Child Labor in Developing Countries Child Labor is an extensive problem in many developing countries. Children work long hours with little pay and dangerous working conditions. Child Labor refers to the service of children in any work that can take away their childhood and interferes with their ability to go to school and put them in mental or physical harm. In many developing countries, children often start working at a young age to help provide for their struggling families. "The ILO (International Labor Organization) estimates there are approximately two hundred million child laborers worldwide, with at least one hundred million working under circumstances that have denied them a childhood and in conditions that could jeopardize their health and even their lives" (Roggero 271). Although many people think that children should be protected from jobs that interfere with their health, safety, and education, some may argue that it has many benefits.
Approximately ninety-six percent of all child workers are in developing countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. "It is estimated that, in developing countries, at least 90 percent of economically active children in rural areas are employed in agriculture" (Roggero 271). Recent ILO statistics from twenty developing countries found that economically active children aged five to fourteen years old are employed in animal husbandry, agriculture, and then related work at seventy-four percent, seventy-three percent of which were boys and seventy-eight percent girls. The health effects on children between current health and future health is difficult to investigate. "Although child labor is recognized as a global health problem, research on its health impact on children has been limited and sometimes inconsistent" (Roggero 127).
One of the major concerns about child labor is that it can interfere with a child's ability to attend or do well in school. Most child laborers start working at a very young age, are malnourished, work long hours in hazardous conditions, and do not attend school. Most of the children that are working are between the ages of eleven and fourteen. As many as 60 million are between the ages five and eleven, which are some of the most important years for learning. The time that is spent by children on housework and childcare is not considered forced labor and is not considered child labor either" (Anker 257). Many young girls spend many hours on housework and caring for younger children and therefore do not attend school. In places like India, there is no education requirement, so child labor becomes an option. Quality schools are essential to help end child labor which will also help in the long run. When countries require education for all children, child labor will then decrease. Child laborers that are illiterate and live in poverty will continue an endless cycle that gets passed down f...
