child labour essay with headings

Essay on Child Labour

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Essay on Child Labour in 150 words

Essay on child labour in 200-300 words, essay on child labour in 500-1000 words.

Child labour is a global issue that deprives children of their childhood, education, and well-being. It involves exploitative work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally harmful. Children engaged in labour-intensive jobs face hazardous conditions and miss out on opportunities for education and personal development. Poverty, lack of access to education, and inadequate enforcement of laws contribute to the persistence of child labour. Efforts to eliminate child labour require a comprehensive approach, including policy implementation, social protection measures, and awareness campaigns. Global initiatives and conventions aim to eradicate child labour and promote quality education for all children. It is crucial to create an environment where children can thrive, receive proper education, and break free from the cycle of poverty. Every child deserves the right to a childhood filled with learning, growth, and protection.

Child labour is a pressing issue that continues to plague societies around the world. It refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular schools, and is mentally, physically, socially, or morally harmful.

Child labour deprives children of their basic rights and hampers their overall development. It denies them the opportunity to receive proper education, resulting in limited opportunities for future growth. Children engaged in labour-intensive work are exposed to hazardous conditions, risking their physical and mental well-being.

The root causes of child labour are complex and multifaceted, including poverty, lack of access to education, social and cultural norms, and inadequate enforcement of laws and regulations. Eradicating child labour requires a holistic approach, involving the implementation of effective policies, social protection measures, and increased awareness.

Efforts are being made globally to combat child labour, including the enactment of laws, international conventions, and initiatives aimed at eliminating this practice. It is crucial to create an environment where children can receive a quality education, enabling them to break free from the cycle of poverty and contribute to the development of their communities.

In conclusion, child labour is a grave violation of children’s rights and a hindrance to their overall well-being and development. It is imperative for governments, organizations, and individuals to work together to address the root causes and eliminate child labour. Every child deserves a childhood filled with learning, growth, and opportunities for a brighter future.

Title: Child Labour – A Stolen Childhood

Introduction :

Child labour is a grave global issue that robs children of their childhood, dignity, and fundamental rights. It refers to the exploitative employment of children in work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally harmful. Child labour is a complex problem with deep-rooted causes, including poverty, lack of access to education, social norms, and weak enforcement of laws. This essay examines the causes, consequences, and efforts to combat child labour, emphasizing the urgent need for collective action to protect the rights and well-being of children.

Causes of Child Labour

Child labour is often driven by economic factors, with families living in poverty compelled to send their children to work in order to supplement household income. Limited access to quality education, lack of affordable schooling, and inadequate social support contribute to the prevalence of child labour. In some cases, cultural and social norms perpetuate the idea that children should work, depriving them of their right to education and nurturing childhood.

Consequences of Child Labour

Child labour has severe consequences for children’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Children engaged in hazardous work face significant health risks, including injuries, illnesses, and developmental delays. They are often denied the opportunity to attend school, hindering their educational development and limiting future opportunities. Child labour perpetuates the cycle of poverty, as illiteracy and limited skills trap individuals in low-wage, exploitative employment in adulthood.

Exploitative Industries

Child labour is prevalent in various industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction, and domestic work. In agriculture, children are often engaged in hazardous tasks such as pesticide application, heavy lifting, and long hours of work. In manufacturing and mining, children are exposed to dangerous machinery, toxic substances, and exploitative working conditions. Domestic work exposes children to long hours, physical abuse, and isolation.

Legal and Ethical Perspectives

International conventions, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, condemn child labour and call for its elimination. Many countries have enacted laws to protect children’s rights and prohibit child labour. However, weak enforcement, limited resources, and gaps in legislation hinder the effective eradication of the problem. Ethical considerations highlight the importance of corporations and consumers in ensuring responsible supply chains that are free from child labour.

Efforts to Combat Child Labour

Various organizations, governments, and civil society groups are actively working to combat child labour. They focus on initiatives such as providing access to quality education, vocational training for adults, poverty alleviation programs, and social protection measures. Advocacy campaigns raise awareness about the harmful consequences of child labour and mobilize support for its eradication. International collaborations and partnerships aim to address the systemic issues that perpetuate child labour, fostering sustainable solutions.

Conclusion :

Child labour remains a grave violation of children’s rights and a barrier to their development. It is a global problem that requires collective action to address its root causes. By addressing poverty, improving access to education, enforcing protective legislation, and promoting responsible business practices, we can create a world where children are protected, educated, and free from exploitation. Efforts must be intensified to ensure that every child enjoys their right to a childhood, education, and a future filled with hope and opportunity. Together, we can work towards a world where child labour is eradicated, and all children have the chance to thrive and realize their full potential.

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Essay on Child Labour for Students and Children

500+ words essay on child labour.

Child labour is a term you might have heard about in news or movies. It refers to a crime where children are forced to work from a very early age. It is like expecting kids to perform responsibilities like working and fending for themselves. There are certain policies which have put restrictions and limitations on children working.

The average age for a child to be appropriate to work is considered fifteen years and more. Children falling below this age limit won’t be allowed to indulge in any type of work forcefully. Why is that so? Because child labour takes away the kids opportunity of having a normal childhood, a proper education , and physical and mental well-being. In some countries, it is illegal but still, it’s a far way from being completely eradicated.

Causes of Child Labour

Child Labour happens due to a number of reasons. While some of the reasons may be common in some countries, there are some reasons which are specific in particular areas and regions. When we look at what is causing child labour, we will be able to fight it better.

Firstly, it happens in countries that have a lot of poverty and unemployment . When the families won’t have enough earning, they put the children of the family to work so they can have enough money to survive. Similarly, if the adults of the family are unemployed, the younger ones have to work in their place.

Moreover, when people do not have access to the education they will ultimately put their children to work. The uneducated only care about a short term result which is why they put children to work so they can survive their present.

Furthermore, the money-saving attitude of various industries is a major cause of child labour. They hire children because they pay them lesser for the same work as an adult. As children work more than adults and also at fewer wages, they prefer children. They can easily influence and manipulate them. They only see their profit and this is why they engage children in factories.

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Eradication of Child Labour

If we wish to eradicate child labour, we need to formulate some very effective solutions which will save our children. It will also enhance the future of any country dealing with these social issues . To begin with, one can create a number of unions that solely work to prevent child labour. It should help the children indulging in this work and punishing those who make them do it.

Furthermore, we need to keep the parents in the loop so as to teach them the importance of education. If we make education free and the people aware, we will be able to educate more and more children who won’t have to do child labour. Moreover, making people aware of the harmful consequences of child labour is a must.

In addition, family control measures must also be taken. This will reduce the family’s burden so when you have lesser mouths to feed, the parents will be enough to work for them, instead of the children. In fact, every family must be promised a minimum income by the government to survive.

In short, the government and people must come together. Employment opportunities must be given to people in abundance so they can earn their livelihood instead of putting their kids to work. The children are the future of our country; we cannot expect them to maintain the economic conditions of their families instead of having a normal childhood.

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Child Labour Essay

Many children are forced to labour in a variety of dangerous and non-hazardous occupations, including agriculture, glass manufacturing, the carpet and brass industries, matchbox manufacturing, and household labour. Here are some sample essays on child labour.

• 100 Words Essay On Child Labour

Child labour is defined as the employment of children for any type of work that interferes with their physical and mental growth and denies them access to the fundamental educational and recreational needs. A child is generally regarded as old enough to work when they are fifteen years old or older. Children under this age limit are not permitted to engage in any sort of forced employment. Because child labour denies children the chance to experience a normal upbringing, receive a quality education, and appreciate their physical and emotional wellbeing. Although it is prohibited in certain nations, it has still not been totally abolished.

200 Words Essay On Child Labour

500 words essay on child labour.

Children are preferred for employment in many unorganised small industries because they are less demanding and easier to handle. Sometimes the children's own families force them into child labour because they lack the funds or are unable to provide for them.

These kids frequently live in poor, unsanitary circumstances with little access to school or medical care. These kids are also forced to live in seclusion and aren't permitted to play, engage socially, or make friends. Such a toxic workplace is difficult for kids and frequently contributes to mental illnesses like depression. These kids frequently use drugs and other substances, which worsens their physical and mental health.

Why Is Child Labour Prohibited?

The employment of children in a manner that denies them the chance to enjoy childhood, receive an education, or experience personal growth is known as child labour. There are many strong laws against child labour, and many nations, like India, have standards of imprisonment and fines if a person or organisation is found to be engaging in child labour.

Even while there are rules in place to prevent child labour, we still need to enforce them. Children are compelled to work as children owing to poverty and to help support their families.

Child labourers are either trafficked from their home countries or originate from destitute backgrounds. They are fully at the power of their employers and have no protection.

Causes Of Child Labour

Here are some reasons that lead to child labour:

Poverty | Child labour is a problem that is greatly influenced by poverty. Children in low-income households are viewed as an additional source of income. These kids are expected to help out with their parents' duties when they get older.

Illiteracy | One significant component that fuels this issue is illiteracy. Because they must invest more than they receive in return in the form of wages from their children, the illiterate parents view education as a burden. Children who work as labourers are subjected to unsanitary circumstances, late hours, and other hardships that have an immediate impact on their cognitive development.

Bonded Labour | Unethical businesses like using children as labourers over adults since they can get more work done from them and pay them less per hour. Children are forced to work in this sort of child labour in order to pay off a family loan or obligation. Due to bonded labour, poor children have also been trafficked from rural to urban areas to work as domestic help, in tiny manufacturing houses, or simply to live as street beggars.

How To Protect Children From Child Labour?

Multiple facets of society will be required to support efforts to abolish child labour. The effectiveness of government initiatives and its personnel is limited. Therefore, we ought to come together and channelize our efforts in the right direction to stop child labour. Here are some of the ways to stop child labour–

Notice | Be cautious when eating at a neighbouring restaurant or shopping at a neighbourhood market. Inform local authorities or call CHILDLINE 1098 if you see any children working as child labourers.

Know The Law | The first step in preventing child labour is to understand the constitution's role in child protection. Knowing the laws gives you the knowledge you need to combat the threat and alert those who use child labour.

Educate And Aware | Child labour may be avoided by educating others about its negative impacts, especially business leaders and employers. Discuss with them how child labour affects children's physical and emotional health, and tell them what the laws and punishments are.

Conversation With Parents | If you are aware of a parent in your area who is forcing his or her child to work as a youngster, speak with that parent and explain the dangers that child labour poses to the future of their offspring and highlight how education and skill building may protect their child's future.

Enrolment In Schools | In your community, you may establish a setting that encourages learning for street kids. You may assist disadvantaged youngsters in learning and self-education by raising money to create libraries and community learning centres in your area. Additionally, you may help the parents enrol their kids in school.

A country cannot advance if its children are living in abject poverty. To stop the exploitation and employment of children in certain industries, it is essential to identify these sectors and create the required legislation and laws. This should be society's and the government's shared duty.

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• Child Labour Essay

What is Child Labour?

Child Labour means the employment of children in any kind of work that hampers their physical and mental development, deprives them of their basic educational and recreational requirements. A large number of children are compelled to work in various hazardous and non-hazardous activities such as in the agriculture sector, glass factories, carpet industry, brass industries, matchbox factories, and as domestic help. It is a blot on our society and speaks immensely about the inability of our society to provide a congenial environment for the growth and development of children. 

Childhood is considered to be the best time of one’s life but unfortunately, this does not hold true for some children who struggle to make both ends meet during their childhood years. According to the Child Labour project and 2011 census, 10.2 million children are engaged in child labour in India, out of which 4.5 million are girls. 

Earlier, children helped their parents in basic chores in agriculture such as sowing, reaping, harvesting, taking care of the cattle, etc. However, with the growth of the industries and urbanization, the issue of child labour has increased. Children at a very tender age are employed for various inappropriate activities and they are forced to make hazardous stuff using their nimble fingers. They are employed in the garment factories, leather, jewellery, and sericulture industries. 

Contributing Factors of Increasing Child Labour

There are a number of factors that contribute to the rise of this peril. 

Poverty plays a major role in the issues of child labour. In poor families, children are considered to be an extra earning hand. These families believe that every child is a bread-earner and so they have more children. As these children grow up, they are expected to share their parents’ responsibilities. 

Illiteracy is an important factor that contributes to this problem. The illiterate parents think that education is a burden because they need to invest more in comparison to the returns that they get in the form of earnings from their children. Child labourers are exposed to unhygienic conditions, late working hours, and different enormities, which have a direct effect on their cognitive development. The tender and immature minds of the children are not able to cope with such situations leading to emotional and physical distress. 

Unethical employers also prefer child labourers to adults because they canextract more work from them and pay a lesser amount of wage. Bonded child labour is the cruellest act of child labour. In this type of child labour, the children are made to work to pay off a loan or a debt of the family. Bonded labour has also led to the trafficking of these impoverished children from rural to urban areas in order to work as domestic help or in small production houses or just to lead the life of street beggars. 

Role of the Government

The government has a very important role to play in the eradication of child labour. As poverty is the major cause of child labour in our country, the government should give assurance to provide the basic amenities to the lower strata of our society. There should be an equal distribution of wealth. More work opportunities need to be generated to give fair employment to the poor. The various NGOs across the nation should come forward and provide vocational training to these people in order to jobs or to make them self-employed. 

This lower stratum of our society should understand and believe in the importance of education. The government and the NGOs should reach out to such people to raise awareness and initiate free education for all children between the age group of 6-14 years. The parents must be encouraged to send their children to schools instead of work. 

Educated and affluent citizens can come forward and contribute to the upliftment of this class of society. They should spread the message about the harmful effects of child labour. Schools and colleges can come up with innovative teaching programmes for poor children. Offices and private and government institutions should offer free education to the children of their staff. 

Moreover, awareness of family planning needs to be created among these people. The NGOs and the government must educate them about family planning measures. This will help the family to reduce the burden of feeding too many mouths.

Child Labour is a Crime 

Despite the strict law about child labour being a crime, it is still widely prevalent in India and many other countries worldwide. Greedy and crooked employers also lack awareness of human rights and government policies among the people below poverty. 

Children in certain mining operations and industries are a cheap source of labour, and the employers get away with it because of corruption in the bureaucracy. Sometimes low-income families may also ignore basic human rights and send their children to earn extra money. It is a systemic problem that needs to be solved by addressing issues at many levels. 

However, to protect young children from such exploitation, the Indian government has come up with a set of punishments. Any person who hires a child younger than 14, or a child between the ages of 14 and 18 in a dangerous job, they are liable to be imprisoned for a term of 6 months-2 years and/or a monetary penalty ranging between Rs.20,000 and Rs.80,000.

Eradicating Child Labour 

Eradication of child labour will require support from multiple aspects of society. The government programs and government agents can only go so far with their efforts. Sometimes, poor and uneducated families would be reluctant to let go of their familiar ways even when better opportunities are provided.

That’s when normal citizens and volunteers need to step up for support. NGOs supported by well-meaning citizens will have to ensure that the government policies are strictly enforced, and all forms of corruption are brought to light.  

Education drives and workshops for the poor section of the economy need to help raise awareness. Parents need to understand the long-term benefits of education for their children. It can help in developing the quality of life and the potential to rise out of poverty.

The harmful consequences of child labour mentally and physically on the children need to be taught in the workshops. Government petitions can also encourage schooling for younger children by offering nutritious meals and other benefits. 

Education about family planning is also critical in helping to control the population. When low-income families have more children, they are also inclined to send them for work to help float the household. Having fewer children means that they are valued, and parents focus on providing for their nourishment, education, and long-term well-being. 

Having fewer kids also makes them precious, and parents will not send them to hazardous working environments in fear of permanent injury or death. The government should introduce incentives for families with one or two children to encourage poorer families to have fewer children and reap the benefits while providing a good life.

Government Policies

The Indian Government enacted many laws to protect child rights, namely the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986, the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. 

As per the Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation), 1986, children under the age of fourteen years old could not be employed in hazardous occupations. This act also attempts to regulate working conditions in the jobs that it permits and emphasizes health and safety standards. 

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 mandates free and compulsory education to all children between the age group of 6 to 14 years old. 

A nation full of poverty-ridden children cannot make progress. It should be the collective responsibility of society and the government to provide these impoverished children with a healthy and conducive environment, which will help them to develop their innate capabilities and their skills effectively.

FAQs on Child Labour Essay

Q1. What do you understand by Child Labour?

Child Labour means the employment of children in any kind of work that impedes their physical and mental development, deprives them of their basic educational and recreational requirements.

Q2. What factors lead to Child Labour?

Poverty, illiteracy, no family control lead to Child Labour. Even the growth of industrialization and urbanization play a major role in the Child Labour. The exploitation of poor people by unethical employers on account of failing to pay their loans or debts, lead to child labour.

Q3. What measures should be taken to eradicate Child Labour?

The government, NGOs should raise awareness about family control measures among the weaker section of the society. The government should provide free amenities and education to children between the age group of 6-14 years. The government should generate more employment opportunities for them. The schools and colleges can come up with innovative teaching programs for them.

Q4. Which policy has banned the employment of Children?

 The Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986 has banned the employment of children under the age of 14 years.

Q5. What are the causes of child labour? 

Child labour is mainly caused by poverty in families from the underprivileged section of the economy. Poor and uneducated parents send children to work under unsupervised and often dangerous conditions. They do not realise the damage it causes for children in the long run. Child labour is also caused by the exploitation of poor people by crooked employers. The problem is also fueled by corruption at the bureaucratic level, which ignores worker and human rights violations.

Q6. How to prevent child labour? 

Child labour can be prevented by education programs supported by the government and also NGOs. Volunteers have educated low-income families about the dangers of child labour and the benefits of education. Government laws should be reformed and enforced more rigorously to punish people who employ underage children.

Q7. What are the types of child labour?

