Child Labor

Work is mans way to survive in this world. Man works for him to earn money and to be able to satisfy his daily needs. Adulthood is the right time to work for it's when man is equipped and is capable of surviving the burden and pressure of work. Childhood, on the other hand, is the time when we develop and understand ourselves in relation to this world. Its actually play, fun and play. What will happen if this logic is interchanged? Childhood becomes the time for work. Work becomes the play and fun for children. I will be very grateful then for I am not a child anymore. But will the children be?

Child labor is a growing problem throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Child labor is especially prevalent in rural areas where the capacity to enforce minimum age requirements for schooling and work is lacking. The most important reason why children are forced to work is poverty. The pressure to escape from their indecent life caused by poverty is also a main reason why these minors are forced to work. Though they are not well paid, they still serve as major contributors to their family income so their parents are actually 'glad' with this kind of situation. Schooling problems also contribute to child labor, whether it's the inaccessibility to schools or the lack of quality education which forces parents to enter their children in more profitable pursuits.

Working children are the objects of extreme exploitation in terms of working for long hours for a very minimal pay. Their working conditions are often times severe and their physical and mental development is sacrificed. Many of these children endure lives of complete deprivation from a normal life. The government could help by making it worthwhile for a child to attend school. The government can do this by increasing the quality and usefulness of obtaining an education. There must be an economic change in the condition of a struggling family to free a child from the responsibility of working.

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