Child Labor: The Main Problem of Children

Imagine if you were working barefoot in a glass factory with flaming hot rods and/or objects all around you. This is what some kids in India have to face every day. Although child labour is on the decline, there are still problems to face. Like a lack of education, health risks and poverty.

Let’s start off with the first problem; Lack of education. The reason for getting an education is important is because it can break you out of the poverty cycle. This is because once they’re older they’re going to need education for jobs which will keep them in poverty since they have a lack of education. 58% of child labour victims don’t get an education (Primary to Secondary – 5-11). This is because it will cost the employers too much money to give the children an education. The reason these big companies like Apple or Microsoft are using child labour is that children tend not to complain as much as adults and are also cheap. The reason so many websites are looking for donations to the children who work is donating to getting a child an education is because getting an education is one of many ways to tackle the child labour problem.

Secondly, another issue is the health risks. The conditions that these children work in are horrific to see. Simon Reeves a BBC reporter worked with a Child called Jahangir. This child worked in a glass factory. Every day he works with hot objects that could give 3rd-degree burns. When Simon Reeves was with him he said: “The heat standing here by the furnace is almost unbearable”. One of the children that were there had a got a flesh wound that looked to be getting infected. They cannot treat this either since they don’t have enough money for the doctors. A UNICEF Teacher says: “We really cannot say stop child labour”, she says this because “Many of the families are dependent on the working children”. Jahangir’s boss lets him take a special break to go to the UNICEF centre for the working children. They teach how to break the poverty cycle. Although they do not support in stopping child labour. Although I agree

With her, we can make their lives better without them having to work. Donations from companies can really affect families income and working status.

Lastly, another big issue is poverty in child labour. The reason the children are asked or forced to work is that they or their family are in poverty. Almost all of the victims of child labour are in poverty. The reason the children work is that the mother and father will most likely need more financial support. Back to the example of Jahangir in the glass factory, although Jahangir only works the equivalent of 80 pence an hour. This earns a small bag of rice; this is crucial for the family because every bit of food for 10-12 people matters. This example shows why parents need kids to work. The reasons the parents want the kids to work is because the parents are most likely in unemployment. Jahangir said “I could have gone to school. My mum would have worked”. Some reasons the parents may not work is because of overpopulation. These reasons are how poverty is connected to child labour, and why children work.

In conclusion, child labour is bad, although in some ways it can be good. We shouldn’t try to achieve to stop child labour, but in cases where it seriously harms the children we should.

Works Cited:

1. Berg, J. (2019). Jazz Concert Review: Jeff Ellwood Quartet at The Baked Potato. All About Jazz. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jeff-ellwood-quartet-at-the-baked-potato-by-jimmy-berg
2. Davis, M. (1959). Kind of Blue. Columbia Records.
3. Gioia, T. (2011). The history of jazz. Oxford University Press.
4. Jazz at Lincoln Center. (2023). Concerts & Events.
5. Monson, I. (1996). Saying something: Jazz improvisation and interaction. University of Chicago Press.
6. National Endowment for the Arts. (2018). Jazz in America. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/Jazz%20in%20America.pdf
7. PBS. (2023). Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns. https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/jazz/
8. Ratliff, B. (2007). The jazz ear: Conversations over music. Macmillan.
9. Thiroux, K. (2023). Music.
10. Wilkerson, M. (2019). Jazz Appreciation Month: The History of Jazz Music. National Museum of African American History and Culture. https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/jazz-appreciation-month-history-jazz-music