There are mainly four types of child labour: 

Domestic child labourers:   These are children (mostly girls) who wealthy families employ to do the household chores.

Industrial child labourers:   Children are made to work in factories, mines, plantations, or small-scale industries. 

Debt Bondage:   Some children are forced to work as debt labourers to clear the inherited debts of their families. 

Child Trafficking:   Child trafficking is when orphaned or kidnapped children are sold for money. They are exploited the most without regard for their well-being. 

77 Child Labour Essay Topics & Examples

Researching the subject of child labour for an essay, you will see that it’s quite challenging to write about. That’s why we’ve listed useful topics here.

🏆 Best Child Labour Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

🎓 good child labour project topics, 👍 interesting child labour essay topics, ❓ research questions on child labour.

Even today, in our progressive world, this is a pressing issue that you can discuss in detail, relying on region and global statistics. We would love to facilitate this task for you by providing good child labour essay topics. Our experts have collected this list on the causes, solutions, and other aspects of the issue. So, check our essay ideas and research questions on child labour and start writing!

• Arguments for and Against Banning All Forms of Child Labour It is essential to examine the border between safe and dangerous labor and compare arguments for and against the prohibition of all forms of child labor in manufacturing.
• Nestlé Company and Child Labour Exploitation In the following 15 years, the issue of child labour on African cocoa farms would become a cause celebre and Nestle would struggle to improve its image amid constant child labour scandals.
• Business Ethics and Child Labour According to the case, business ethics is the observance of rules and regulations that have been put in place. Child labour is one of the serious ethical issues that businesses have to deal with in […]
• Child Labour: An Illegal Practise This paper seeks to elaborate the reasons behind the use of child labour in some corporations and the general ways child labour affects the conditions of the children involved.
• Child Labour: Ethical Aspects of Employment In spite of its rich history, the question of child labour cannot be answered in a proper way; a number of issues like personal desire, necessity, and living conditions have to be taken into consideration; […]
• Child Labour in the Late 1800s to the Early 1900s The children of the poor families were forced to find out the livelihood for their families and were deprived of education, his sweet adolescence and other necessities of the world.
• A Review of the Child Labour, Its Perspectives Child labour can be described any form of economic improving activity for children under the age of 12 depending on the individual state that compromises the child’s right to health, quality education and all work […]
• Child Labour and Rights in the United Kingdom From child labor to child abuse, there are certainly different government and non-government agencies all over the world that support and are keenly watching the child’s rights and protection programs of every country. The cases […]
• Child Labour in India and Intervention Measures The Union government of India need to earnestly take the initiative of conducting civic education, particularly for the Indian scheduled castes and Tribes as these categories provide wellspring for the vulnerable and susceptible Gender.
• Businesses Engaging in Child Labour They claimed that child labor practices were against the precepts of their company and international labor laws. Fairtrade International admitted that they were informed of the allegations of child labor in the cotton farms.
• Problem of Child Labor in Modern Society According to the International Labor Organization, these are the worst forms of child labor. There are emerging cases of child labor in the third world nations.
• Globalization and the Economics of Child Labor In his article “Globalization and the Economics of Child Labor”, Edmond Eric advances that globalization has resulted in a significant reduction in child labor throughout the world.
• Child Labour Policies in Business While the US and many other European nations accept that the banning of any illegal form of child labour is vital for enhancing observance of the rights for children, some nations, especially in the developing […]
• Role of Codes of Conduct in Child Labour Practice As it will be observed in the following case, the issue of child labour is among the many challenges that have continued to affect the management of modern global supply chains.
• Labor Economics: Child Labor In another observation, Chau believes that the practice may be developed by the myth that children’s’ way of doing things better than adults would make them the appropriate substitute in the labor market.
• Intermittent Child Employment and Its Implications for Estimates of Child Labour
• Understanding Child Labour Beyond the Standard Economic Assumption of Monetary Poverty
• Climate Vulnerability, Communities’ Resilience and Child Labour
• Child Labour and the Industrial Revolution
• Child Labour Is Not Always Bad for Society
• An Analysis of the Child Labour in the Nineteenth Century England
• Child Labour and Its Effects on Children and Their Families
• An Introduction to the Child Labour in Third World Countries
• Banning Child Labour in Developing Countries
• International Migration and Child labour in Developing Countries
• Child Labour: A Historically Important Role with Future Repercussions
• International Migration and Child Labour in Developing Countries
• The Trade-Off Between Child Labour and Schooling in India
• The Role of Trade and Offshoring in the Determination of Child Labour
• Human Rights for Child Labour
• Mortality Risks, Education and Child Labour
• Child Labour in Developing Countries: The Role of Education, Poverty and Birth Order
• Educational Programme for Child Labour
• Breaking Mainstream Thinking: Legalizing Child Labour
• The Intriguing Relation Between Adult Minimum Wage and Child Labour
• Unintended Effects of Microfinance: An Increase in Child Labour in Some Contexts
• Child Labour, School Attendance and Performance
• Victorian England Child Labour
• Child Labour Is a Human Rights Violation
• Child Labour and Its Effect on Children Essay
• Agricultural Dualism, Incidence of Child Labour and Subsidy Policies
• Voting with Your Children: A Positive Analysis of Child Labour Laws
• Rescuing Children from the Hands of Child Labour
• An Overview of Child Labour in the 19th Century
• Child Labour and Trade Liberalization in a Developing Economy
• Impact of Trade Vs. Non-trade Policies on the Incidence of Child Labour
• Social Responsibility and Child Labour
• What Are Child Labour and Possible Prevention?
• Does Globalisation Increase Child Labour?
• Why Banning the Worst Forms of Child Labour Would Hurt Poor Countries?
• Was Victorian England Child Labour?
• The Income Elasticity of Child Labour: Do Cash Transfers Impact on the Poorest Children?
• Are Fair Trade Labels Effective Against Child Labour?
• How to Find the Trade-Off Between Child Labour and Human Capital Formation?
• Does Child Labour Still Exist Today?
• Was Child Labour Necessary During the Industrial Revolution?
• Child Labour and How Does It Happen?
• What Is the Connection Between Child Labour and Mothers’ Work?
• Is There Subterranean Child Labour Force?
• What Should You Know About Child Labour?
• Can the WTO Member States Rely on Citizen Concerns to Prevent Corporations from Importing Goods Made from Child Labour?
• Child Labour Measurement: Whom Should We Ask?
• What Is the Universally Acceptable Reason for Child Labour?
• Child Labour and What Is It?
• Should Child Labour Be Banned Globally?
• What Are the Trade-Off Between Human Capital and Child Labour?
• Does Child Labour Displace Schooling?
• Why Did Child Labour Decline in Britain in the 19th and 20th Centuries
• What Was the Child Labour?
• Does Health Insurance Reduce Child Labour and Education Gaps?
• What Is the Effect of Child Labour on Learning Achievement?
• Is Overpopulation the Main Cause of Child Labour?
• Does Child Labour Harm Child Education and Health?
• Does Child Labour Affect School Attendance and School Performance?
• What Is the Connection Between Child Labour and Trade Liberalization?
• What are the Un’s Preventative Measures Against Child Labour?
• Child Labour: Core Labour Standards and FDI: Friends or Foes?
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Essay on Child Labour in 1000 Words for Students

• Updated on  
• May 21, 2024

Essay on Child Labour: A study called ‘ Campaign Against Child Labour ‘ revealed that around 12.67 million child labourers exist in India. Child labour refers to the forceful employment of children at shops, domestic and hazardous places like factories and mines. Child labour exploits children for their basic childhood rights and affects their physical and mental growth. According to the International Labour Organization, the minimum age to work is 15 years. However, some countries have set the minimum working age at 14 years.

In India, the Ministry of Labour & Employment is responsible for protecting children’s rights. The Ministry launched the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme for the rehabilitation of child labourers.

Table of Contents

• 1.1 Poverty and Unemployment
• 1.2 Lack of Access to Education
• 1.3 Lack of Enforcement Laws
• 1.4 Debt Bondage
• 1.5 Ignorance and Lack of Awareness
• 2.1 Education Deprivation
• 2.2 Impact on Physical Health
• 2.3 Impact on Mental and Emotional Health
• 2.4 Cycle of Poverty
• 3 What is the Global Perspective?
• 4 Child Labour in India
• 5 Steps to Eradicate Child Labour
• 6 10 Lines to Add in Child Labour Essay

Major Child Labour Causes

Poverty, unemployment, lack of access to quality education, lack of awareness, etc are some of the common causes of child labour. Understanding all the causes of child labour is very important to eradicating its practice.

Poverty and Unemployment

Poverty and unemployment are the primary causes of child labour. Families living in extreme poverty force their children to work and meet basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare. On top of this, employees take advantage of their poverty and pay them low wages.

Lack of Access to Education

Children belonging to poor families have limited access to education due to inadequate infrastructure, insufficient resources and social discrimination. Due to this reason, children who are supposed to go to school are pushed towards labour instead of attending school.

“The Best Way to Make Children Good is to Make Them Happy” – Oscar Wilde

Lack of Enforcement Laws

A lot of countries do not have strict laws against child labour. Unethical employers are not afraid because the laws against child labour are not strict. Child labour is persistent because employees do not fear the law. In some cases, insufficient coordination among government agencies, NGOs, and international organizations leads to gaps in the enforcement of child labour laws.

Debt Bondage

Debt bondage or bonded labour is a type of child labour where individuals are forced to work to repay a debt or a family loan. These impoverished people have no other option but to work as bonded labourers in domestic places. 

Master the art of essay writing with our blog on How to Write an Essay in English .

Ignorance and Lack of Awareness

The lack of awareness becomes an important cause of child labour, as these people have no idea about the long-term consequences of child labour. 

Impacts on Children

Child labour can have serious impacts on a child’s physical and mental growth. However, the impacts of child labour are not limited to children only. 

Education Deprivation

Child labour deprives children of their right to education. In India, the Right to Education is a basic Fundamental Right and is also a Fundamental Duty. The Indian Constitution says that any person, who is a parent or a guardian, must provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the ages of six and fourteen years.

Also Read: Child Labour Speech

Impact on Physical Health

Children who consistently work in dangerous or tough conditions sometimes get hurt, and sick, and can face long-term health issues. Children working in factories and mines are exposed to harmful chemicals, pollutants and dust. Prolonged exposure can lead to respiratory problems, skin disorders, and other health issues.

Impact on Mental and Emotional Health

Working for long hours in hazardous conditions is a deadly combination. These conditions can contribute to high levels of stress and anxiety, affecting the mental well-being of children. In addition to this, these children are denied the right to education, which limits their cognitive development and prospects.

Cycle of Poverty

Children are supposed to go to school and study, not work in factories or as domestic helpers. Child labour perpetuates the cycle of poverty. The cycle of poverty can only end if child labour ends. 

Also Read: Essay on Peer Pressure in 100, 200 and 350 Words

What is the Global Perspective?

According to UNICEF, 1 out of 10 children are subjected to child labour worldwide and some are forced into hazardous work through trafficking. Child labour is a complex issue with its regional challenges. In 2020, around 16 crore children in the world were subjected to child labour. 

International organisations like the ILO, UNICEF, etc. are constantly fighting against children. They collaborate with global governments, NGOs, and private organisations and discuss the root causes of child labour, such as poverty, lack of access to education, cultural norms, armed conflict, and economic pressures. It is very important to address these factors for effective solutions.

Child Labour in India

In India, there are five major sectors where child labour is most prevalent. These sectors are:

• Agriculture – The largest number of children are employed in the agricultural sector and related activities. Children in rural areas are employed in sugarcane, wheat and rice farms, where they are forced to work for long hours in scorching heat.
• Brick Kilns – For ages, the brick kiln industry has been employing children at low wages. In several brick kilns, children work for long hours with their parents and are exposed to toxic fumes and pollutants.
• Garment Industry – The Indian garment industry constitutes a large portion of child labour. Most of the Indian garment industries are managed by local start-ups, who hire children at low wages to preserve their profit margin.
• Fireworks – Firework factory owners hire a significant number of children at low wages. Children working in fireworks factories work in cramped conditions and are exposed to toxic fumes and hazardous chemicals, which hampers their physical and mental health.
• Unorganised Sectors – The unorganised sector includes local dhabas, food and tea stalls, vegetable and fruit vendors, etc. These people employ children as helpers and servants. 

Also Read: Essay on Discipline

Steps to Eradicate Child Labour

• Raising awareness about child labour can be the first step to eradicating child labour. If people, especially parents, are aware of the consequences of child labour, they might not force their children to work in hazardous places. 
• Traffickers prey on vulnerable children, especially those who come from poor families and are not aware of child labour. Awareness ensures growth and opportunities in education, employment and career.
• There is an urgent need for stringent laws against child labour. Strict laws against child labour can bring long-lasting social changes. In India, child labour is a crime. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act of 1986, children below the age are prohibited from working. However, this law is not strictly enforced.
• Today, various NGOs are working in collaboration with local and state governments to implement pro-child laws.
• Education must be made compulsory and accessible to all. In India, the Right to Education is a fundamental right. Yet, a lot of children are deprived of this basic constitutional right. Strict laws and easy access to education can bring a big change, ending child labour in the country.

Also Read: Essay on Summer Vacation in 100, 250 and 350 words

10 Lines to Add in Child Labour Essay

Here are 10 lines on child labour. Feel free to add them to your child labour essay or similar topics.

• Child labour deprives children of their right to a proper childhood.
• It involves children working in harmful environments. 
• It Disrupts their physical and mental well-being.
• Poverty is a major factor pushing children into the workforce at an early age.
• Lack of access to education often perpetuates the cycle of child labour.
• Children engaged in labour are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
• Hazardous conditions in factories and mines pose serious health risks to working children.
• Child labour hinders the development of necessary skills and knowledge for the future.
• Long working hours and limited leisure time impact a child’s social and emotional growth.
• Addressing the root causes, such as poverty and lack of education, is crucial in the fight against child labour.

Ans: Child labour refers to the practice of employing young children in hazardous places like factories and mines. Child labour exploits children for their basic childhood rights and hampers their physical and mental growth. According to the International Labour Organization, the minimum age for work is 15 years. However, some countries have set the minimum working age at 14 years.

Ans: Poverty and Unemployment, Lack of Access to Education, Law of Enforcement Laws, Debt Bondage, etc. are some of the primary causes of child labour.

Ans: Child labour is banned in India. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, of 1986, no child below 14 years of age is allowed to work in hazardous or domestic places, like factories, mines or shops.

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Child Labor Essay: Thesis, Examples, & Writing Guide [2024]

Children have always been apprentices and servants all over human history. However, the Industrial Revolution increased the use of child labor in the world. It became a global problem that is relevant even today when such employment is illegal.

The principal causes of child labor are as follows:

• Poverty, as kids have to work to support their families.
• Lack of access to education or its low quality.
• Culture, as some countries encourage kids to earn their pocket money.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy.

The information you will find in this article can help you write a good child labor essay without any problems. Our professional writers gathered facts and tips that can help you with a paper on this topic. Nail your essay writing about child labor: thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion.

• 📜 How to Write
• ❓ Brief History
• ⚖️ Laws Today

🔗 References

📜 child labor argument essay: how to write & example.

Let’s start with tips on writing a child labor essay. Its structure depends on the type of your assignment : argumentative, persuasive, for and against child labor essay.

There’s nothing new in the essay structure: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, you should pay close attention to your thesis statement about child labor as the subject is quite delicate.

Below you’ll find the essential information on what to write in your assignment:

• The introduction may present the general meaning of the term “child labor.” In this part of your child labor essay, you may say that child labor means the work of children that aims at exploiting and harming them.
• The thesis statement should reveal your position on the issue. It’s the central idea of the paper. It may sound like “Not every kind of child labor is supposed to be exploitive.” Think about the phrasing of your child labor thesis statement.
• What are the reasons for the issue today? In this part of your essay, you have to present why child labor is widely-spread nowadays. Are there some positive factors for it?
• What jobs can be done by children? Give a list of possible careers, and present short descriptions of the duties children have to fulfill. Explain your job choice.
• How can we reduce child labor? Elaborate on why taking care of our young generation is crucial. What would you offer to reduce child labor?
• The conclusion of child labor essays should summarize everything that was said in the body. It should present the final idea that you have come up with while conducting your research. Make a point by approving or disapproving your thesis statement about child labor. Don’t repeat the central idea, but rather restate it and develop. If you’re not sure about what to write, you can use a summary machine to help you out.

We hope that now you have some ideas on what to write about. Nevertheless, if you still need some help with writing , you can check the child labor essay example:

For more facts to use in your essay, see the following sections.

❓ Brief History of Child Labor

The involvement of child labor became increasingly popular during the Industrial revolution . The factories ensured the growth in the overall standard of living, a sharp drop in the mortality rate in cities, including children. It caused unprecedented population growth. And with the help of machines, even physically weak people could work.

Operating power-driven machines did not require high qualification, but the child’s small height often was a better option. They could be installed quite closely to save the factory space. Some children worked in coal mines, where adults couldn’t fit.

Thus, child labor has become an indispensable and integral part of the economy.

Even special children’s professions were formed. For example, there were scavengers and scribes in the cotton factories:

• Scavengers had to be small and fast. They crawled all day under the spinning looms, collected the fallen pieces of cotton, inhaled cotton dust, and dodged the working mechanisms.
• Scribes walked around the shop and sorted the threads that ran along with the machine. It was estimated that the child was passing about 24 miles during the working day.

Needless to say, that child labor conditions were far from perfect. The situation began to change in the early 1900s during social reform in the United States. The restricting child labor laws were passed as part of the progressive movement.

During the Great Depression , child labor issues raised again because of lacking open jobs to adults. The National Industrial Recovery Act codes significantly reduced child labor in America.

