With this confidence, for the last three years we are conducting the programmes of educational awareness for eradication of child labour. 4. Causes of Child Labour : Problems faced by parents, social backwardness, illiteracy and dislike for schooling, etc.
Census (2011) of India indicates that there are over 12 million child workers in India. They are employed in textile factories, roadside restaurants (dhabas), hotels, domestic workers, in mines and so on. They are even seen doing hazardous work in firecrackers and matchstick industries. This is not a new scenario for India. The Government has been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem through strict enforcement of policies and laws.