The Problems of Child Labour Essay Example

“Children should have pens in their hands, not tools.” - Iqbal Masih. Child labor is a serious problem world-wide, where kids work so much, that the work is preventing them from having a normal childhood. Millions of kids are victims of child labor, and this has to stop now. Child labor ruins everyone and their lives, as it affects the child and it harms almost everyone. Many people are victims of child labor, meaning that it affects more than 152 million kids.

Child labor affects the life of the child in many ways. For starters, they cannot get an education because their work is preventing them from going to school. They barely get paid, and work day and night with little food and almost no sleep at all. The worst part is that the person who is forcing these children to work so much, prevents them from escaping or leaving, a lot of times by putting them in heavy chains so they cannot move. Iqbal Masih was one of the kids who experienced the saddening life of child labor. His parents took a loan from a carpet weaving business, about 600 rupees (less than $6.00 in USD at the time,) for Iqbal’s older brother’s wedding. In return, the owner of the carpet weaving business asked for Iqbal to work there until all his debts were paid off. His parents sent Iqbal, and he got paid 3 cents everyday, but still had to take money out of his paycheck for the rice that the owner gives him for lunch. He also had money taken out of his paycheck if he was working a little less hard, if he was sleeping during work time, etc. He also got abused for this as well, and barely got paid a penny for his work, meaning that it would take him almost his whole life to get those 600 rupees, plus insurance. 

Child labor harms many things. It harms the children the most, as they work so hard day and night without proper food and sleep. The children cannot talk to each other, and get abused for it. Talking is something everyone should be able to do, and not being able to talk, not being able to state your opinion, is awful. Child Labor affects the child’s education, because since children can’t go to school because of working, they are unable to get the gift of education. It doesn’t stop there, it harms the whole community, the whole country. These children are meant to go to school for education, and become future leaders of their country. If that is taken away, then not only their future is dark, but the whole future of the nation becomes dark, there won’t be any progress. Child labor also harms the family of the child, as well. They cannot ever see their child, until the child paid off the loan, which in almost all cases, never happens because the person forcing the child to work barely pays the children at all. The families are losing one of their kids, knowing that they will have to do so much work and suffer a sad life. They know they will be abused, and not get a good education, but cannot do anything about it.

There are more than One-Hundred, Fifty Two, Million (152 million), children that are victims of child labor. Eighty-Eight million children are boys, and Sixty-Four million children are girls. 48% of child labor victims are are Five to Eleven (5-11) years old! And almost half of these child labor victims (73 million children) work in dangerous, hazardous child labor. More than one quarter of dangerous child labor is performed by children less than 12 years old (19 million kids!)! These kids are not even teenagers yet, and they are forced to do such dangerous work like mining, metal work, tinsmiths, etc. About One-Hundred Fifty Billion (150 billion) Dollars are generated in forced labor, meaning that the child laborists are getting so much money that they are not letting the children go back to their parents so they can get a better income.

Child labor persists even though there are laws, to eliminate it. Child labor ruins many people, as it effects the child and it harms almost everyone. More than 152 million kids are victims of child labor. The main causes of global child labor include poverty, limited access to education, holding back of workers’ rights, and limited prohibitions on child labor. But there are ways each person can help end child labor. You can give support to the work of World Vision, which is a center of work to make communities for good. They educate children to know their rights, and work toward their own well-being. They also work with parents and communities to make sure kids are protected and their future is not stolen by labor exploitation. You can also sponsor a child, by donating to the child. By investing in the child's life, you will be able to help them have bright futures by letting them get an education.