What about today?

Child labor today in wealthy countries accounts for 1% of the workforce. At the same time, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) , the highest ranges of working children are in Africa (32%), Asia (22%), and Latin America (17%).

🧒 Causes of Child Labor

Speaking about child labor, you should understand the factors that lead to children employment:

• Poverty . According to ILO, it is one of the significant causes of child labor. Children have to work to support their families. Sometimes up to 40% of a household income is the child’s salary.
• Lack of access to education . An absence of school or its distant location and low quality of education affect children around the globe. Unaffordable tuition in local schools drives children to harmful labor.
• Culture . In some developing countries, it is common for children and adolescents to help their parents in a family business. They earn their pocket money because people believe such work allows children to develop skills and build character. Other cultures value girls’ education less than boys, so girls are pushed to provide domestic services.
• The growth of a low-paying informal economy. This macroeconomic factor explains acceptability and demand for child labor.

⚖️ Child Labor Laws Today

Don’t forget to mention current labor laws and regulations in your child labor assignment. You can mention slavery and human trafficking linked to the issue even today. You may refer to international laws or analyze legislative acts in different countries.

For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act determines age restrictions, jobs allowed for teenagers, and necessary paperwork.

Other acts, programs, and initiatives you should mention are:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
• Minimum Age Convention
• Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention
• Australia’s and UK’s Modern Slavery Acts
• National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020
• International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
• Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993

When writing about child laws against child labor, you may also explore the best and worst countries for children’s work conditions.

You may also mention child labor incidents:

• UNICEF’s report on using enslaved children in cocoa production.
• Child labor in Africa’s cobalt, copper, and gold mines.
• GAP, Zara, Primark, H&M’s products made with cotton, which may have been picked by children. You can also find extra information on companies that use child labor.
• Child labor in silk weaving factories.

Child Labor Essay Examples

• Child labor’s negative impact on human development . 
• Child labor and social worker interventions . 
• Child labor in the fashion industry . 
• Child labor, its forms, and disputable issues . 
• Ethics in business: child labor in the chocolate industry.  
• Samsung and child labor: business ethics case . 
• Child labor’s role in westernization and globalization . 

Child Labor Essay Topics

• Analyze the connection between poverty and child labor.  
• Discuss the reasons for the high trafficking of children rates.   
• Explain why child labor is among topical issues in the modern world.  
• What can be done to reduce child trafficking rates?  
• Explore the ways labor unions help to fight child labor.    
• Describe the child labor laws around the world and evaluate their effectiveness.  
• Analyze the cases of child exploitation in sweatshops in developing countries. 
• Discuss the social issues connected with child labor .   
• Examine the impact of child labor on children’s physical and mental health.  
• The role of UNICEF in the abolition of child labor and exploitation.  
• Child trafficking as a primary human rights issue.  
• The absence of adequate punishment is the reason for increased child slavery rates.
•  Analyze if current measures to prevent child exploitation are sufficient enough.  
• Discuss how social media platforms facilitate child trafficking .   
• Examine the social impact of child exploitation and trafficking .  
• Describe how the attitude towards child labor depends on the specifics of the country’s culture.  
• Explore how Zara’s use of child labor influenced its public image.  
• What organizations deal with commercial child exploitation prevention?  
• What can a healthcare professional do to help the victims of child exploitation ?  
• Analyze the urgency of creating an effective program for the recovery of child trafficking victims .  
• Discuss the laws regulating child labor in different countries.  
• Explain the connection between the level of education in the country and child labor rates.  
• The role of parents in the success of child labor and exploitation prevention.  
• Explore the history of child labor.  
• Can labor be the way to teach children about basic life skills?  
• The disastrous effect of child trafficking on the mental health of its victims.  
• Discuss the problems connected with child trafficking and exploitation investigation.
• Examine the cases of using child soldiers in modern armed conflicts.  
• Analyze the role of international organizations in saving child soldiers.  
• The use of abducted children as frontline soldiers in Uganda.  
• What can be done to overcome the issue of child soldiers in the near future?  
• Discuss what fashion brands can do to prevent the use of child labor in overseas sweatshops .
• Explain why young workers are more vulnerable to exploitation compared to adult workers.
•  Explore the issue of child labor and exploitation in the Industrial Age .  
• Analyze how child labor affects the education of children . 
• Describe the business ethics of child labor.  
• Who is responsible for the use of child labor at tea plantations?   
• Examine the reasons for using child labor in mining in the 19 th century . 
• Employing child labor as one of the most widespread violations of children’s rights .
• Discuss the motives that push children to participate in labor.  

How old were you when you got your first job? Was it hard? Share with us your experience and advice in the comments below! Send this page to those who might require help with their child labor essay.

• Child Labor Issues and Challenges: NIH
• Child Labor: World Vision Australia
• Essay Structure: Harvard University
• Child Labor: Human Rights Watch
• Child Labor: Laws & Definition: History.com
• Child Labor: Our World in Data
• History of Child Labor in the United States, Part 1: Little Children Working: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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Essays on Child Labour

How to write a child labor essay, introduction: understanding child labor.

• Definition of child labor: Explain what child labor is and provide a brief overview of the different types of child labor that exist (e.g. bonded labor, forced labor, hazardous work).
• The extent of the problem: Highlight the prevalence of child labor around the world and provide statistics to support your claims.
• The impact on children: Discuss the negative impact that child labor has on children's health, education, and overall well-being.

Body: Writing a Comprehensive Essay on Child Labor

Section 1: the causes of child labor, section 2: the effects of child labor, section 3: the laws and policies surrounding child labor, section 4: the solutions to child labor, anecdotal hook.

Imagine a world where children as young as six years old toil away in dangerous factories instead of attending school and playing. This was the harsh reality of child labor during the Industrial Revolution.

Question Hook

Is child labor a relic of the past, or does it still persist in the shadows of our global economy? Explore the contemporary implications of child labor and efforts to eradicate it.

Quotation Hook

"The hands that help build the nation should be small and tender." — Karl Marx. Analyze the profound social and economic commentary within this quote as it relates to child labor issues.

Statistical or Factual Hook

Did you know that as of 2021, approximately 152 million children worldwide are engaged in child labor? Examine the global scope of child labor and its devastating consequences.

Definition Hook

What constitutes child labor, and how is it different from age-appropriate work or chores? Define the key terms and concepts related to child labor for a deeper understanding.

Rhetorical Question Hook

Can we ensure the rights and welfare of children while respecting cultural and economic diversity, or is child labor an absolute evil that must be eradicated at all costs? Delve into the ethical dilemmas surrounding this issue.

Historical Hook

Step back in time to the 19th century and explore the origins of child labor during the Industrial Revolution. Investigate the conditions that forced children into factories and mines.

Contrast Hook

Contrast the stark realities of child labor in the 19th century with the progress made in the 21st century to combat this issue. Assess the effectiveness of international conventions and national laws.

Narrative Hook

Meet a survivor of child labor who overcame adversity to become an advocate for children's rights. Follow their personal journey and commitment to ending this global problem.

Shocking Statement Hook

Prepare to be shocked by stories of children forced to work in hazardous conditions, deprived of their childhoods, and denied access to education. These stories reveal the urgent need to address child labor.

Negative Side of Child Labor: Arguments

Child labor as a major social issue, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

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Child Labour: a Modern Form of Slavery

Ethical issue of child labour, child labour should be stopped, child labor was crucial for the industrial revolution, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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The Problem of Child Labour in The World

Child labor: the main problem of children, child labor during the 19th century, research in child labour in asia, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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The Cause and Present Status of Child Labour

The causes, effects, magnitude of problem, and the roles of a specialist on child labour in india, child labour in third world countries, a study on child labour working in farms, child labor in myanmar, discussion on the usage of child labor in the world, the pros and cons of child labor in the globalized world, an introduction to the history of child labour in china, problematising the concept of child labour in a capitalist and heteronormative society, the issue of child labour in india, poor working conditions and work abuse at nike, the problems related to sweatshops and solutions to it, the influence of industrial revolution on children and families, the dark side of chocolate: unveiling exploitation and trafficking, the dark side of chocolate: child labor in cocoa production, understanding forced labor: exploring exploitation and solutions.

1. Grootaert, C., & Kanbur, R. (1995). Child labour: An economic perspective. Int'l Lab. Rev., 134, 187. 2. Ray, R. (2000). Analysis of child labour in Peru and Pakistan: A comparative study. Journal of population economics, 13, 3-19. 3. Fors, H. C. (2012). Child labour: A review of recent theory and evidence with policy implications. Journal of Economic Surveys, 26(4), 570-593. 4. Thévenon, O., & Edmonds, E. (2019). Child labour: Causes, consequences and policies to tackle it. 5. Dessy, S. E., & Pallage, S. (2005). A theory of the worst forms of child labour. The Economic Journal, 115(500), 68-87. 6. Donnelly, P. (1997). Child labour, sport labour: Applying child labour laws to sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 32(4), 389-406. 7. O'Donnell, O., Van Doorslaer, E., & Rosati, F. C. (2002). Child labour and health: Evidence and research issues. Understanding Children's Work Programme Working Paper. 8. Goulart, P., & Bedi, A. S. (2008). Child labour and educational success in Portugal. Economics of Education Review, 27(5), 575-587. 9. Agbo, M. C. (2017). The health and educational consequences of child labour in Nigeria. Health science journal, 11(1), 1. 10. Cunningham, H., & Viazzo, P. P. (1800). Some issues in the historical study of child labour. Child Labour in Historical Perspective, 1985, 11-22.

1. Grootaert, C., & Kanbur, R. (1995). Child labour: An economic perspective. Int'l Lab. Rev., 134, 187. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/intlr134&div=23&id=&page=) 2. Ray, R. (2000). Analysis of child labour in Peru and Pakistan: A comparative study. Journal of population economics, 13, 3-19. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s001480050119) 3. Fors, H. C. (2012). Child labour: A review of recent theory and evidence with policy implications. Journal of Economic Surveys, 26(4), 570-593. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2010.00663.x) 4. Thévenon, O., & Edmonds, E. (2019). Child labour: Causes, consequences and policies to tackle it. (https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/child-labour_f6883e26-en) 5. Dessy, S. E., & Pallage, S. (2005). A theory of the worst forms of child labour. The Economic Journal, 115(500), 68-87. (https://academic.oup.com/ej/article-abstract/115/500/68/5085674) 6. Donnelly, P. (1997). Child labour, sport labour: Applying child labour laws to sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 32(4), 389-406. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/101269097032004004?journalCode=irsb) 7. O'Donnell, O., Van Doorslaer, E., & Rosati, F. C. (2002). Child labour and health: Evidence and research issues. Understanding Children's Work Programme Working Paper. (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1780320) 8. Goulart, P., & Bedi, A. S. (2008). Child labour and educational success in Portugal. Economics of Education Review, 27(5), 575-587. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775707000969) 9. Agbo, M. C. (2017). The health and educational consequences of child labour in Nigeria. Health science journal, 11(1), 1. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/bd022cc34441508da4a891b92b6a2b35/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=237822) 10. Cunningham, H., & Viazzo, P. P. (1800). Some issues in the historical study of child labour. Child Labour in Historical Perspective, 1985, 11-22. (https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/hisper_childlabour_low.pdf#page=13)

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Essay On Child Labor [ Causes, Impacts & Solutions ]

Child Labor is one of the worst social problems facing most of the countries worldwide. The basic human rights of children are violated severely. here we have written best essay on child labour its causes and impacts.

There are many causes of child labor including poverty, illiteracy, injustice etc. Read here Essays, articles, speeches on Child labor, facts and statistics, impacts, possible solutions and remedies of child labor etc. These essays are written in narrative, descriptive manner with outline, introduction, quotes, headings, facts and figures etc.

These essays are equally helpful for all class students including primary, high school and college level students. Read online, download pdf and share with your friends.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); class="wp-block-heading"> Essays on Child Labor | Causes & Impacts of Child Labor

The child labor is very rigorous issue. This issue prevails all across the world. However, the major cases of child labor and violation are reported from Asia and other third world countries. It is the time that we need to take serious steps to curb the menace of child labor in the world.

1. Essay On Child Labor – Types, Factors, Impacts

Child Labour is defined as the employment of children often forceful or unreasonable. It is considered as one of the heinous crime. Child Labour is also known as the making children work specially belonging to 8 to 15 years of age.

This is the age of educating them so that they grow and find opportunities to excel in their lives.  Instead of education they are forced to work.  It not only deprive them of their childhood but destroy their whole life. It is observed that most of the poverty stricken families engage their kids at work to earn in order to meet the necessities and needs of life.

Types & Facts about Child Labor

There are two types of child Labour; One is debt bondage child Labour, while second one is children’s employment to supplement family’s income. Sometimes child Labour is practiced to repay the debts of their families from the employer or landlord.

Recently a worldwide report has unveiled that around 218 million children throughout the world ranging from 5 to 15 years of age are employed at work in different sectors. According to world statistics there are about 72.1 million children employed as child Labour.

The regions of Asia and pacific have 62.1 million child labours. Even,  America bears 10.7 million child labours. Furthermore, the countries of  central Asia and Europe have 5.5 million and Arab states 1.2 million child labor respectively.

Major causes of Child Labor

The biggest caused behind the child Labour is the rampant poverty. Poor families are entirely helpless to fulfill their basic requirements. They are naturally compelled to send their children to work at different sectors. Poverty is the significant driving factor behind the child Labour. Even a united nations agency UNICEF has stated poverty as the biggest cause of child Labour.

Child Labour has grown with the rise of industrial revolution . All industrial societies are also a cause of child Labour growth.  The repression of the rights of children is also a biggest cause of child Labour.

The unemployment is also another cause of child Labour. Lack of proper education is the main factor. There is no free education to poor families. They can’t afford education expenditure and finally decide to engage their children at work. Unnoticeable social control and limited laws have raised child Labour.

Impacts of Child Labour

Child Labour cuts the growth of children and deprives them of their childhood. In different factories they suffer from many diseases as they are not provided medical aid. They live in unhygienic conditions. Illiteracy leads them to be backward in society. They hardly find any opportunity to succeed in life.

They become victim of leading a solitary life . These children are unable to find an open platform to excel in their lives. It leaves an adverse effects on the lives of children. This ultimately drags them into uncertainty of life. They hardly find any possibility of progress and betterment in life.  It destroys them physically and mentally.

Children become victims of mental disorders like depression.  Eventually they start using drugs.  Children live under hazardous, non sociable and pathetic conditions of life where there is no hope in life.  It is a biggest barrier to attain social and economic development.

Way Forward: How to Prevent Child Labour?

In order to eliminate child Labour there is need of formulation and implementation of strict laws. Government must take initiative to punish the perpetrators. If any person or organization is found involved in child Labour they must be imprisoned.

All the sectors where children are employed specially garment industries, brick kilns, fireworks and agricultural sector must be warned and enforced with policies and laws to prevent child Labour.

All competent authorities must have an eye on all sectors.  If ever they find any sector breaking laws enforced to reduce child Labour, it  must be treated accordingly so that this crime could be eliminated.

New laws must be enacted to prohibit engagement of children at work places. As India is exercising two main laws Juvenile Justice, (care and protection) of children Act-2000, and child Labour (prohibition and abolition) Acg-1986. All other laws relating to children are based on these two laws.

Education is the basic right of every children. It must be ensured that all children get education equally. Unions should be organized which visit poor families and establish contract with poor parents to educate their children. The parents also must cooperate for the education of their children.

Child trafficking must be banned in order to help reduce child Labour. It is also necessary to provide employment opportunities to poor families so that they overcome poverty and educate their children their children.

Children are the future of the nation.  All nations must take immediate and urgent actions to eliminate the increasing crime of child Labour to develop and prosper. Child Labour is an abuse, if this crime will not be controlled and addressed properly it will cause social and economic decline of the nations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Children under 18 years working in various industries are the best example of child labour

In simple words child Labour refers to children (below 18) works in various industries as a labour.

In these days most of child labour is found in Africa and south asia.

To prevent Child labour we should protest and government should introduce strict laws against child labour.

Illiteracy, Unemployment, poverty are the main reasons of child labour.

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Essay on Child Labour

List of essays on child labour in english, essay on child labour – essay 1 (100 words), essay on child labour – essay 2 (250 words), essay on child labour – essay 3 (300 words), essay on child labour – essay 4 (400 words), essay on child labour – essay 5 (450 words), essay on child labour – essay 6 (750 words), essay on child labour – essay 7 (800 words), essay on child labour – essay 8 (1000 words).

Introduction:

Child Labour means indulging the children in arduous labour which affects their physical and mental development and exploiting their potential to grow up with dignity.

UNICEF Facts:

UNICEF shows that about 10.1 million children in India are engaged in Work , thereby constituting 13% of the workforce in India. The age limit of these children ranges between 5 to 14 years.

Challenges & Steps to Be Taken:

Child labour doesn’t follow pattern and happens in all walks from within families to factories. Hence, the mindset of the society should be changed to emphasize that children must go to school and adults should be employed.

Conclusion:

Government should make stricter laws to eradicate child labour. NGOs should pitch in to these avenues and empower these children to a brighter future.

Any work that snatches away the dignity, potential and most importantly the childhood of a child is termed as child labour. Child labour has often been associated with work that is harmful to the physical as well as mental development of the child. Unfortunately, the most number of child labour cases in the world are reported from India every year. But what has eventually led us to adopt this otherwise disrespected practice?

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR:

Lack of social security, hunger and poverty are the fundamental drivers of child labour. The expanding gap between the rich and poor people, privatization of fundamental organisations and the neo-liberal monetary strategies are causes of significant areas of the population remaining out of business and without essential needs. This antagonistically influences kids more than some other age groups. A significant concern is that the real number of child workers goes un-distinguished. Laws that are intended to shield youngsters from unsafe work are ineffectual and not executed accurately.

