english essay / editing

Child Labor:

Rawan Aldosari:

Institution:

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Date:

Introduction

Child labor in the world continues to be a major topic that various countries in the world have tried to overcome but not successfully. Child labor goes to the extent where a child below the age described as a maturity age in most countries is used by the society or family to engage in economic activities. This is commonly found in less developed countries or the developing countries where the economic activities rely on human capital and thus labor is essential. In addition, this issue compared to middle-income and high-income countries in the world more relatively affects countries that have very low per capita income. Child labor has a historical background and the changes that have occurred in the world in the last decades have exposed the different sides of effects of child labor in a society. In third world countries with high poverty levels and poor schooling opportunities, such as India and Africa, child labor are necessary to financially support the family; however, having children work still negatively affects the family and the child. The child’s future is greatly affected by not allowing them to take time in education as well as the child develops low self-esteem. This affects the family too since such children are depended to help in future and making them work heavily now my make them unproductive in future.

The Historical Background of Child Labor in the World

Historical Background

Africa and Asia are the main societies where child labor continues to be a menace even with regulations by the governments. Child labor has a long history since the start of time as many children were engaged in farming and other domestic activities both in Africa and Asia as well as all other continents such as Europe and America. Societies in pre-civilization period viewed child labor as learning fields for children to perform various tasks. For instance, children worked with adults in farms in order to learn the way they were supposed to cultivate their farms when they grow up and in order to act as apprentices where they learn other responsibilities. To add on this it was believed that people should get many children as this could give them enough labor in their farms and in war. Traditionally, there were no formal schools and learning by children was encouraged to attend to farms in order to learn the methods used by adults in cultivation. This was a great way in which parents also instilled sense of responsibility and hard work to children. In northern parts of Sub-Saharan Africa where Islam is the common religion, children were required to work in exchange of the Quran teachings that they received from their teachers or clerics. They would therefore be required to help their teachers with activities (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

Growth of colonialism in Africa further increased the magnitude of child labor as the parents could not be able to divide their time between meaningful economic activities to support the families and the public work they were supposed to attend. In addition, introduction of head tax by the colonial governments requiring people to pay taxes to the government and sometimes requiring even children to be catered for meant that the children were required to work in order to supplement their parent’s contributions. Further, education to the African children was introduced and this led to the requirements for them to work in the colonialist’ farms in order to supplement their needs (Bagchi, 2010).

Industrialization changed the way children worked with increase in intensity and hardships that children encountered as they worked. For instance, Asia’s growth of the textile industries led to children being required to engage in activities such as weaving and packaging of the clothes made in industries and at homes. This form of child labor including the extraction of minerals from the ground was seen as a learning ground that helped children to grow their expertise in engaging in activities that they would later engage in at maturity to earn a living. Also children were seen as the easy way of transporting the raw materials from maybe farms to the industries where they were used, or to markets to be sold. To date, children continue to be engaged in all forms of activities in order to either grow their abilities or in order to supplement the work of their parents (Bagchi, 2010).

Definition of Child Labor

Child labor can be defined as commercial or economic engagements that involve children below the nations’ minimum age levels. It involves the use of children in economic sectors such as agriculture, industrial sector and in service sectors. Child labor in agriculture involves the use of children in activities such as farming, hunting, herding and fishing for economic benefits. In the industrial front, the use of children in activities such as mining, working at the quarries, manufacturing, and in the construction industry is classified as child labor. In the service sector, child labor entails use of children in activities such as working in retail and wholesale shops, transport, and provision of personal services. Child labor is often exploitative and affects growth and development of children. Child labor also affects the schooling of children making them either drop from school or juggle between work and school. In the worst-case scenario, children involved do not attend school at all.

Debate about the Effect of Child Labor in the Societies

One of the main debates regarding child labor has been in Asia where the question is the right age in which children should be engaged in economic activities. Since Asia records one of the third world continents in Africa, supporters of child labor emphasizes on the importance of child labor to increase the output of families. Additionally, poverty is one of the main contributors of child labor, as people tend to engage their children in economic activities. Advocators say that child labor can only be dealt with through reduction of poverty levels as children go out to search for employment in order to feed themselves when their parents do not care for them sustainably.

