Child LaBOR essays

Child LaBOR essays Child labor is a serious problem in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries. Labor is defined as physical or mental work especially of the hard or fatiguing kind. (Websters Dictionary) Child labor usually means work that is done by children under the age of 15, which restricts or damages their physical, emotional, intellectual, social, or spiritual growth as children. The International Labor organization estimates that there are 250 million children worldwide, between the ages of 5 and 14, who are now working. Africa and Asia together account for over 90 percent of total child employment (Faraaz Siddiqi) Child labor is especially common in the rural areas of these countries. Usually there are no age requirements for schooling or for work. There are many reasons that these children work; poverty, lack of education, lack of knowledge of ones rights and cultural tradition are all contributing factors. These children are often working in severe and hazardous conditions. These children are deprived and mistreated. They are often beat or severely punished for making even the slightest mistakes. They receive low wages and perform tasks that are usually the work of adults. The International Labour Office reports that children work the longest hours and are the worst paid of all laborers. These children can be found working on farms, in factories or mines, and even fighting in wars. Much of the nations farmland is worked by toddlers, yokes teams of three-, four-, and five-year-olds who pl ough, seed and glean fields from dawn to dusk. (Jonathan Silvers) Three types of bonded labor exist in practice around the world. The first type involves a child inheriting a debt carried by their parents. The enslaved parents find no alternative except to essentially turn over the rights of their child to their masters. Another form of bonded labor occurs with a child being used...