MEASURES TO STOP CHILD LABOUR:

Elimination of poverty, the abolition of child trafficking and compulsory and free education and training can help diminish the issue of child labour. Strict implementation of work laws is additionally a basic requirement with the end goal to counteract abuse by organisations. Amendments in the present child labour laws are required to actually take control of the situation. The base of the age of fourteen years should be expanded to something like eighteen. Then only we can put an end to the continuous harassment faced by our kids and help them have a bright future not only for themselves for the nation as a whole.

Child labour is a social issue in India and abroad where kids are exploited by organized and unorganized sectors of industry. The issue of child labour is quite prominent in dominating countries like India where families belonging to poor or weaker sections push their kids to work to earn instead of educating them. Such kids are easy prey for industries that are always on the look for cheap labour. It is estimated that around 70-90 million children in India are engaged in some sort of industry work. Of the total number of children working in the industry. 15% is approved by the Child Labour Act while 85% of them are illegally employed.

Child Labour Act in India was introduced 10 years back to protect the rights of the children. Unfortunately, even after a recorded number of child labour in various industries, there has not been a single reported case of child exploitation or illegal child labour. There is no forum in place to protect their rights and expose the exploiters. Child labour is a crime to humanity as kids below the age of 18 years are pushed to work in coal industries, construction, fireworks and more. They are forced to work as domestic help, brick kiln workers and bid rollers against their abilities and without seeking their consent.

It is saddening to know that the country where children are regarded as the future are forced to work for money. Another staggering fact is that children belonging to the affluent family takes up job in industries out of excitement and to earn extra money. In short, cultural and economic factors interact in India to encourage kids to work.

The issue of child labour can be dealt with only after understanding the real cause behind kids working in the industries. The children should be encouraged to speak up for themselves and say no to child labour.

Child labor is an important topic that is being debated as a serious social issue all around the world. Keeping the society aware of this issue will help to avoid such illegal and inhuman activity from destroying the lives of many children.

Child Labor is something that replaces the normal activities a child, like education, playing, etc., by economic activities. These economic activities may be paid or unpaid work, which benefits the family of the child or the owner the child work’s for. The age limit is restricted to fourteen years or even seventeen years in case of dangerous works.

Reason for Child Labor:

Children may be forced to do child labor because of poverty and financial problems in their family. Many owners accept child labors since they only need a less amount as salary or even some accept non-monetary jobs too.

Children are often made to do such hard jobs by their irresponsible parents. They send their kids for domestic works for the money as well as for food they get through these works. These demanding works often spoil the childhood and give a harder way of living to the kid.

Parents allow their children for such jobs because of lack of awareness too. When they are too poor to take admissions in schools and the lack of good schools in their locality may also lead to such activities.

Types of Child Labor:

Not all form of jobs done by children are considered as child labor, but there are some things to note while categorizing them. Whether the job done mentally, morally, physically and socially affect the child in a dangerous way? Does the job done affect their education and other childhood activities like playing? The job they do shouldn’t be both tiring and excessive that they are forced to avoid other activities they should be doing in their age. These are the characteristics of Child Labor.

In extreme ways, there are owners who treat children like slaves and separate them from their families to do such hard jobs. Whatever be the job done, child labor depends on the age of the kid involved, type of activity and hours of work they do per day.

As a conclusion, children are meant to be enjoying their childhood and should be allowed to educate themselves at early ages. There are many schemes introduced by the government to reduce such child labors like providing free education and taking severe actions against those who promote child labor.

Child labor is illegal exploitation of children below the age 18. It is a cognizable criminal offense. Indian Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and subsequent amendment of CLPR Act1986 prohibits employing children below the age of 14. Children under the age of 14 even should not be employed as domestic help. However, children between 14 and 18 categorized as ‘adolescent’ and can be employed if it does not violate the Factories Act, 1948.

Child labor is a bane to any country. It is a shameful practice and rampant more in developing and underdeveloped countries. Child labor is a hot topic in India among intellectual communities and political circles; still this social evil is seamlessly being practiced in our country, with the blessing of bureaucracy and political patronage. It is high time to eradicate child labor from our society and punish the unscrupulous people who have been continuing the evil practice.

The development of any nation begins with the welfare of children. At an age adorned with colors and pranks, the tiny tots wither away their innocence in hazardous working conditions devoid of any childish fantasies.

At a tender age, the toddlers take up responsibilities to feed their families, and there could be many reasons that might have forced the children to work as a breadwinner. They strive hard day and night to feed their entire family. They sacrifice their lives, for their family even without knowing the personal repercussions in their later life.

This trend must have to stop at any cost. A practical solution to keep this social menace at bay is to organize awareness programs and introduce stringent laws which force children not to work or employ them as child labor. Some unscrupulous and merciless people appoint them because of cheap labor, as they have no bargaining power or no other choice but to succumb to their destiny.

Parents from the vulnerable section required proper advice and counseling to make them understand the importance of education. The government should come forward to identifying such families by offering social security without cast and religion consideration. The government should provide free boarding education for such financially backward communities, irrespective of any consideration. The only consideration must be their financial status.

Moreover, the existing laws pertaining to child labor must have, and if required, a proper amendment should be made to the Child Labor Act to stop the social evil system. Then only our dreams of a child labor free India, come true.

Greedy employees, poverty, poor financial background, lack of education are the main reason for child labor. It is the responsibility of government, social organization and society to address the issue for finding a permanent solution. Children are the asset of the nation. When they fail, the country fails, period.

One of the cruelest crimes that are done to the children is the child labor in which the kids are forced to do work at a tiny age. They are compelled to earn like adults for supporting their families economically. As per the International Labour Organization, the children who have not attained the age of 15 should not get forcefully involved in any kind of work.

Employing children in work at an early age make their childhood deprived of the right to education along with the lack of mental, physical and social welfare. Child labor is prohibited in certain nations, but still, it is a global concern in maximum countries for rescinding the kid’s future predominantly.

As per the Indian law, the children under the 14 years of age should not be hired to any work at the workshops, organizations or restaurants. Their parents cannot also force them to do any job.

Different Causes of Child Labour:

There are numerous causes of child labor like repression of child rights, poverty, improper education, limited rules and laws on child labor, etc. The reasons for the child labor are almost the same in different nations.

The following are the various causes of child labor:

i. The high level of unemployment and the problem of poverty in developing countries are the primary cause of child labor. As per the statistics of U.N. in the year 2005, over 1/4 th of the people globally are living below the poverty line.

ii. The lack of right to regular education is one of the reasons for child labor in numerous nations. According to the research done in the year, 2006, nearly 76 million kids have not seen the face of the school.

iii. Violating the regulations about the child labor has also provided the way to enlarge this problem in developing nations.

iv. Insufficient social control has resulted in an increasing percentage of child labor in the region of domestic work or agriculture.

v. Small kids have to get involved in the child labor to add up in the income of their family so that they can eat food for at least two times a day.

vi. They are employed by the industries at the decreased labor expenses to get extra work done.

Probable Solutions to the Child Labour

With the purpose to eradicate the problem of: child labor from society, there is the necessity to follow certain effective way out on a serious basis to protect the future of an emerging nation.

Below are some probable solutions to avoid the issue of child labor:

i. Constructing new unions might benefit in stopping child labor since it will inspire more people to support against the point of child labor.

ii. The parents should consider the education of their children as the priority from their childhood. In this movement, the schools should also cooperate by providing free education to the children without any obstruction.

iii. There should be a high level of social awareness regarding child labor with the accurate statistics of enormous damage in the future for any emerging nation.

iv. Every single family should earn their minimum earnings with the purpose of surviving and preventing the problem of child labor. It will also decrease the number of people living below the poverty line in the country which ultimately reduces the child labor cause.

v. There is the requirement of more strict and effective government rules against the child employment with the aim of preventing the kids from working at their early age.

vi. The issue of child trafficking must be abolished by the different nation’s governments.

vii. The child laborers must be substituted by the adult labors so that the adult can get the job and kids get free from the child labor.

viii. The opportunities for employment for the adults must be increased for adults to decrease the issue of poverty as well as child labor.

ix. Trade proprietors of manufacturing work, businesses, mines, etc., must have the pledge of not employing any kid in any labor.

Child labor is one of the broad social issues that require getting resolved on an urgent basis. This step is incomplete without the support of parents as well as the government. Kids carry a flourishing prospect of any developing nation. Thus, they should be a considerable concern of all the citizens.

Children should get appropriate chance to grow and develop inside the contented surroundings of school and family. People should not use them for their earnings or for-profit motive. Children have full right to live their personal life with proper education.

Children are a gift and blessing to a family. They deserve the unconditional love and care of the parents. It is inhuman to take advantage of their innocence and helplessness. However in India, a lot of children are being subjected to child labour, probably due to lack of awareness. They are deprived of a happy and normal childhood.

Meaning of Child Labour:

Child Labour involves engaging children to produce goods or services for financial gain. It denies their right to attend regular school and enjoy a happy childhood. It rips their capacity in the bud to have a good future. It affects the overall development of their physical and mental faculties.

When children are involved in full or part time work, it affects their schooling, recreation and rest. However, any work to promote and develop the child’s capability without affecting these three components is encouraged positively.

Causes of Child Labour:

Poverty is the foremost cause of child labour in India. Indian children have the history of labouring with their parents in their professional activities. It may seem right for the poverty-stricken parents to involve their children in labour for the sake of their family’s welfare. However, the right of that child for education and normal childhood is denied in the process.

Some illiterate parents often subject their children to bonded labour. Unaware of the exorbitant interest rates, they exploit their children by allowing to labour against their debt. Sometimes, the non-availability of affordable education in the villages are a cause of child labour.

When parents are sick or disabled, the need to earn the living falls squarely on the children’s shoulders. In such cases, they are not in a position to abide by the law. Rather than stealing and begging, they tend to allow their children to labour at a young age.

Sometimes, greediness of men play a part in child labour. The parents, who wish to increase the economic status of the family subject their children to labour. The employers, on their part, prefer child labourers against adults, taking advantage of the low labour cost.

Some families traditionally believe that the next generation should continue their family business. The children of these families are restricted to pursue their own goals in terms of education and career. In the Indian Society, there are still people who believe that girl children are fit only for domestic chores. So, girls often lose their right for education and normal childhood.

Child Labour Laws in India:

Child labour laws were formulated to prevent child labour, monitor and punish violators, and rehabilitate the victims.

They were laid down as early as 1938 during the colonial rule. But, year after year, during the various Government regimes, several amendments were made.

In the 1974 policy, children were declared as “nation’s supremely important asset.” The need to prioritize their welfare in national plans was recognised. The overall development of their sound spirit, soul and body was emphasized.

The 2003 policy underlined the right of the child to enjoy a happy childhood, to clear the causes that dampen their development, to educate the society to strengthen family ties and to protect them from all kinds of mistreatment.

In the 2013 policy, the rights of the child to survive, to enjoy good health, to be nourished with nutritious food, to have overall development of their personality, their opportunity for good education, their protection from abuse and participation in decision-making of their future life were the key priorities. This policy is due for review every five years.

Solutions to Child Labour:

The Government is working close with social agencies and common public to solve the issues of child labour.

Online Portal:

Since 1988, National Child Labour Project Scheme (NCLPS) started to reinstate the rescued child labourers working in hazardous occupations. When children are rescued, they are enrolled in Special Training Centres and given education, meals, stipend, health care and recreation. Eventually, they are directed towards mainstream education. Adolescents rescued are given skilled trainings and suitable jobs.

The present Government has revived this scheme in 2017 with the latest use of technology to register child labour complaints online. With aims to eradicate child labour, the PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) Portal serves to receive complaints, rescues the child with the help of local police and tracks the progress until he/she is successfully enrolled in a school or vocational training.

Sensitization:

Since the community and local governance have definite roles in the welfare of a child, many programmes are being conducted to create awareness and sensitize the common people. Several coordination and action groups have been formed at State and District levels to monitor. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is the nodal Ministry that oversees and coordinates the implementation of the current policy.

Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi, the Indian Children’s Rights Activist, believes that child labour could be abolished only through collaborative action, dedication at political level, sufficient capital and compassion for the needy children. The Government and the stakeholders like him, with their organisations, are working closely to root out this social evil by 2025.

About Child Labor:

In India, child labor refers to the hiring of any child below the age of 14 for the purpose of any economic benefits. In other words, it is illegal for an organization, including shops and factories to engage a child in their business for physical labor. This especially holds true for employment with occupational hazards, such as coal mines, welding, construction works, and painting, etc.

Though constitution makes employing the kids for laborious works a punishable offense, data says otherwise. Many national and international laws have been created to give these children protection from child labor but ground reality is something else. In India alone, more than 50 million children are forced into child labor for one or the other reasons.

Major Causes of Child Labor:

First of all, poverty strikes a major percentage of the total population of India. Life in rural areas of villages is even more difficult. The poor economic condition and low standard of living pave the way for child labor. To compensate for the daily needs of food and survival, both boys and girls are forced to work beyond their capacities. It is fair to say that they are left with no choice.

Lack of Education:

Lack of education in the rural areas means parents are less educated. Consequently, they also do not value the importance of school and education in the lives of their own children. In the scarcity of contraceptive awareness, couples end up having multiple children. Arranging three meals every day becomes an impossible task and the children learn it the hard way quite soon.

Gender Discrimination:

Girls are often prevented from going to school at a very low age. They are made to help in the fieldwork and the house chores as well. The story is not much different for the boys too. They quit school in order to take up some labor work in factories and farms and help their father in breadwinning.

Cheap Labor:

In big cities and towns, these factors may be absent but that doesn’t immune the urban areas from the child labor cases. Child labors are easy to afford. They can be made to do more tiring jobs at low pays. Often the owners would provide them little food and money for continuous hours of work. As these kids have no family support, they end up giving in to such exploitations.

Child Trafficking:

Child trafficking is also another factor that leads to child labor. Trafficked children have no home. They are sent to faraway place unknown to them. Ultimately, these little souls are pushed into extremely torturing and dangerous work conditions, such as prostitution, domestic helping, transport of drugs, etc.

Impacts of Child Labor:

Poor Physical and Mental Health:

Children at such a young age are gullible and vulnerable. Child labor affects their physical, mental, and emotional health in a severe way. They are deprived of their basic rights to education. Arduous physical strain and the burden of arranging their own food cause malnutrition in them.

Forced Maturity:

In order to survive in this world, they tend to become mature faster than they need to. Their childhood is lost and crushed with the bitter pressure of acting like an adult. The kind of affection and love needed at such a tender age is never available to them. Both parents and the owners are often highly demanding to them.

Physical Abuse:

Such consistent threats keep the children in a frightening state of mind all the time. There are increased chances of physical abuse. To cope up with these pressures, girls and boys fall victims to the drug abuse. Many more dangerous habits become a normal part of their lives.

Addiction and Sexual Abuse:

From taking drugs to selling them, alcohol addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, rape, emotional numbness, violence, are common things that surround their living conditions. Poor kids may also catch up these habits from their own parents or localities, where their parents or friends are showing these behaviors on a regular basis.

The situation becomes worse if these kids are physically handicapped. In villages and low-income groups, the adults struggle to arrange a proper livelihood for themselves. So, they begin to see girls and handicapped children as nothing more than a baggage. As a result, girls are sold off to marry old men and the kids are left to beg on the streets.

Challenges in Controlling Child Labor:

Unclear Laws:

While the laws to diminish the curse of child labor have been made, they are pretty vague in nature. For instance, most of the laws are unable to dictate strict guidelines for the unorganized sectors. Immunity from the dangerous works is not sufficient. Moreover, clear points should be laid out in terms of where and for how many hours can the children work (if they really need to).

Lack of Rehabilitation Plans:

Another issue that the authorities face is the lack of rehabilitation facilities for the children who have been saved from the devil grips of child labor. It becomes an unanswered question as to how these children should regain control of their new lives and start afresh. Proper counseling and nutrition play an indispensable role to help them thrive.

Lack of Awareness:

More awareness needs to be created in rural and urban areas. Adults including the parents should be taught about the negative impacts of child labor on the minds of children. They should also be explained about the power of education and the various schemes which promises a free basic education for kids. It is even more important to emphasize how the education empowers girls and makes their lives better.

Child labor is not just about forcing children to work. Its side effects are quite large and gruesome. It leaves a stain on the child’s mind. It interferes with their mental and emotional health and prevents their proper growth and development. It is a blemish on the face of humanity that must be erased as soon as possible.

After all, what kind of citizens do we expect them to grow into after such kinds of abuse? We need to think about it. Children are the future of our society, our country. We cannot hope for true growth and prosperity until and unless our young generation is safe and healthy in every way.

Child Labour , Child Labour in India , Social Issues

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Study Today

Largest Compilation of Structured Essays and Exams

Essay on Child Labour Causes, Effects, Solution & Prevention

July 24, 2020 by Study Mentor 7 Comments

Table of Contents

Child Labour – Essay 1

Introduction.

Life of the little ones is destroyed when they work in their childhood. Child labour is a common term that you hear in your everyday life. It is defined as work that deprives a child of his/her childhood and harms their mental and physical wellbeing.

According to ILO, any child below the age of 14 should not be involved in work for remuneration. It is a matter of concern in developing countries, like India, where there is a lack of awareness and education about a child’s health. They neglect the fact that children are the hope of their future.

It is a common practice to employ those children as domestic helper, shopkeeper’s assistants, etc. Child labor in the agriculture sector is common. Of course, it would be great when children could graduate a college and even keep in touch with a writer from  ib extended essay writing service  but, unfortunately, according to the conditions, their parents make them work in the fields instead of studying.