Child labor is seen as the main contributors of illiteracy both in Africa and Asia as many children drop out of school in order to engage in economic activities that will earn them money. This means that the children do not find enough time to study and mature as illiterate people and hence child labor is among the main reasons for illiteracy. In this regard, children dropping out of school since the availability of human skills become low also affect societies and unhelpful population that cannot support growth and development results. However, organizations across the globe condemn child labor requiring children to be taken to school instead of being introduced to early work as this harms their development and makes their growth in physique to be affected. In addition, children labor is seen as a way of exposing children to risks of death and illnesses (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

The Positive Effects of Child Labor

Can Contribute the Income of the Family

Many of the children that are engaged in activities that contribute to economic returns come from poor families where the adults present cannot be able to provide sufficient income to make ends meet. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa, most of the economic activities that are carried out have low incomes and thus one individual cannot be able to fetch enough income for the whole family. Pastoralists for instance rely on their livestock that they graze in dry areas for long hours of the day in order to produce the required milk for these families. In such instances thus, the children are involved in these activities such that the adults in the family can engage in other activities that will lead to success at the end of the day with more income (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

Poverty is not the only drive for involvement of children in labor as there are other more demanding jobs that children can perform in order to result to income and more money for a family. For instance, some children rights activists classify washing of dishes as one of the children labor activities. However, some families involve their children in such activities in order for them to have more time to attend to other income-contributing activities (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

When children at a tender age learn how to be involved in economic contribution in their families, they tend to grow with an attitude towards work that may help the family to grow its resource base in later years. For instance, many families in Africa have trained their children on the businesses they run thus enabling them to take the businesses over when they grow up. In this regard, the child labor becomes beneficial as it encourages the young to focus on their contribution in families. In such scenarios, the families are able to maximize on their output as a family (Bagchi, 2010).

Can Be Responsible

Several debates have been put forward in regard to the contribution of children been engaged in activities alongside their parents as a contributor to responsible individuals when they grow up as they learn from their workmates and thus make the society have well-behaved individuals. To this extent, the proponents of child labor as a good evil that will enable the children to rely on themselves as they grow up leads to discussions on the beneficial and unbeneficial child labor (Hindman, 2011).

Children who are involved in activities that are of less harm to their physical growth and in good environment may tend to acquire life essential skills that will lead to more responsibility. For instance, study shows that children who are engaged in small activities or trained in a fun manner are more likely to acquire good habits as compared to those that are exposed to hash conditions. Furthermore, the children learn various basics of being responsible members of the society and that will grow with them as they grow. In traditional African cultures for instance, children were viewed as more responsible if they are involved in helping their families in agricultural activities. Children as young as five years of age help their parents to tend crops while older children help their parents to carry fodder or even to graze animals. The responsibility of children in helping their parents is always scaled with age to enable them to grow responsibly (Hindman, 2011).

Can Help to Reduce Labor Shortage

In many African and Asian countries, child labor is usually viewed as a source of additional labor to perform the mainly manual tasks that these countries engage in. in view of the fact that these countries engage in agricultural activities that are rarely mechanized; children help in performance of simple and sometimes complex activities of farming and gazing animals. International Labor Organization recognizes that agriculture is the largest employer of children in these countries. Poverty in the families drives to use their children as part of their labor force in order to supplement the available labor in the families. Children are also engaged in vendor factories to perform tasks such as packing and sorting items for a small pay. This enables companies to access labor that is sufficient to supplement their needs (Bagchi, 2010).

The Negative Effects of Child Labor

Increases Illiteracy, Hampering the Overall Economic Growth of the Country

Among the most profound negative effect of child labor is increasing the general level of illiteracy levels in a country. This is because a child spends most of the time laboring leaving less or no time for attending any place for gaining much needed knowledge. This in turn leads to low levels of both semi skilled and skilled labor available to an economy. Presence of a high population with high levels of illiteracy within a country greatly contributes to slow growth of economy. This is attributed by lack of the necessary expatriate required to successfully drive an economy (Bagchi, 2010).

