Essay on The Immorality of Child Labor

As early as the 1830’s Child Labor in the U.S. was already starting to arise. In rural communities child labor on the farm was common, children being employed in factories or mills didn’t seem to be much of a concern to people. In 1830 laws were passed prohibiting children to be hired in an industrial or factory type setting. By 1800, some states passed a large amount of laws prohibiting child labor. Often times these laws did not apply to immigrants so they were often abused on the immigrants which lead to the immigrants living in poor places working for long hours for very little pay. Immigrant or not, child labor back in the 1800’s was a way of life.

People probably think, what is the reason that causes child labor. As the result, the reason of child labor is poverty, illiteracy, early married parents, war and disaster. Children from poor family might be forced to support and work for their parents. Illiteracy, In the developing countries, due to lack of employment opportunities or education, children may be work in factory to provide food and clothing for family, instead of attending school. Also, war and disasters will fuel child labor. In conflict and disasters, parents may lose their jobs and school might be destroyed, children may be forced to start work. In Afghanistan, years of armed conflicts have fueled poverty and child labor, at least a quarter of Afghanistan's 5 to 14-year-olds work to raise their families but they usually working long hours with little or no pay. A 15-year-old Afghan boy's brother and sister were working since they are five. They had been working in brick making, to clean the ground, take a shovel and pick a pickaxe, everyone is at work.

When their work do not affect their “health and personal development or interfere with their schooling,” they do not fit the negative notion of child labor (ILO, 1996). Children sometimes assist their parents with housework and take a part in building family businesses without their working hours affecting primary education. This is indeed a beneficial experience for children, because they learn to be productive within their communities. On the other hand, ILO (1996) applies the term child labor when work “is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their schooling by; depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.” When child labor is engaged in enslavement, separation from families, and misplacement of children on the streets, ILO experts refer to it as the most extreme forms of child

Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.

“The International Labor Organization estimates that at least 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are working, mostly in the developing world.” Many Americans view child labor as wrong or dangerous, but they do not realize how essential child labor can be in developing countries. In the article “Regulated Child Labor Is Necessary in Developing Countries,” by John Tierney, a current author for the New York Times, focuses on child labor and why it is essential in some developing countries. Tierney creates a sympathetic tone for the readers to try and understand the struggles regarding child labor in developing countries.

On the other hand, the opposing side believes that child labor is necessary in developing countries. Some believe that developing countries need child labor to survive and that parents need their children to work so that they can afford an education and food. Gary Weiner explains, “Children who work long hours either get an inferior education, or none at all, and grow up without the necessary skills and education that will

“The demand for labor grew, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries many children were drawn into the labor force. Factory wages were so low that children often had to work to help support their families. However, child laborers rarely experienced their youth” (National Archives). Child labor was a “normal” thing to many people

Children most of the time worked in mines, glass factories, textiles, canaries, and home industries. A lot of these industries are filled with dangers that can easily kill them. In this quote “Children as young as six years old during the industrial revolution worked hard hours for little or no pay” (Child labor in factories). A good number of these kids were harassed and mistreated by the factory bosses. If children didn’t arrive on time to work, they would have to be punished by the factory bosses. The punishment was that the children would have to sprint up and down the factory aisle until they were completely drained out of energy and they had to do this nude carrying a backpack full of heavy objects. This caused a lot of children to develop

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

Although children had been servants and apprentices throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution.There was a big impact on the daily life of a child labourer as poor children often worked full time jobs with minimal pay in order to help support their families. Young children worked long hours in factories under dangerous conditions. children were easier to manage and control than adults because their size was perfect as it allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines.The practice of child labor continued throughout much of the Industrial Revolution until laws were eventually passed that made child labor illegal.

Child labour is not something that just recently evolved. As a matter of fact, child labour dates back to the 1780s and the 1840s, where child labour was predominant worldwide. In 1788, it

Negative effects of child labor can be solved through provided and accessible education to continue a child’s growth

The reason for which children are hired for labour is because of their low wage cost and their great work in return.

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

"Child labor," is a term that will probably never be clearly defined. The World Book Encyclopedia