According to them, studying is not beneficial in any way, and their children should help them earn money. Their parents implant this mindset in their children also, and the child also believes the same thing. This mindset hampers the growth opportunity and development of the country.

Causes of Child Labour

The main reason for child labor to prevail in India is poverty. More than half of the country’s population belongs to the poor class. It usually happens when parents cannot afford the studies of their children, so they make them earn from a very tender age. It becomes a need to survive. Because in its absence, they won’t have enough money to have their daily bread.

Lack of Proper Education

Even after years of Independence, the children in our country are deprived of the fundamental right of education. It is a problem in the rural areas where there is no facility of education, and if something is available, it is miles away from their home.

Due to such administrative issues, child labor is so prevalent in India. At times children are forced to opt-out of school and end their studies because of financial problems. The worse affected are low-income families.

The Lure of Cheap Labour

There are shopkeepers, factory owners, and companies who employ these children so that they can pay them less. In this way, they hire labor and make a profit as well. They make these children work more than an adult would do as they can be easily manipulated and influenced, which leads to their exploitation.

Disease or Disability

There are families where the child is a sole earner as either his parents are dead or they are too sick to work. In such a situation, the parents have no other option but to send their child to work and earn the bread for the family. So, the children, instead of going to school, go to factories to work and financially support their family.

Consequences of Child Labour

Poor mental and physical health.

Children are very vulnerable at a young age. It affects their mental and physical health. Some studies show due to these works, children have stunted growth.

They also lose their innocence at an early age. The kind of care and attention a child needs growing up disappears because of the demands made from them.

Sexual Abuse-

There is sexual exploitation of both girls and boys. Some girls end up taking drugs, infected by HIV, STDs sometimes early and unwanted pregnancy. They get into the trap of prostitution or gets raped. In low-income families, girls are sold or married to older men by parents for some money.

No Education-

According to statistics, in developing countries, one-third of the child population fails to complete four years of their education. With the short-term benefits, they miss the educational qualifications and skills, which makes them lead the life of poverty. It is the lack of training that hinders their growth opportunity.

Physical Abuse-

There are various types of physical abuse, which involve cuts, burns, fractures, excessive fears, and nightmares. These consistent injuries leave an everlasting impact on a child’s mind.

To cope up with these fears and pressures, they end up abusing drugs. Ir tends to make them mature faster than usual. Childhood dreams get replaced by bitter realities.

Challenges in Controlling Child labor

Unclear laws-.

Child labor is not uniform. It takes place in many forms and types, depending on the kind of work a child has to do. The laws are vague, which does not help in combating the crime of child labor.

There are no strict guidelines that would protect the children from such horror. It is due to such complexity and no clear instructions that it becomes difficult to save a child from the grip of this crime.

Rehabilitation Problem-

The issue faced by the government and NGOs is that they lack the rehabilitation facility which the child might need. With no proper facilities available, they can fall on the grips of labor again.

For them to have a fresh start, those children need to feel the control of their new lives. These children need proper guidance and counseling to get better and achieve things in life.

Lack of Awareness-

Education will be the key to combat child labor. It is because of the lack of proper education and awareness; the families fall in this trap. There is a need for a proper awareness campaign to educate parents about the pitfalls of child labor.

The importance should be given on giving quality and relevant education. The mindset has to be changed in training young children to stop child labor.

Child labor act as a hindrance to the economic and social development of the country. It has to be resolved to have a better future. People and governments should come together to fight this evil.

Every child has a right to grow and prosper. It is the age of enjoyment and getting proper schooling. The children should not just be a mere means of having economic benefits for their family. It has many ill effects on a child’s mental health.

It leaves an impact which will haunt them all their adult life. So, to free our children from such evil, we need to make every effort to shape the future of children better. One has to create ways to help those kids upskill and support them to make sure the transition happens.

Child Labour – Essay 2

Child labour has been gripping the world at a very fast pace. But in India , this rate is quite alarming. This rate needs to be controlled as soon as possible not only in India but globally.

What is Child Labour?

In a broad sense, child labour simply means employing children illegally at workplaces. This is strictly prohibited under law and those who are caught employing children who have not attained working age will be treated by law.

Image Credit: Source

Though rules and regulations are not strict in India, the day is not far off when we would see our country working towards bringing an Empanelment that work for the rights of children.

Meaning & Definition of Child Labour

The actual definition of child labour can be technically explained as the fearless violation of the child rights act, wherein the act provides protection for the child and safeguards him by providing him with safeguards he is entitled to.

When child rights are not followed properly and the society misuses them to employ them in conditions unfit for their working, it is grossly equivalent to child abuse.

Child abuse and violation of child rights at workplace lead to a scenario that is discussed in the later part of this article.

Children under the age of 17 are strictly prohibited to take part in any kind of economic activity that will provide those wages.

In many cases they may be employed under worst conditions and may not even receive wages. So being part of a work environment, even if it’s for a few hours under the age of 17 is grossly treated as child labour.

Different types of Child Labour

In India, child labour occurs in various forms. Some of the most common types of child labour include bonded child labour , child labour in the mining industries , in manufacturing sectors, in domestic jobs, in fireworks industries and the worst of all, in the trafficking menace.

If we employ a small girl to work as a maid in our house and the girl happens to be under the age of 17, then that is treated as child abuse and we would be booked under Child Labour Act .

We can find many young boys and girls working in the fireworks and perfumed incense stick industries.

These kinds of tasks are easily performed by young boys and girls and they don’t have to be paid too much.

So, cheap labour is a cause of child labour in India.

In the manufacturing sector, children can be easily employed to do not-so-tough jobs like packaging work. These are identified as simple and can be done by small age groups with a little training.

Hence, not very high skills are required to employ children in this category. It works in both ways for the industries.

Firstly, the cost of employing a child would be definitely less compared to employing an adult, secondly, there is no training cost involved in teaching a child how to package things.

In the fireworks industry, particularly in the southern regions of India, there are huge factories employing children to work on fireworks.

Children are employed to coat the fireworks with a chemical substance that is not just harmful for their skin but may be hazardous to their health too.

In case of scented incense sticks, children employed in these types of industries tend to inhale the chemical coated on top of the incense sticks. Long term inhaling of these substances can cause injury to the respiratory system.

The bonded labour system is a banned system, for both adults and children. But in many remote parts of our country, these practices continue to exist and even children are made part of the inhuman practise.

A certain less known fact lies in employing children in cigarette industries. This is not talked about openly in the public since smoking itself is considered injurious to health.

Smoking ads have been banned by the government recently. Due to these strict norms, nobody discusses in the open about children being employed in their industries.

Rolling nicotine rolls and placing a tobacco may seem easy for any child to do, but the detrimental effects on thousands of children is hardly ever thought of.

So, these are some of the types of child labour that we commonly see in India. There are many more depending on the type of industry a particular child is associated with.

Child Labour in India

In India, child labour is a major problem because of the many reasons.

The fact that child labour is easily available and cost-effective puts it at the top most criteria for people to employ children blindly without taking note of their future.

For example, if we go to any suburban hotel in any part of our country, we are sure to spot at least one helper or cleaner being a guy under the age of 17.

Rules are made to prevent child labour acts. But the correct implementation of these rules is far from reality. There is no check in place. There are no officials who would check if these rules are strictly enforced.

So in India, the situation is more likely that rules and laws made are only for purposes of printing on paper and not beyond that.

The correct implementation of these rules would come to light when people start thinking about the children they have employed.

If we take our car to a service centre, we can find a whole lot of boys doing service work for the cars, cleaning them up, checking up the parts of the vehicles, etc.

The cheap labour these small guys are entitled to works as a double whammy for both the employer as well as the working guys. The employer makes a profit by employing small guys at cheap rates.

Guys whose families are stooped in misery and financial breakdowns are forced to go to work for making an earning to run the family.

Poverty and financial imbalances in society are therefore, trouble creators and their effects are seen directly on children.

Child labour laws in India

Some of the rules and acts enforced against carrying out child labour are given below:-

Free and fair education to all citizens of India in the age group of 6 to 14. Education for children in this bracket is declared compulsory too. (This is mentioned in the fundamental rights and directives of state policy.)

Child labour (Prohibition and regulation act) was formed in 1986 to protect children against working in factories under the age group of 14.

Persons found to be employing such children will be imprisoned for 3 months (extendable up to a year) and a fine imposed for INR 20,000.

A national policy on child labour was formulated in the year 1987.

The article 24 of the Indian constitution prohibits child labour in India.

The factories and Mines act also have special provisions to protect the rights of children.

These are just some of the rules and regulations present in India to protect children against child labour.

But the issue is about the effective implementation of these acts and ordinances which has not taken place as yet. If there were strict enforcement, children would not be employed so easily in various work forces.

People do not tend to the rules with fear, they know very well about the lenient nature of these regulations. Hence, approval or disapproval of these entitlements do not come into the picture in most of the cases.

Child Labour – A Big Social Menace in India

India is plagued by many social evils that bring a very bad picture to the nation and people belonging to the country.

Due to a certain section of the population that involves children in such activities, the entire society faces threat from becoming part of illegal activities.

Since long, there have always been cases of child labour thronging the country and have been a very bad impact on the society.

Today, looking at the facts and figures we can still claim that the situation hasn’t improved much in spite of strict enforcement of law and the judicial grounds.

It is high time we look into these aspects with deeper perspectives and set our thinking forces into action.

Child labour is a practice where children engage in economic activities on a full time basis. The practice deprives children of their childhood and is harmful to their physical and mental development.

The constitution of India, in its fundamental rights and Directive principles of state policy prohibits child labour below the age of 14 years. (Source Wikipedia )

Young children are enrolled in many business activities, house hold activities or forced to work in industries, totally ruining their future.

At a time when they should be attending school and play with other children, they are being enrolled in activities that deprive them of the very essence of childhood.

Many colors of child labour

There are countries which are facing worst form of child labour in the form of child slavery.

In such cases, they use children for illicit activities such a drug trafficking, exposing them to much hazardous work that is likely to harm the health, safety and morals of children.

It has been noticed that many industries such as coal mines and others that prepare chemicals like silicon, aluminum etc. employ children to carry out harmful tasks in their work areas.

This turns out to be even worse for the children as they end up suffering non curable disease and contract infections that may sometimes prove fatal also.

Child labour is not just an issue, it’s a social menace, right from the law makers to the normal citizen, everyone is involved in helping this social issue grow from its seeds to a big tree.

It has plagued India since time immemorial when strict enforcement’s were not prevalent.

Today, we find many people openly involving people in child labour activities and being proud of it as they are not afraid of lawmakers and are quite happy about doing so.  

There are several reasons behind the causes of child labour and over population being one of the biggest and major factors.

Other possible causes could be poverty, lack of social security, lack of proper education or no education, no visible alternative measures to make a livelihood.

Worst of all, the high prevalence of low income groups in a developing economy like India where rigid labour laws and numerous strict regulations are rampant make it even easier for the growth of child labour in the organized sector.

Girls are the ones who are the most deprived and underprivileged among all children.

Descriptive reasons for child labour in India

Overpopulation.

The population of India has been growing at an alarming stage and will soon cross China , which is currently holding the top position in terms of most populous country of the world.

In such a scenario where an underprivileged family has a minimum of three to four children, there is not much scope for people to earn well.

Hence, they make their children their own desirable medium to earn daily wages for the family.

It’s a normal scenario that people having more than two children (in fact people are preferring just one kid these days) are facing difficulties in planning for their kids’ education, clothing and jobs.

Children who belong to the poorer sections are forced to help their parents and siblings financially for their livelihood.

In developing countries unemployment is a major problem and on account of this, they cannot afford even the basic of facilities like food, shelter, clothes etc.

Children can be found employed in mines and industries, apart from other skilled areas like artisan jobs, etc. They have to work to make a livelihood out of it and to generate income for their family.

People who belong to the underprivileged sections of society tend to believe that the more number of off springs they produce, the more the working hands they receive to fulfill their daily needs.

In an educated society, the scenario is quite different. People understand the importance of attending school and the primary reason for getting employed in government jobs or in other good firms and MNCs.

On the other, illiterates undermine the value of education and do not realize the importance of going to school and further seek employment in a government job or in other good positions.

To see their children come out in flying colors in the future, they do not have big dreams or aspirations, hence they are limited to their own cringing world.

Early marriage

Being unemployed are one of the major issues in India, one of the major reasons being early marriage and also contributing to the factor of overpopulation.

It is practically impossible to create jobs or offer employment opportunities to all citizens of the country. On account of this, children are forced to help parents for their income and seek out on child labour.

Expensive higher education

For providing quality education , parents have to spend more money to get their children enrolled in good schools.

Today, many children don’t attend school for the sake of education, but rather stay at home losing out on precious time, simply because they cannot afford expensive education and the lack of important degrees and skill sets makes them unskilled in job fronts.

This could also play a major role in increasing child labour cases.

Lack of primary education

The Government of India has provided right to education to every child of India till the child reaches the fifth grade in school.

Government schools offer education at low and affordable rates to make education reach every child, so that child labour can be handled till a certain level and to avoid them in indulging in any economic activities.

But still poor people don’t understand the value of education and make their children working unsafe zones. These factors are depriving them from their basic compulsory education.

Effects of Child Labour

Letting children to get involved in age inappropriate activities leads to many bad influences on the child.

Some children suffer a bad childhood because their parents create a hostile environment for them, some others are unprivileged because they cannot afford good education and a basic livelihood, and some curse their own being as they are handicapped off their very existence by a section of anti-social elements in the country.

A quick peek into some of the damaging effects will provide a better idea:

Loss of quality childhood

Life does not offer a smooth ride at every stage. It is said that childhood is the golden period of one’s life and we cannot afford to get it back whenever we want it back.

Children should be allowed to play with their friends and make their childhood memorable.

Child labour, as a deadly evil, deprives children of a quality childhood as children engage themselves in hazardous work areas like mines and industries for their livelihood and to generate income for their family.

If children start working at such an early age they can in no way enjoy their childhood or have pleasant memories of a good childhood.

Health issues

If young children are forced to work at their tender ages in mines and industries, they are prone to various health issues and hazards, while they won’t even be having stamina to face mental and physical problems.

Working in mines and factories can lead to serious respiratory problems and can become lifelong victims of such dreaded diseases.

If children work in the mines and industries for their livelihood and to help their parents and siblings for generating money, they obviously cannot go to school for their education.

Education can help them to be self dependent and walk on their own feet in the society. Sadly, if we are not educated and are unskilled, we would not be employed by any good hirer and have to lead a life full of struggles.

Indulging in criminal cases / activities

As children remain uneducated they lose out on their sense of what is good and what is bad and many of them naturally tend to indulge in criminal activities.

This is a serious issue and of late, government is taking up strict measures to deal with it.

Many juvenile cases have been reported and are increasing at a very fast rate. It’s the moral responsibility of parents and teachers to take care of their children, guide them properly and monitor them.

Emotional harassment

When children who are not very privileged to be part of a larger civilized society see other children in a better picture playing, making merry and enjoying them, they are filled with thousands of stress creating questions about their existence and economic situation.

They are emotionally disturbed. And these emotionally disturbed children easily get influenced by criminal activities and take to anti-social elements very early in life.

Possible Solutions for Child Labour

Every problem has a possible solution. Yes and even a big menace like child labour can be stopped and prevented in a large country like India. It all depends on changing mindsets and evaluating situations from time to time.

Strict enforcement’s of laws together with rapid action committees to bring about execution of laws will be torch bearers for a better tomorrow and can throw light in the aspect of changing many innocent lives.

Let us now explore some possible solutions here:

Free education

If free education for one and all is made mandatory by the government, then to some extent it helps to check child labour.

This is especially helpful for parents who have very poor financial aids to allow their children to seek education and in the long run, benefit the society at large, especially the impoverished and underprivileged groups.

Mid-day meal schemes can also can be provided to children for their daily food needs. Good educational support creates an independent standing for a person in his community and in the society he belongs to.

If a good awareness is created among citizens for eliminating child labour then it can be stopped to a large extent.

Parents should be aware of the benefits of education and should send their children to school for their formal educational process.

In this way, they can become self dependent and on par with others in the society, landing them in good jobs for their sustenance and livelihood.

To bring about awareness, social campaigns should be created and inform citizens about the problems of child labour and related health issues.

Empowerment to poor people

Children from poor families are most likely to get involved in child labour cases. They are exploited by rich and influential people for managing their household work.

It’s not right on the part of affluent people to bring in helpless people from their communities and involve them in age inappropriate chores.

It goes against laws and if we also take up initiatives to empower them enough, then they cannot be exploited by such persons .

Strict Child Labour law

Indian Government on their part has done a fascinating work in carrying on their mission of eliminating child labour from India.

They have made strict rules such as Factory act and mines act which prohibit any children to work in such hazardous environments.

Plus they have also made rules for free education and mid-day meals in various states of India which has currently garnered an overwhelming response from all sections of society.

Moral education to parents and children

  There is an urgent need for making education mandatory, not only for children but equally for parents to bring in a bigger perspective regarding the upbringing of their children.

They should be well aware of the consequences of child labour and how it can affect their child’s life.

Social Awareness

The citizens, on moral grounds should not rope in younger children less than age of 14 and force them into household activities or other workshop related work.

In fact if anyone sees any person misbehaving with children or forcefully employs them, they should be immediately taken under the action of law and such persons should be immediately reported to the authorities.

Children are god’s most precious gifts to human being. It’s not good to ruin their lives by employing them at inappropriate ages.

We should allow them to enjoy their childhood to the fullest. A well groomed child will become a responsible citizen of the country and will respect others and same will be carried forward to the coming generations.

People should come forward and join hands in removing child labour from India completely. It’s not a single day job but if we all work together towards the cause, then nothing is Impossible.

Let’s hold our hands together and take pride in making our nation child-labour free and take our nation a step forward from developing to a developed stage.