Lack of semi skilled and skilled labor required for industrial growth and development greatly hampers economic growth, as the knowledge necessary to drive the industries is not available. Industries are the key drivers of economic growth. Lack of technological knowhow also contributes to slow economic growth. The world now is one global village due to technological advancements. Therefore, people all around the world are transacting businesses online as opposed to the days when one was required to move over oceans to do business overseas. Illiteracy hampers ones’ ability to take this advantage and these affects the economic growth of a country where such opportunities are not taken (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

Emotional Abuse and Neglect

Children involved in early child labor often suffer from emotional abuse and a sense of psychological abuse. These occur due to a combination of many factors mainly because of lack of attention. Rude and harsh treatment at places of work also greatly contributes to a sense of emotional abuse and a feeling of neglect. It is also emotionally abusive to a child who wakes up early to head to labor while the peers are busy at places playing and having a lot of fun of in institutions in pursuit of gaining knowledge and are properly provided for (Bagchi, 2010).

Children who are subjected to early labor feel neglected and are abused emotionally. The sense of neglect often arises from non-provision of necessities such as food, clothes and shelter. This in turn leads them to seek these necessities elsewhere thereby engaging in child labor. Neglect also arises in places of work. Children are not fully developed to engage in labor and require more love, understanding, care and attention, which often lacks in places of commercial engagements. The feelings of emotional abuse and neglect have far reaching effects on the children when they become adults. Children who experienced emotional abuse and neglect tend to have anti social behavior such as inability to maintain long-term relationships and marriage as adults (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

Work Place Hazard (Physical Abuse or death / Serious health problems)

Children exposed to early labor are more exposed to work place hazards than adults. This is because they are not fully trained about work place safety measures and precautions. Thus they are more prone to physical injuries at the places of work. Adult workmates and the employers of children also tend to have physical aggression towards them hence inflicting physical abuse to them (Bagchi, 2010).

Risky types of employment can lead to fatal results including death of these minors. Child labor is often exploitative and is a reason for such fatal results such as death. Child labor places a child in an obvious place to suffer physically. An industry with moving and rolling machines places children in these industries at the risk of serious bodily harm such as cuts, fractures and broken body parts. In the worst case scenario death is a real possibility incase of a serious injury. Employers and the adult workmates who aggravates against a child laborer by spankings and slaps also inflict physical abuse by causing pain that would not have been experienced and also lowers the dignity of a child (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

Sexual Abuse and Child Prostitution

Child labor especially if it involves exposure of children to sexual acts leads to sexual abuse and child prostitution. This is in the case where the child works in a place that he or she is vulnerable to sexual abuse. In some cases this is a result of threats from seniors at work or in trying to get favors at the work place. This is an explicit abuse of children’s’ rights and the worst of the form of crimes against humanity. Sexual abuse occurs when an adult exposes a child to acts associated with sex and sexual abuse occurs in many forms. It occurs when adult exposes the genitals to a child or gets into contact with child’s genitals. Use of children to make pornographic material or exposing children to pornographic material is also a form of abuse. Sexual abuse also occurs when an adult willfully and deliberately have actual penetration to the child genitalia. Child labor also leads to child prostitution. There rampant cases where children are kept in brothels to work as commercial workers. This amounts to child prostitution. There are cases where children are sold into sexual slavery. In some cases, children are sold out by their parents to gain some income through the sell or are married off at a young age due to traditional cultures of these societies who view girls as an extra burden to bear. All these amount to sexual abuse and child prostitution (Schmitz, Traver, & Larson, 2004).

References

Bagchi, S. (2010). Child Labor and the Urban Third World: Toward a New Understanding of the Problem. University Press of America.

Hindman, H. (2011). The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey. M.E. Sharpe.

Schmitz, C., Traver, E., & Larson, D. (2004). Child Labor: A Global View. Greenwood Publishing Group.