Child Labor Essay

Child labor is the use of children in industry or business, that can deprive them from their childhood, keep them away from attending school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. This practice have numerous occurrences all through history and is one of the worst forms of child exploitation, particularly, with during the industrial revolution. Over the years it has grown to become one of the many serious social issues around the world. According to statistics provided by UNICEF, there are an estimated 250 million children aged 5 to 14 years employed in child labor worldwide and this figure is continuously increasing. Even with the standardized federal labor laws in effect in 1938 not a lot has changed. Child labor not only causes damage to a child’s physical and mental health but also keep him deprive them from their basic rights to education, childhood, and freedom. Child labor has very bad effects on the society that can result to consequences that can exploit the future generation.

Childhood labor in America is very rare, but in other developing countries, it's very common.

There's a long history about child labor throughout out the years from the beginning of time until now. “Child labor started in mid-1800s in developed countries like Great Britain and U.S. Child labor was a part of life. Great Britain in the lates 1800s, parliaments investigated abuses against children working in factories. While U.S. started in early 2900s to determine the extent of child labor in industry” (Zoltan, Melanie). In the twenty-first century, people started to talk on child labor centered on these less-developed regions, specifically on countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, China, and Malaysia, because child labor is still going on know there (Zoltan, Melanie). The industrial revolution made a really big part of child labor, because

In many countries child labor is considered a way of life. There are many ethical issues involved in Child Labor. Other ethical issues that may be considered are that adults in charge makes all decisions, which can make children, feel powerless. Child labor may be considered a recyclable pattern. Families who live in poverty and grow up working as a child laborer may pass this issues down to other generations. Some children are paid for child labor, but in many cases adults are paid at a higher rate. There are many stakeholders to consider such as the government, citizens, families and business owners. Citizens and the government oppose of child labor, but the topic is a challenging to fight due to culture differences. Other alternatives

It’s hard to believe that in our modern world today there are 168 million kids who are child laborers. Child labor is a serious problem happening worldwide, it takes kids under the age of seventeen and force them to work. This is a problem since it damages kids' health physically and mentally, in addition it is damaging their future from such an early start. Child labor should be illegal worldwide because of the hazardous conditions, long working hours, and the low pay. It is unfair that these children have no choice in working as well as having their childhood taken away from them.

Child labor is a horrid thing in many countries. Child Labor is work that children should not be doing because they are too young to work, or if they are old enough to work – because it is dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for them (“Resources for Speakers, Global Issues, Africa, Ageing, Agriculture, Aids, Atomic Energy, Children, Climate Change, Culture, Decolonization, Demining, Development, Disabilities, Disarmament, Environment, Food, Governance, Humanitarian, Refugees, Women."). Some children who have been sold into this or just picked up can spend up to 16 hours a day working in discomfort and in horrible conditions. According to http://www.poverties.org, Child labor doesn't just ruin the

It’s tragic to think that in this day and age, child labor still exists. Poverty and lack of schools are considered to be the main cause of child labor. An estimated 168 million children aged 5 to 14 are forced to work, in developing countries,

Child labor is illegally being done worldwide currently to this day. Children to teens are being forced to work in dangerous conditions that could get them killed, like climbing trees, and working in the hot sun. Some work in industries that produce tobacco or cocoa. According to CNN, 10 countries that are the worst with child labor include Eritrea, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Yemen.

Malaysia is another country that uses child labor, though somewhat developed, it still uses child labor but not as harsh than India. They work as labourers in workshops, at eating-places and other commercial sectors.

Child labor is still existing, and there are many places where this a problem. Many of them comes from poor families that needs help from their children to survive. They have to work long days, and sometimes nights, just to help their parents and themselves. Many places where there are few schools and the parents needs help from their children to survive is the child labor not considered as a problem. Children that work are begin denied the chance to have a childhood, they are also denied to attend to school, and this is mentally and physically harmful.

“Child labor usually means work that is done by children under the age of 15 (14 in some developing countries) that restricts or damages a child's physical, emotional, social and/or spiritual growth.”1

Worldwide child labor originated during the Industrial Revolution first in England then the U.S.; many families sent their children to work or else they could not survive because they were poor and many hazardous jobs at the time were considered appropriate for children, even though now many people (but not enough) know better. Everyone had the belief that children should be working and no one was concerned if they didn’t get a formal education, an ideology that has somehow become instilled in the minds of many “employers” of these children today without any moral question or concern. Now, children are used as cheap and efficient labor capital by governments and corporations around the world and it is a direct human rights violation that could be easily avoided. Currently, 168 - 215 million children internationally are involved in child labor, and 85 million of those children are in hazardous work. Out of all the children currently working, 98 million of them work in agriculture (59%), 54 million work in services, and 12 million work in industries. Both services and industries are counted in the informal sector of the economy, and child labor plays an extremely large part in the economies of impoverished countries where it is extremely hard to break the poverty cycle because of this particular human rights violation.

Child laborers are employed everywhere in the world, places like Asia and Africa have a high population of juvenile workers. Sadly the number of exploited adolescents continues to grow. In India minor’s labor makes up 3.6% of it’s entire workforce (LaborAwareness). In addition, about 85% of those children are employed in jobs that involve agricultural work. India is one of the worst examples of child labor abusers. India only represents a minute number. However, world-wide 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are working today (LaborAwareness). Countries like the United States may seem like they would completely abhor the use of child employment, but they are more commonly associated with it than one may think.

In the United States, child labor and sweatshops are illegal, and society frowns upon any business that exploits children in the production of goods. Though most would say that they would not support a company that uses child labor to produce its goods, almost everyone has, in fact, knowingly or unknowingly, supported these businesses in one way or another. Children are involved in the production of many of the everyday goods we import from overseas, including the manufacturing of clothes, shoes, toys, and sporting equipment, the farming of cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, and bananas, and the mining of coal, diamonds, and gold (The U.S. Dept. of Labor). Often, we are blinded to this fact.

We have all heard that child labour is a bad thing, however, lets try and think – is it, really?