Child Labour Facts & Statistics 

Some of the facts and figures revealed under the latest census are

• Over 27 million children do not attend school in India. Some are school drop outs, some of them do not attend school because their families don’t encourage them, and some of them are forcibly made to seek employment to support families.
• Out of this huge number, around 10 million children spend every day in their lives by being employed in some or the other factory or industry.
• Almost 70% of children employed in child labour activities are in the age group of 5 to 14.
• Almost 20 to 30% of these children are from below poverty line families.
• Almost 43% of the 27 million children are employed as domestic helps in houses.

How to Stop Child Labour

Some of the possible steps that help in creating improved awareness about child labour and its prevention is discussed below:

By educating the public about the ill effects of child labour. Child labour is illegal. This statement should be etched in the minds of people who propose to employ children at their workplaces.

People should not only be told that child labour is illegal, but they should be enlightened about the fine and imprisonment that they attract if they happen to enforce child labour in their companies.

If we really want to stand up against child labour, then we must join hands with an NGO or a social service center that fights for the rights of children.

We must make effective use of child lifelines and if we spot children anywhere being employed for work, we must immediately call up the help center and aid them in rescuing such children.

Child labour quotes 

Children are the most precious gifts from God. We have to nurture them and provide them opportunities to fly with bright colors.

We have to help them shape their future. We must secure their future by giving them good education. Below are some quotes against child labour:

• “Child labour is not just a menace; it is the result of a weakened thought process.”
• “Eradicate child labour else the country may soon see a degradation of rich talent going in for a waste”.
• “Child labour destroys the future of children; the future of the country is at stake due to this”.
• “Employing children for free and cheap labour is equivalent to moral destruction of many innocent lives of the country”.
• “Think of your own children being part of a child labour act, wouldn’t that make you arise and awake to bring about a new change in the society?”

Child Labour slogans

These days there are many public campaigns carried out by various organizations and volunteers to act against child labour.

People come out in the open and are no longer confined to the comfort of their rooms to voice their concerns. They use effective tools of technology to validate their thoughts and act accordingly.

We can see many organizations shouting slogans to make people aware about this deadly menace:

• “Stop Child labour at once, children need better lives.”
• “Why child labour, why not child education?”
• “ Freedom for children illegally involved in child labour”
• “Children need freedom for their development, bonding them under child labour is a crime”.
• “Child rights and child freedom are gifts from god; let us not invade their territories”.

A Case study on child labour

In a particularly interesting case, a small town boy from West Bengal accidentally came into the hands of an agent who used children for easy money making.

He would stealthily catch hold of children or take them away from their parents and cheat them. He would actually steal children and once children are in his clutches, he would harass them and leave them homeless.

He was operating in a big network and his circles were present in south Indian regions.

He grabbed this particular boy named Ranjith who was just 14 years then and took him over from a small town in West Bengal all the way to Kerala. In Kerala, he had connections with a small time gold shopkeeper and handed over this guy to him. Ranjith saw the worst times of his life.

The shopkeeper made him work for almost 14 hours a day. He was left with no food and no sleep for days together.

He was physically and mentally abused at many times. The shop owner brutally hit him if he disagreed to doing his tasks.

He was morally disgraced and the boy entered depression gradually. But, he mustered courage and on the pretext of going out for some other reason, he found a way to escape from the clutches of the shop keeper.

Not familiar with the place in Kerala, he ended up somewhere at Kozhikode. The police at Kozhikode saw this particular guy wandering homeless and planned to rehabilitate him properly.

The personnel acted with concern and took him to a rehabilitation center where he was further referred to a child care center at Calicut.

During his stay at Calicut, the child began to feel better and started improving. With company of other children and friendly staff, he began to open up on his past experiences.

During one of his counseling sessions with an expert in child care, he briefly talked about his abusive master in the form of gold shop owner. He further threw light about the agent operating in circles and how he was nabbed by him.

The personnel at the child care center took up this matter seriously and soon informed the police about it. The police acted swiftly.

They sat out to nab the agent. 3 police personnel forming a group, including a lady sub inspector hatched out a plan to nab the agent.

The agent was found out by police sources and was contacted by the lady sub inspector who told him that she was actually a teacher.

She made the agent believe her that she wanted money. In return for money, she was ready to hand over Ranjith who was under his custody till some time ago.

The tricks of the police had worked. They contacted the agent again and told him the venue from where he could come and collect Ranjith.

The agent gave in. Instead of him, he sent one of his men to the pre-discussed spot. The police personnel, all three of them, arrived at the spot in plain clothes and successfully nabbed the agent’s man.

The agent’s man, upon strict interrogations, revealed his own identity and gave vital clues about the agent’s whereabouts.

Finally, the agent was tracked down and nabbed. Technology also played a major role in tracing the agent and nabbing him. The culprit was given his due punishment and booked under law.

The gold shop owner was also booked under the child labour act and was fined severely.

Thorugh several interrogations, it was finally revealed that around 6 children were trapped by the agent in total and he was part of a bigger network.

The network was traced down and all the six children were freed from their clutches. They were provided proper rehabilitation under the child care center in Calicut.

Ranjith was luckily sent back home and re-united with his family in the small town at West Bengal.

Implications drawn from the case study

Not everybody is as lucky as Ranjith. In most of the cases, children go unnoticed in crimes and become part of bigger networks that deport them to different parts of the world.

They can hardly be traced back or re-united with their families. Many of their identities would be erased and they would be totally blacked out.

In Ranjith’s case, it was the police which played the most crucial role in not just rescuing his life, but also providing a new life to six other children who were part of the trap.

The right attitude towards rescuing children and giving them their due rights provided the right steps in the right direction.

The case had many turning points but the police handled them with their intelligence. We salute such people and applaud them in our society. They are a true asset to the country and its citizens.

We may also come across similar child care centers operating in different parts of the country in various different ways for the welfare of children.

Some of the noteworthy mentions include CRY (Child Rights and YOU), Child line India foundation, Save the Children Foundation , etc.

We should understand that child labour is a problem, not just in developing countries like India but exists in developed countries as well.

The police cannot arrive at every workplace to check if there is existence of child labour. People and their mentalities should change to put an overall end to this issue.

People should be educated; they should be enriched with morals and values to stop this menace. They should be morally made responsible for their own acts and they should be made to own their mistakes.

http://www.childlineindia.org.in/1098/CaseOfChildLabour.htm

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Essay On Child Labour [+Facts] For Students

Essay On Child Labour- The term “child labour” needs no definition. It snatches the childhood and dignity of children. It simply refers to a crime where children have to work at very early ages. Various reasons drive children to work with or without consent.

No Doubt, child labour is a heinous crime that deprives children of their childhood and hinders their physical and mental development. But a lot of employers employ children for the sake of cheap labour. According to law, employing a child in any kind of work is a criminal offence

Definition [Inroduction]

Child labour is a term that everyone is well aware of. It simply refers to a crime where children have to work at very early ages. It snatches the childhood and dignity of children. It is something like burdening them with huge responsibilities of which they are not capable enough.

It is a cause of underdevelopment of their physical and mental health. Poor or economically weak families in India push their children to work for money instead of educating them. It is a shameful practice that is needed to be thrown out of the country so that children can retrieve their real rights.

Causes of child labour

Many major causes promote this evil practice. Poverty is the biggest reason that drives it to a high level. Poor Families have no choice but to put their children into this hell because of fewer earnings to meet the basic needs of the family.

One of the other primary causes is The lure of cheap labour. As they are cheap to hire than a regular adult worker, industries prefer child labours.

Unaffordable education is another reason for it. As economically weak families can not afford to send their children to school, they force them to earn money. Moreover, The poor mentality of families that education has no value at all made them engage their children in work.

Effects on Children

The first and foremost effect of child labour is children lose their childhood and basic rights to education. They are deprived of enjoying their innocence and naughtiness. At an age when they are supposed to play with toys, they have to play with dangerous tasks.

Children involved in child labour have to face several challenges during work time. They bear the load beyond their capabilities and so they get fractures and physical damage. In construction industries, they come across cuts, burns and wounds.

Moreover, they are beaten and abused for minor mistakes. Even they are made to consume narcotics to get more work done. Apart from it, Children become victims of sexual abuse. especially sexual exploitation of girls by adults, rape etc.

Elimination of child labour

If we wish to remove child labour, we require to develop some very practical solutions which will defend our children. It will also improve the future of any country dealing with these social problems. To start with, we must build several organisations that undividedly work to stop child labour.

Besides, we need to keep the parents in the loop to educate them on the value of education. If we offer education free and make people aware, we will be capable to educate more children. Moreover, making people informed of the harmful results of child labour is a need.

additionally, family control measures should also be taken. This will diminish the family’s weight so when you have lesser mouths to feed, the only parents will be suitable to work for them, rather than the children.

Challenges in Controlling Child Labour

Weak Laws: While the laws to diminish child labour have been executed, they are pretty dim. For instance, most of the laws are incapable to deliver strict guidelines for the unorganized sectors.

Lack of Awareness: Awareness in rural and urban areas is required to be spread out. this will help a lot to fight the curse of child labour.

Child Trafficking: This is another challenge in to fight against child labour. Children are sent far from their habitat that is unknown to them. They have the only choice but to step into this hell.

Final words (Conclusion)

In conclusion, Child labour is a curse for our children that is needed to trash out of society as soon as possible. It is not only damaging the future of young ones but also our nation because future generations determine the development of a country. We all have to take measures against this terrible practice so that our adolescent generation can get their true rights .

Stats and Facts about Child Labour

• The global surveys show that 152 million children – 64 million girls and 88 million boys are in child labour globally, accounting for about one in ten of all children worldwide.
• 70% of children in child labour work in the agricultural sector and 69% perform unpaid work within their families.
• According to the census 2011, there were 255 million economically active children in the age group of 5-14 years.
• 1 out of 11 children in India works to earn a living for their family.
• The top 5 States in child labour are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh constitute nearly 55% of the total working children in India.
• Nearly half of the child labour (72.1 million) is to be located in Africa. 62.1 million in Asia and the Pacific. 10.7 million in America. 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5 million in Europe and Central Asia.

What is child labour ?

The definition of child labour usually indicates work done by children under the age of 15 that is full-time and hence prevents them to get an education.

Why do children work?

There are numerous reasons why children have to work. An uptick in the number of child labour is caused by poverty.

What are the current stats about child labour?

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) figures out that 250 million children work in factories, plantations and fields and down mines.

Why do factories hire Child labours?

Because children are cheap to hire. Children have little power to demand better health and safety conditions or fair wages.

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Essay on Child Labour for Students and Children in 1000 Words

May 5, 2021 by ReadingJunction Leave a Comment

In this article, you will read a persuasive essay on child labour for students and children in 1000 words. It includes causes, effect and solution of child labour.

Table of Contents

Essay on Child Labour for Students (1000 Words)

Do you know child labour is a major social issue in every country? Really It’s true. Child Labour is a severe problem for children. Let us understand more about this.

Causes of Child Labour

There are lots of happy people in this world. There are also many sad people in this world. A lot of sad people are sad because they have many problems in their life.

Sometimes, the father loses his money. The mother cannot get a job. The children get hungry. They have not enough money to live peacefully.

Instead, they have to think about working more than necessary. An average person only has to work 8 hours a day. Even 8 hours is too much! Because after 8 hours, there is still homework to do, and that makes it 10 or sometimes 12 hours a day.

So stupid. That is how adults are. Anyway, when a family becomes poor, they also have to do the same. Instead of working for 8 hours, they have to do extra homework every day.

Otherwise, the rest of the world thinks that they do not deserve to have money. Without money, the father and mother cannot bring food for their children.

This feeding is a problem with kids. The world is not a comfortable place. You must always earn money and have an excellent reputation to live on this earth. Otherwise, people will not give food and shelter to any person.

Maybe one day, one of our children can show us how to live differently. Until then, follow the rules that are already in place. So when a family becomes financially weak to have food and shelter, they will start thinking about how to change their lives.

They will begin begging and asking strangers for help. Their family does not talk to them anymore, because they are too poor. How truly sad.

There will not be any other way to earn money except by working all the time, even to make little money. Any money, anything to buy some food. That happens with the father and mother.

Their children will see their parents working many jobs to get some money. Some of these jobs are not even good for their parents’ health, but they still have to do it to get some money.

Sometimes, even this work is not enough. The father might suddenly fall ill from working too hard . As we talked before, we are only supposed to work for a few hours every day.

A sick person works all day, which can be very unhealthy . If the father in a family falls ill, then there is nothing left to do. The mother works as much as she can, but she also has to look after the father and the children, cooking food and looking after the house.

That is also too much work. All this work makes the mother think of how else to get money. She talks to her husband about this. They will talk for hours about how to get money, but there is no real way to change anything. So then one of them will think maybe our children can work.

They are not happy about this. Imagine crying night after night, in deep sorrow about sending one child to work. This is the common cause of child labour all over the world.

Do you think going to school is wrong?

No friend, work is much, much worse. It is just full of adults. I want to tell you something about adults: they are afraid. They are afraid of too many things.

So, they will keep lying and deceiving each other, just so that others will also become as afraid as they are. That is just sad, I know. It takes a lot of honesty and courage to fight against it.

That is why children may not work; they are not ready for the big challenge, but what can this low-income family do? Their father is too ill, and their mother is already working too much. Now, even children have to work.

Childrens Actual Life and Labour

So, we see children going to work. When children work somewhere, it is called child labour. I dislike this name, but it is the name of this crime and social problem.

The child who is working at a job, you remember the child is in child labour. It is not a good thing. That child has many things to do. She wants to dress up and run around the house.

Sometimes, a child wants to sing a song. Think about all the things which every child likes to do, for example playing computer games, playing football , cricket on the ground.

No way, I love computer games too! We can play all we want. That is because we have free time. After school, after homework, we still have some free time to watch some TV or play some games.

However, some kids never have that time. They have to go to work. It will not even be a job that they enjoy. Just some work that children have to do for many hours, in order to feed themselves. Slowly, this work becomes very tiring.

These kids will stop going to school and go to work. They do not have the energy to go to school and work, that is just too much. Playing games, forget it.

A Big Problem Child Labour

Child labour is a huge problem; kids across our state, country, and world. Some children should work toward their dreams, working jobs instead.

They are doing the work that adults should be doing. It is just that adults do not want to work so much, and they do not want to give food and shelter to these small sick children.

So they force them to work instead. It is a sad situation, but it can be changed. If we do not change it, many children will be forced to keep working.

The jobs will get worse; the places they work at will get worse. Those children can have better lives if we stop forcing them to live based on the money they have or the reputation their family has.

These things do not matter. They are children, just like us. I hope you like this Essay on Child Labour.

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• Made by History

America Has Been Having the Same Debate About Child Labor for 100 Years

S ince 2021, many states have been considering or have passed legislation to weaken child labor laws, while a smaller number have considered or have been strengthening and updating the laws on their books. The legislative debates come amid reporting about the dangers and even deadly conditions that many children—particularly immigrants in undocumented families—face in their workplaces.

Calls for forceful labor protections are rooted in arguments about the government’s responsibility to protect vulnerable young people from dangers and to limit their work hours and exposures on the job. Calls to roll back labor laws focus on the economic and career-education benefits for young people whose hours, opportunities, and incomes would be enhanced by the lifting of restrictions.

So, which is it? Do child workers need more protection, or less?

Ironically, this debate is heating up as we approach the June 2024 centennial of the passage of the failed Child Labor Amendment. The arguments voiced in the halls of Congress and in state legislatures a century ago are the ones being shouted across the aisles today. The subject at hand may be existing state laws, but the arguments turn on larger issues of states’ rights versus federalism, the role of paid labor in young people’s lives, classroom vs. vocational education, the economy, and parental authority versus governmental power.

Read More: Over 100 Kids Were Illegally Employed in Dangerous Meat-Packing Plant Jobs

Efforts to protect child workers started in the early 20th century, with exposés of youngsters laboring in mines, factories, and canneries and performing long hours of field labor. Progressive advocates, led by the National Child Labor Committee, pushed Congress to enact two successive federal child labor laws.

The Keating-Owen Act of 1916 limited children’s work hours and forbade interstate sale of goods produced by child labor. The Revenue Act of 1919 (sometimes called the Child Labor Tax Law) imposed a 10% tax on the net profit of companies that employed children in certain industries such as mining and manufacturing. An activist, pro-business U.S. Supreme Court overturned both laws.

Frustrated opponents of child labor then moved to amend the U.S. Constitution, seeing it is at the only way to remove children from dangerous and sometimes deadly workplaces and to ensure they received an education. In 1924, Grace Abbott, Chief of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, an agency within the Department of Labor, described the Child Labor Amendment as a way to protect children from “premature employment, excessive hours, and hazardous occupations.”

Senators and Congresspeople heard from a variety of professional groups supporting or opposing the proposed Amendment. Opponents argued that the Amendment constituted a massive attack on states’ rights and, ultimately, U.S. democracy. Business groups, led by the National Association of Manufacturers, deemed it an assault on the free market.

In defending the status quo, opponents pointed out that nearly all states already had child labor laws on the books and claimed sufficient protections were in place. Furthermore, they argued most child workers were engaged in agricultural work, helping out on family farms to sustain their households. Moreover, the 1920 census, opponents observed, showed a decline in child labor from a decade earlier, suggesting that the problem was resolving without the need for legislative action.

Amendment supporters responded that the census figures did not account for an overall decline in the labor force due to a recent industrial depression, nor did their figures acknowledge the effects of the previous short-lived 1919 Revenue Act, had still been on the books during the census. The data offered by Amendment opponents, they argued, did not reflect the actual situation.

