What is Child Labor?

“Today, over 246 million children, many as young as five, are involved in child labor around the globe.” (University of Iowa Labor Center)

A girl working in the reconstruction in the city of Choluteca, Honduras.

 Child Labor is all over the world and it has existed for many decades.  Child labor is work done by underage children.  Children leave their education so they can feed themselves and their family.  It harms their mental, physical, social, educational, and emotional development.   Countries have different age limits for child labor. 

“Almost half, some 120 million, work full-time, every day, all year round.” (UNICEF, 1997)

"1 in 6 children in world are engaged in child labor.  Millions of children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, laboring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations." (UNICEF, 2010)

“Around the world and in the U. S., growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into work.”  (University of Iowa Labor Center)  Some children were forced to work and some have no options.  They are willing to do any type of work because their family is poor; they don’t have enough money to feed their family.   Children who are living in poor areas are most likely to engage in to child labor. 

UNICEF, (1997). Child Labor. Retrieved, 9^th February, 2011. http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/labour/labour.pdf

UNCEF, (2010). “Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse”. Retrieved , 9^th February, 2011. http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html

University of Iowa Labor Center,  “Child Labor Public Education Project”.  Retrieved, 9^th February, 2011. http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/about/what_is_child_labor.html