One in 12 children between the ages of 10 and 16 remained in the labor force and despite the overall decline in their numbers, they continued to labor in textile mills, iron and steel mills, lumber mills, and coal mines. In these workplaces their health was compromised, they experienced accidents, and some died on the job.

Supporters of the Amendment also argued that hard labor and a lack of schooling imperiled not just child workers, but the nation. They pointed to the poor health and high illiteracy rates found among World War I recruits and argued that the nation’s military might and future economic prowess would be at risk if children grew up without strong minds and bodies.

Then, as now, debates about child labor laws elicited vastly different ideas about what work did for and to children.

Amendment opponents claimed giving work to children prevented them from becoming shiftless adults when they grew up, further noting that many families depended on their children’s wages. In highlighting the benefits of work, they foreshadowed current assertions about the value of inculcating a work ethic in young people and steering them away from screen time and criminal mischief. According to a petition from the Woman Patriot Publishing Company, President Calvin Coolidge’s 14-year-old son had done light work for wages during a vacation, reaping the benefits of healthy outdoor work. (President Coolidge, nonetheless, supported the Amendment.)

Read More: The Forgotten History of the Child Labor Amendment

Some opposed the Amendment on economic grounds. Congressman Edward William Pou of North Carolina argued that, if passed, the Amendment would prevent Black children from picking cotton and deworming tobacco, highlighting the industry’s dependence on low-cost labor. It was a pointed reminder of how race and region shaped the nation’s workforce. As Abbott reported, other than Rhode Island, the Southern states had the largest proportion of young laborers. Unsurprisingly, the American Federation of Labor supported the Amendment, viewing low-wage child labor as a threat to the employment of unionized and adult workers.

The simple language of the Amendment contrasted with the heated rhetoric of the congressional debate. It read, simply, “The Congress shall have the power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons under eighteen years of age,” and said states could pass laws stricter than ones that might be enacted by Congress. Notably, the Amendment said nothing about what measures might be passed if states failed to enact adequate protections.

Amendment opponents seized on the absence of specifics to claim it threatened far-reaching consequences for families. They imagined federal agents preventing mothers from requesting their daughters’ help in the kitchen and stopping fathers from asking their sons’ for assistance on the family farm. Congressman Fritz G. Lanham told his fellow Representatives to envision the arrival of a federal office at a home where he would be housed and fed and, in the evening, would read verses to the assembled household members, not from the Bible, but from some government volume.

The reference to government texts replacing the Bible was, undoubtedly, a way of reinforcing the idea that, as some argued, the Amendment was a Bolshevik scheme. In the wake of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Red Scare that followed, opponents saw the proposed Amendment as leading Americans down a slippery slope to communist dictatorship. The Woman Patriot Publishing Company labeled the Amendment the “spearhead of the Communist campaign in the United States.” In their view, parental authority would be replaced by a centralized, communist-run government.

Claims about a federal takeover of parental authority appeared frequently in letters to editors of local papers and in public addresses as states debated ratification. Columbia University President D. Nicholas Murray Butler, speaking to the Sentinels of the Republic, a states’ rights group, warned that the Amendment would make possible the “substitution of Congressional control of childhood and youth for the natural relationship of parent and guardian.”

Despite these arguments, large majorities in both Houses of Congress passed the Amendment, which was then ratified by 28 states over the next 15 years. Nevertheless, the Amendment languished.

Federal protection of some child workers finally arrived with passage of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act as part of the New Deal. Unlike earlier legislation, it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Act, since amended many times, removed many youngsters from hazardous workplaces and curtailed night work and long workdays, but it did permit children to continue with farm labor. Enforcement of the new law was not robust and many youngsters continued to labor without protection.

In the 100 years since the passage of the Child Labor Amendment enormous changes occurred in the U.S. economy, in society, and in the educational and work lives of children. Yet, the debate about child worker protections continues, often echoing the previous deliberations. The failed Child Labor Amendment of 1924—it still awaits ratification—may be forgotten, but the arguments it provoked are alive and well.

Janet Golden’s latest book is Babies Made Us Modern: How Infants Brought Americans into the Twentieth Century.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here . Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.

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• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Janet Golden / Made by History at [email protected]

The ECLT Foundation works directly with communities in 6 countries.

Why does child labour happen? Here are some of the root causes

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Children are most often involved in child labour because their parents or guardians consider it ‘normal’ for children to work, and sometimes for children’s own survival and that of their families. When talking about child labour, it is important to understand it from the perspective of the children, families and communities themselves. Below are some of the root causes which make children particularly vulnerable to child labour.

‘Poverty is certainly the greatest single force driving children into the workplace.’ When families cannot afford to meet their basic needs like food, water, education or health care, they have no choice but to send their children to work to supplement the household income. Poverty is considered as one of the most important causes of child labour as it is linked to other driving factors including: low literarcy and numeracy rates, lack of decent work opportunities, natural disasters and climate change, conflicts and mass displacement. Poverty and child labour form a vicious cycle, without tackling one, we cannot eradicate the other.

Lack of access to quality education

‘The availability and quality of schooling is among the most important factors.’ School needs to be a welcoming environment, with appropriate class sizes, a curriculum designed for the local context, and affordable for rural communities. Getting children into school and out of harmful work is one thing but keeping them there a means creating quality education accessible for all.

Poor access to decent work

‘Children who were involved in child labour often lack the basic educational grounding which would enable them to acquire skills and to improve their prospects for a decent adult working life.’ If young people cannot access work which is safe, with social protection, fair pay, equality for men and women and which provides a space for workers to express their opinions, they often have no choice but to do work which is hazardous. When children above the minimum working age are doing hazardous work, this is also considered child labour.

Limited understanding of child labour

‘The view that work is good for the character-building and skill development of children.’ When families do not understand the dangers of child labour, and how these impact on the health, safety, well-being and future of their child, they are more likely to send their children to work. Some cultural beliefs and social norms can also be drivers of child labour.

Natural disasters & climate change

‘In rural areas, farmers who see their crops destroyed on account of climate changes have no other choice but to send their children out to work.’ The effects of natural disasters and climate change is one which is becoming of increasing concern. Rural families who depend on reliable seasons for farming are particularly vulnerable to altered patterns of rainfall, soil erosion, or extreme weather. When crops are destroyed or farming land is ruined, families struggle to make a living and are more likely to send their children to work in neighbouring farms.

Conflicts & mass migration

‘There is a strong correlation between child labour and situations of conflict and disaster’ According to the ILO children make up more than half of the total number of people displaced by war. These children are particularly vulnerable to forms of exploitation, including child labour, due to an increase in economic shocks, a breakdown of social support, education and basic services, and disruption of child protection services. The incidence of child labour in countries affected by conflict is almost twice as high as the global average. Children are also vulnerable to becoming involved in armed conflict, this is considered one of the Worst Forms of Child Labour .

Fighting child labour

SDG Goal 8.7 calls for the elimination of all forms of child labour by 2025 . With 152 million children involved in child labour worldwide, we still have a long way to go. Programmes and policies which take into account the voices of the communities where child labour occurs, and the root causes, can advance real and sustainable progress in the fight against child labour.

From Shadows to Light: a Journey through Child Labor Reform in the Progressive Era

This essay about the Progressive Era’s fight against child labor explores the transformative period of social reform in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It delves into the grim reality of child labor practices, highlighting the exploitation of young workers in hazardous conditions. Through legislative efforts, grassroots activism, and the work of reformers like Lewis Hine, significant strides were made in addressing this issue. The essay examines key legislation, such as the Keating-Owen Act of 1916, and discusses the ongoing challenges faced in enforcing labor laws amidst economic upheaval. Ultimately, it underscores the enduring legacy of the Progressive Era’s crusade for the rights and welfare of children in the workforce.

How it works

In the annals of American history, the Progressive Era stands as a beacon of societal transformation and reform. This pivotal period, spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, witnessed a groundswell of activism and advocacy aimed at addressing the myriad social injustices plaguing the nation. At the heart of this movement lay the issue of child labor, a pervasive and deeply entrenched practice that cast a shadow over the promise of progress and prosperity. However, through a convergence of social consciousness, political will, and grassroots mobilization, the Progressive Era ushered in a new dawn for the rights and welfare of young workers.

Before the dawn of the Progressive Era, the landscape of American industry was marred by the grim specter of child labor. In factories, mines, and sweatshops across the nation, children toiled away under grueling conditions, their innocence sacrificed at the altar of profit and exploitation. The sight of young boys and girls, barely old enough to tie their own shoes, laboring in dangerous and dehumanizing environments, served as a stark reminder of the moral bankruptcy of unchecked capitalism. Yet, for decades, the cries of these young voices fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the clamor of industry and the indifference of policymakers.

Enter the champions of progress, the torchbearers of reform who dared to challenge the status quo and demand justice for the most vulnerable members of society. Armed with nothing but their convictions and a burning sense of righteous indignation, these reformers embarked on a crusade to dismantle the machinery of child labor and forge a more equitable future for all. Among their ranks stood individuals such as Lewis Hine, a photographer whose haunting images of child laborers captured the attention of the nation and galvanized support for legislative action. Through his lens, the faces of innocence lost stared defiantly into the abyss, demanding recognition and redress.

Central to the push for child labor reform was the passage of legislation aimed at curbing the worst excesses of industrial exploitation. In 1916, Congress enacted the Keating-Owen Act, a landmark piece of legislation that sought to regulate child labor by prohibiting the interstate shipment of goods produced by underage workers. This bold move represented a seismic shift in the federal government’s approach to labor regulation, signaling a newfound recognition of the need to protect the rights and dignity of America’s youth. Yet, as with any sweeping reform effort, the road to progress was fraught with obstacles and setbacks.

Despite the gains made during the Progressive Era, the fight against child labor was far from over. The entrenched interests of powerful corporations, coupled with the economic upheaval wrought by World War I and the Great Depression, posed formidable challenges to reformers seeking to enforce existing laws and enact further protections for young workers. Moreover, the issue of child labor intersected with broader debates surrounding immigration, urbanization, and the role of government in regulating the economy, adding layers of complexity to an already contentious issue.

In the end, the legacy of the Progressive Era’s crusade against child labor endures as a testament to the power of collective action and the resilience of the human spirit. Though the shadows of exploitation may linger, they are gradually being dispelled by the light of progress and compassion. As we reflect on this pivotal moment in our nation’s history, let us draw inspiration from the courage and conviction of those who dared to imagine a world where every child is free to pursue their dreams without fear or exploitation. For it is only by confronting the injustices of the past that we can truly build a brighter future for generations to come.

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Article on Child Labour

Child labour takes place when children are forced to work at an age when they are expected to work, study and enjoy their phase of innocence. It implies lost or deprived childhood that leads to exploitation of children in various forms: mental, physical, social, sexual and so on.

The society, voluntary organizations and law-makers have an obligation to put an end to the evil practice of child labour in India. Here we are providing you some useful articles on child labour under various categories according to varying words limits. You can choose any of them as per your need:

Child Labour Articles

Article on child lab our 1 (300 words).

Not all children in India are lucky to enjoy their childhood. Many of them are forced to work under inhuman conditions where their miseries know no end.  Though there are laws banning child labour, still children continue to be exploited as cheap labour. It is because the authorities are unable to implement the laws meant to protect children from being engaged as labourers.

Unfortunately, the actual number of child labourers in India goes un-detected. Children are forced to work is completely unregulated condition without adequate food, proper wages, and rest. They are subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Causes of Child Labour: Factors such as poverty, lack of social security, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor have adversely affected children more than any other group. We have failed to provide universal education, which results in children dropping out of school and entering the labour force.

Loss of jobs of parents in a slowdown, farmers’ suicide, armed conflicts and high costs of healthcare are other factors contributing to child labour.

A widespread problem: Due to high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child labour is quite prevalent in India. Child labour is found in rural as well as urban areas. The 2001 census found an increase in the number of child labourers from 11.28 million in 1991 to 12.59 million.

Children comprise 40% of the labour in the precious stone cutting sector. They are also employed in other industries such as mining, zari and embroidery, dhabas, tea stalls and restaurants and in homes as domestic labour.

Conclusion: Government authorities and civil society organizations need to work in tandem to free children engaged in labour under abysmal conditions. They need to be rescued from exploitative working conditions and supported with adequate education. Above all, there is a need to mobilize public opinion with an aim to bring about an effective policy initiative to abolish child labour in all its forms.

Article on Child Labour 2 (500 words)

A large number of children in India are quite strangers to the joys and innocence of the formative years of their lives. Instead of enjoying their early steps on their life’s journey, they are forced to work under conditions of slavery. Child labour persists due to the inefficiency of law, administrative system and exploitative tendencies on the part of employers.

Children are employed illegally in various industries. But agriculture is the largest sector where children work at early ages to contribute to their family income. Rural areas employ 85 percent of the child labour in India. They are forced to work at young ages due to factors such as poverty, unemployment, a large family size, and lack of proper education.

Backgrounder to child labour: In British India, a large number of children were forced into labour due to the increasing need of cheap labour to produce a large number of goods. The companies preferred recruiting children as they could be employed for less pay, better utilized in factory environment, lacked knowledge of their basic rights, and possessed higher trust levels.

The practice of child labour continued even in the post-Independence India, though the government continued to take legislative measures against child labour. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed in 1948 incorporated the basic human rights and needs of children for proper progression and growth in their younger years. Article 24 of the Constitution bans engagement of children below the age of 14 in factories, mines, and other hazardous employment. Article 21A and Article 45 promise to impart free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act enacted in 1986, prohibited children younger than the age of 14, from being employed as child labour in hazardous occupations. Significantly in 2009, India passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). More recently, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, passed by Parliament, prohibits “the engagement of children in all occupations and of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes”. Here adolescents refers to those under 18 years; children to those under 14. The Act also imposes a stringent penalty on anyone who employs or permits adolescents to work.

Nevertheless, child labour has now led to alarming proportions. As per an estimate, India contributes to one-third of Asia’s child labour and one-fourth of the world’s child labour.

Prevalence of child labour: Child labour in India is now not confined to the agricultural sector. In recent times, children are engaged into activities such as beedi-making, brick kilns, carpet weaving, commercial sexual exploitation, construction, fireworks and matches factories, dhabas, hotels, hybrid cottonseed production, leather, mines, quarries, silk, synthetic gems, etc.

Conclusion: The government should bring down the incidence of child labour through reform and investment in education. Mid-day meals should be re-emphasized; homeless children should be provided housing through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan boarding schools, and laws banning child labour should be more strictly enforced.

Article on Child Labour 3 (600 words)

Despite constitutional provisions against child labour, a large number of children continue to be exploited under hazardous work conditions. Poorly paid for long hours of work, they have to abandon their studies to support their family at an age when they are supposed to just play around and have fun. They are made to forego all the joys of childhood by a cruel and ruthless world.

Widespread prevalence of child labour: Rural areas employ the largest number of child labour. In urban areas, they work in dhabas, tea-stalls and restaurants, and households. They are shamelessly exploited in the unorganized sector as domestic servants, hawkers, rag-pickers, paper vendors, agricultural labourers, and as workers in industrial concerns.

Some of the industries that employ children as labourers include match industry in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu; glass in­dustry in Firozabad, brassware industry in Moradabad and the handmade carpet industry in Mirzapur-Bhadoi, precious stone polishing industry in Jaipur, Rajasthan; lock making industry in Aligarh; slate industry in Markapur, Andhra Pradesh, and slate industry in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.

Bonded child labour : Sometimes, children are employed against a loan or debt or social obligation by the family of the child. Generally, they are forced to work assisting their families in agricultural sector, brick kilns, and stone quarries. In urban areas, children of migrant workers mostly belonging to low caste groups such as dalits or marginalised tribal sections are pledged to work in small production houses and factories. Bonded child labourers are particularly subjected to mental, physical and sexual abuse, sometimes even leading to death. In Orissa, people sell daughters, eight to 10 years old, as maid servants to the creditor in order to clear their debt.

Causes of Child Labour: Child labour is inevitable in a country like India where over 40 per cent of the population lives in conditions of extreme poverty. The children have to supplement their parents’ income or in some cases, they are the only wage earners in the family.

Another reason is that vested interests deliberately create child labour to get cheap labour as a factory hand, a domestic servant or a shop assistant.

The state of Child Labourers: Children often work in dangerously polluted factories. They work for 9 to 10 hours at a stretch including night shifts. No wonder that a large number of child workers have sunken chests and thin bone frames which give them a fragile look. They are made to work in small rooms under inhuman conditions which include unhygienic surroundings. Most of these children come from extremely poor households. They are either school drop-outs or those who have not seen any school at all.

Child labourers run the risk of contracting various diseases. They are vulnerable to exploitation by all. There is no strict enforcement of laws against child labour, so, employers continue to circumvent the provisions of the law in the full knowledge that the child workers themselves will not dare to expose them.

Conclusion: The authorities should incorporate a provision for surprise checks and establish a separate vigilance cell. Employers should compulsorily take steps for the intellectual, vocational and educational well-being and upliftment of a child worker.

We need policies which try to alleviate poverty and inequality as they can have a significant and decisive impact on economic conditions and social structures that have a bearing on child labour. Such initiatives may incorporate agrarian reforms, employment-generation programmes, use of improved technology among the poor, promotion of the informal sector and creation of cooperatives and social security schemes. Also required is effective enforcement machinery to punish the violators of laws. Labour-inspection and related services need to be strengthened.

Article on Child Labour 4 (800 words)

Child labourers have to toil long hours to eke out a living for themselves and support their families. Exploitation becomes a way of life for them and becomes very harmful to their physical and mental development. They are forced to inhabit an adult world, shoulder adult responsibilities, and suffer extreme exploitation.

Despite legislation banning child labour, it has not been possible to completely stop the practice of hiring children as labour across the world. India is no exception to employment of children as labour; rather the country employs the largest number of child labourers in the world.

Causes of Child Labour: Poverty, social inequality and lack of education are among is the main cause of child labour. According to a UNICEF report, in rural and impoverished parts of the world, children have no real and meaningful alternative as schools and teachers are not available. Many communities, particularly rural areas do not have adequate school facilities, even the availability and quality of schools is very low.

Also, the low paying informal economy thrives upon the low cost, easy to hire, easy to dismiss labour in the form of child labour. After the unorganized agriculture sector which employs 60% of child labour, children are employed in unorganized trade, unorganized assembly and unorganized retail work. Other contributory factors to child labour include inflexibility and structure of India’s labour market, size of informal economy, inability of industries to scale up and lack of modern manufacturing technologies.

Bonded child labour in India: Under this system, the child, or usually child’s parent enter into an agreement, wherein the child performs work as in-kind repayment of credit. Though India passed the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976 prohibiting solicitation or use of bonded labour including children, the practice of bonded child labour has not ceased.

Consequences of Child Labour: Child labour inflicts damage to a child’s physical and mental health. A child labourer has no basic rights to education, development, and freedom. Children employed as labourers work in unsafe environments where there is a constant danger of fatal accidents. They are forced to lead a life of poverty, illiteracy, and deprivation. They are required to perform gruelling and physically demanding tasks and in return receive only meagre wages. Poor working conditions cause severe health problems to such children. A child labourer not just suffers physical and mental torture but also becomes mentally and emotionally mature too fast which is never a good sign.

Various laws but no implementation: Apart from the enactment of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the Indian Constitution has incorporated various provisions against child labour such as the following:

• According to Article 24, no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or in any hazardous employment (but not in non-hazardous industries).
• As per Article 39(f)), childhood and youth are to be protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.
• Article 45 stipulates that the state shall endeavour to provide within a period of 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years.

The Factories Act of 1948 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The Mines Act of 1952 prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine. Also, various laws and the Indian Penal Code, such as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act-2000, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act-1986 seek to prevent the practice of child labour in India. Unfortunately, these laws and regulations have not been backed by effective and proper implementation and enforcement.

Conclusion: Collective efforts are needed on the part of society and the government to put an end to the practice of child labour. In fact, every citizen should take a pledge to never employ child labourer, rather discourage others too from doing so. We should create awareness amongst people employing child labourers and the parents sending their children to work. We need to provide our children a happy childhood where they are able to enjoy the best period of their lives with a merry and carefree attitude.

The government should make efforts to increase the incomes of parents by launching various development schemes. Efforts should be made towards poverty eradication combined with educational reforms to provide free or affordable access to quality education. Only by taking comprehensive steps, the Government can hope to eliminate all forms of child labour by 2020.

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Child Labour – India’s Hidden Shame

From Current Affairs Notes for UPSC » Editorials & In-depths » This topic

One of the most unfortunate consequences of the pandemic and its wide range of restrictions has been the higher vulnerability of children to different forms of abuse and deprivation. Moreover, the second wave of COVID-19 has left several children without both or one of their parents. This situation exposed them to hopelessness, financial hardships and increased risk of child labour, exploitation, and trafficking.

This topic of “Child Labour – India’s Hidden Shame” is important from the perspective of the UPSC IAS Examination , which falls under General Studies Portion.

Who is a child?

Child and Adolescent Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act 1986 defines the child as a person who has not completed the age of 14 years.

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What is Child Labour?

• Child Labour as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a work that takes away children their childhood, their potential and their dignity which is harmful to their physical as well as mental development.
• ILO also explains child labour in its most extreme forms involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities — often at a very early age.
• But Children or adolescents who involve in works that do not impact their health and personal development or affect their schooling is not child labour. For instance, helping their parents at home, helping family or earning pocket money outside school hours and on holidays.

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How children are exploited for Labour in India?

Instead of being in school or at play or other constructive activities, they are put to work on a range of activities that span repetitive low-skill work that doesn’t aid development for future employment opportunities, they are forced to be exposed to conditions devastating to health and safety in the agriculture, industry and service sectors.

The work involves long hours on a bewildering range of tasks such as transferring pollen in cotton plants, picking the crop with their bare hands, indentured on tea or tobacco plantations and brick making factories and construction sites; being sent down dangerous mines for extracting gold and diamonds, or confined to cramped workshops for cutting and polishing gemstones; working at slaughterhouses and tanneries with minimal protection or under life-threatening conditions at fireworks factories.

Children are very commonly employed in the murky underbelly of the fashion industry in yarn and spinning mills, and garment factory sweatshops, put to work from handling silkworms in scalding water to doing painstaking embellishment work. They are on the streets picking rags – carrying an entire recycling industry on their shoulders, or in homes doing domestic work either as employees of others or in the case of girls in their own homes where they are treated as free labour and not considered as deserving of education as their brothers.

The worst of all is the human trafficking situations of modern-day slavery that children are thrown into, facing horrific abuse and lifelong trauma as bonded labourers or sold into sexual exploitation . Alongside the physical implications of this work, can we even begin to imagine the mental health consequences for these children and adolescents forced into labour?

What is the statistics of child labour in India?

According to the 2011 census,

• there were more than 10.2 million children in the age group of 5-14 working as child labourers.
• Child labour has increased rapidly in urban areas and declined in rural areas.
• The overall decrease in child labour is only 2.2% per year from 2001-2011.
• India’s biggest child labour employers are – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

What is the nature of child labour in India?

Change in work location: There has been high involvement of children in home-based works and in the informal sector.

Rural-Urban areas:

• In urban areas, a huge number of children are involved in manual domestic work, rag picking, restaurants, motor repair shops, etc.
• Agriculture including cotton growing,
• Matchbox industries,
• Brass, and lock-making factories,
• Embroidery,
• Rag-picking,
• Beedi-rolling,
• Carpet-making industry,
• Mining and stone quarrying,
• Brick kilns,
• Tea gardens etc.

Gender specific: The division of labour is gender-specific with girls being engaged in more domestic and home-based work, and boys working as wage labourers.

Bonded Child labour: refers to the employment of a person against a loan, debt or social obligation by the family of the child or family as a whole. Bonded child labourers are mostly found in the agriculture sector or helping their families in brick kilns, and stone quarries. There are around 10 million bonded child labourers in India.

Migrant Children: Children who are migrating to other locations with family are often forced to drop-out schools and unavoidably put to work at work-sites.

What are the causes of Child Labour in India?

Poverty and Indebtedness:

• Poverty is the greatest cause of child labour. For impoverished households, income from a child’s work is generally important for his or her own survival or for that of the household.
• Children are also bonded to labour because of the family indebtedness.
• Rural poverty and urban migration often expose children to being trafficked for work.

Adult unemployment and under-employment : high prevalence of adult unemployment and under-employment often force children to work to support the family.

Illiteracy and Ignorance of parents:  Illiteracy of the child’s parents further worsens the crisis. Illiteracy and Lack of awareness of the harmful consequences of child labour make them violate the law and put their children under the risk of inhuman exploitation.

Lack of access to basic and meaningful quality education and skills training:

• The current educational infrastructure is highly unsuitable to children of economically deprived families.
• Furthermore, the deteriorating quality of education has resulted in increasing dropout rates and forced children to engage in work.
• Compulsory education (RTE) does not cover the 15-18 age group (adolescents). However, being illiterate or school dropouts, these children are vulnerable and most exploited for the informal, unskilled and casual workforce.

Demand for child labour :

• Rising demand for child labour particularly in urban areas is an important cause for the prevalence and increase in child labour.
• Children are employed as they are cheap and flexible with respect to the demands of the employer and not aware of their rights.

Cultural factors:

• An expectation that children should contribute to the socio-economic survival of the family and community, as well as the existence of large families,  contribute to the prevalence of child labour.
• Children mostly take up family’s traditional work from an early age. For instance, a Goldsmith’s son takes to gold-smithery, or a carpenter’s child takes up carpentry from an early age.

Social factors:  There is a strong correlation between India’s differentiated social structure and child labour. The majority of child labourers in India belong to the so called lower castes (SCs), the tribal and Muslim religious minority.

What are the impacts of child labour?

• Affect childhood: Child labour takes away a child of his/her childhood. It not only denies his/her right to education but also right to leisure.
• Affect adult life: Child labour prevents children from gaining the skills and education they require to have opportunities for decent work when they become an adult.
• Major health and physical risks: as they work long hours and are needed to do tasks for which they are physically and mentally unprepared. Working in hazardous situations adversely impacts a child’s physical and mental health and affects intellectual, emotional and psychological development.
• Poverty: Child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Household poverty makes children enter the labour market to earn money = they miss out on an opportunity to get an education = further continuing household poverty across generations in a vicious cycle.

• Affect country as a whole: Existence of a large number of child labourers has long term effect on the economy and it is a serious obstacle to the socio-economic welfare of the country.

What are the International Safeguards against Child Labour?

International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions:

• The two Core Conventions directly related to child labour are that of ILO Convention 138 (Minimum age convention) and 182 (Worst forms of Child Labour Convention).
• India has ratified both the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions.

Declaration of Rights of Child, 1959:

• Universal declaration of human rights 1948 –  mentions (under article 25) that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance.
• The above principles along with other principles of a universal declaration concerning child were incorporated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989

It sets out different rights of children- civil, political, economic, cultural, social and health. Article 32 states that the government should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their education.

What are the measures taken by India?

Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 

Based on the recommendations of the Gurupadaswammy Committee (1979), the Act was passed in 1986. It has the following objectives:

• to prohibit the engagement of children in some employment.
• and to regulate the conditions of work of children in certain other employment.

Salient features:

• The Act prohibits children from working in any occupation listed in Part A of the Schedule; for example: Catering at railway establishments, construction work on the railway or anywhere near the tracks, plastics factories, automobile garages, etc.
• The act also prohibits children from working in places where certain processes are being undertaken, as listed in Part B of the Schedule; for example beedi making, tanning, soap manufacture, brick kilns, and roof tiles units, etc.
• Part III of the act outlines the conditions in which children may work in occupations/processes not listed in the schedule.
• Any person who employs any child in contravention of the provisions of section 3 of the Act is liable for punishment with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 3 months but which may extend to one year or fine.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

• The Amendment Act completely prohibits the employment of children below 14 years.
• The amendment also prohibits the employment of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes and regulates their working conditions where they are not prohibited.
• The amendment also provides stricter punishment for employers for violation of the Act and making the offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the Act by an employer as cognizable.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017

• The rules provide a broad and specific framework for prevention, prohibition, rescue, and rehabilitation of child and adolescent workers.
• It also clarifies on issues related to helping in family and family enterprises and definition of family with respect to the child.
• It states that the child shall not perform any tasks during school hours and between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.
• It also provides for safeguards of artists which have been permitted to work under the Act, in terms of hours of work and working conditions.
• It states that no child shall be allowed to work for more than 5 times a day, and for not more than 3 hours without rest.

National Policy on Child Labour (1987)

• It contains the action plan for tackling the problem of Child Labour.
• It focuses more on the rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and processes, rather than on prevention.
• The policy consists of three main attributes:
• Legal Action plan –Emphasis will be laid on strict and effective enforcement of legal provisions relating to a child under various Labour laws.
• Focusing on general development programmes- Utilisation of various on-going development programmes of other Ministries/Departments for the benefit of Child Labour wherever possible.
• Project-based plan of Action – Launching of projects for the welfare of working child in areas of high concentration of child labour.

National Child Labour Project Scheme

• For rehabilitation of child labour, the Government had initiated the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme.
• The NCLP Scheme seeks:
• To eliminate all forms of child labour through identification and withdrawal children from child labour and preparing them for mainstream education along with vocational training
• To contribute to the withdrawal of all adolescent workers from Hazardous Occupations / Processes and their skilling and integration in suitable occupations.
• Creation of a Child Labour Monitoring, Tracking and Reporting System.

Pencil:  The government has launched a dedicated platform viz. pencil.gov.in to ensure effective enforcement of child labour laws and end child labour.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 and Amendment of the Act in 2006

• It includes the working child in the category of children in need of care and protection, without any limitation of age or type of occupation.
• Section 23 (cruelty to Juvenile) and Section 26 (exploitation of juvenile employee) specifically deal with child labour under children in need of care and protection.

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009):  The Act made it mandatory for the state to ensure that all children aged six to 14 years are in school and receive free education.

Many NGOs like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, ChildFund, CARE India, Talaash Association, Child Rights and You, Global march against child labour, RIDE India, Child line, Kailash Satyarthi Children Foundation etc. have been working to eradicate child labour in India.

What are the Challenges in reducing child labour in India?

Issues with Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016:

• The list of hazardous industries has been drastically decreased, this may allow the employers in industries like chemical mixing units, cotton farms, battery recycling units, and brick kilns, etc. to employ adolescent labour, which they may even get at a much cheaper price.
• Further, the amendment allows a child to be employed in “family or family enterprises”.This raises a question over a large number of child labour in agrarian rural India where poor families are trapped in intergenerational debt-bondage.

Definitional issue:  One of the biggest challenges in eradicating child labour is the confusion around the definition of a child, in terms of age, in various laws dealing with child labour.

Lack of identification:  Age identification of children is a difficult task in India due to the lack of identification documents. Child labourers often lack school registration certificates and birth certificates, creating an easy loophole in the law to exploit. Most often the children of migrant workers working as labourers and those employed in domestic work go unreported.

Weak enforcement of law and poor governance: Weak enforcement of the law, lack of adequate deterrence and corruption is a major hurdle in eradicating child labour.

What is the way forward?

• Child labour is a vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, underemployment, and low wages. There should be a concerted effort towards social protection programmes and cash transfers to improve the economic situation of families and to reduce the “need” to send children to work.
• There is an urgent need to revamp educational infrastructure- to ensure access to educational institutions, improvement in quality and relevance of education
• There is a need to bring uniformity in existing Indian laws dealing with child labour. The laws must expand the definition of a child by prohibiting the employment of and ensuring free and compulsory education (RTE, Act, 2009) for children below 18 years
• There is a need to launch a national campaign to invoke public interest and large-scale awareness on the exploitation of children and the menace of child labour.
• The government should take adequate measures to raise awareness among families and communities. Parental literacy can play an important role in ensuring the rights of children are upheld.
• Elimination of child labour demands commitment from the society e.g. family, state, civil society and those who employ children in any enterprises.

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Pennsylvania's Child Labor Act: Protecting Young Workers This Summer

HARRISBURG, PA — As summer break approaches and teenagers seek employment opportunities, Secretary Nancy A. Walker of the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) reminds Pennsylvanians about the protections offered to workers under the age of 18 by the state’s Child Labor Act.

The Child Labor Act, enforced by L&I’s Bureau of Labor Law Compliance (BLLC), aims to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of minors employed in Pennsylvania. It does this by limiting employment in certain establishments and occupations, restricting work hours, regulating working conditions, and requiring work permits for children hired for jobs.

In 2023, BLLC investigators saw a 43 percent increase in child labor cases, rising from 402 cases in 2022 to 574 cases in 2023. Overall, BLLC investigated more than 5,200 complaints of alleged labor law violations—a 27 percent increase from the previous year.

The Child Labor Act has specific provisions for three age categories: under 14, 14-15, and 16-17. For all minors under 16, a written statement from the parent or guardian is necessary, acknowledging the duties and hours of employment and granting permission to work. Minors also need to obtain a work permit from their school district.

No minors, except those involved in newspaper delivery, may work more than six consecutive days. Additionally, all minors must receive a 30-minute meal period on or before five consecutive hours of work. Full- or part-time minors must be paid at least the minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour.

Under-14 Work Restrictions

Children under 14 can work only under specific circumstances, such as on a family farm, in domestic service (babysitting, yard work, household chores), or as newspaper carriers, caddies, or entertainment performers with special permits.

14-15-Year-Olds Work Restrictions

When school is not in session, 14 and 15-year-olds can work between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., no more than eight hours a day, or 40 hours a week. Different standards may apply for specific jobs like newspaper delivery, caddying, and some farm work. During the school year, they can work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., no more than three hours a day on school days, or 18 hours a school week. This work must not interfere with school attendance.

16-17-Year-Olds Work Restrictions

When school is not in session, 16 and 17-year-olds can work between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m., no more than 10 hours a day, or 48 hours a week. Employers cannot require them to work more than 45 hours a week. During the school year, they can work between 6 a.m. and 12 a.m., no more than eight hours a day on school days, or 28 hours a school week. This work must not interfere with school attendance.

Prohibited Occupations for All Minors

Minors are prohibited from working in hazardous environments, as designated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Prohibited occupations include those that involve dangerous equipment, weapons, or activities such as:

• Crane operation
• Electrical work
• Woodworking
• Wrecking and demolition

A comprehensive list of prohibited occupations for all minors in Pennsylvania is available on L&I’s website .

The importance of these regulations cannot be overstated. They ensure that young workers are protected from exploitation and hazardous conditions, allowing them to gain work experience safely. The rise in labor law violations highlights the need for vigilance in enforcing these rules.

As teenagers look for summer jobs, it is crucial for employers, parents, and young workers themselves to understand and comply with these laws. This not only protects the well-being of young workers but also fosters a safe and fair working environment for all.

By adhering to the Child Labor Act, Pennsylvania continues to prioritize the health and safety of its youngest workforce members, ensuring that their introduction to the labor market is both positive and secure.

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• AEA Papers and Proceedings
• The Impact of Family Tax Benefits on Children's Health and Educational Outcomes

The Impact of Family Tax Benefits on Children's Health and Educational Outcomes

• Michael Baker
• Kourtney Koebel
• Mark Stabile
• Article Information

Additional Materials

• Replication Package
• Online Appendix (109.97 KB)
• Author Disclosure Statement(s) (306.29 KB)

JEL Classification

• J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination