Child Soldiers: The Little Army

Children should not be involved either directly or indirectly in warfare. Child soldier have participated in warfare throughout history. Every continent in the world (excluding Antarctica) used child soldiers in their army at least one time throughout its history. A 14 years old child in a war zone armed with automatic rifles, high-powered explosives, and drugs laced with gunpowder and other dangerous substances sounds too grotesque and immoral to be actually happening; however, this is something that has happened numerous times during history, and continues. Even today, there are many nations or groups involved in the use of child soldiers today. Governments and organizations around the world have tried multiple times to start movements to stop the use. The United Nations (UN) has even passed international laws to try to deter nations or groups from recruiting children. Many programs specialize in not only helping the children, but also reintegrating them into normal society.
First, child soldiers appear repetitively throughout history. Children even fought in famous wars such as The United States Civil War and World War 1. Experts estimate that as much as 20 percent of the soldiers during The United States Civil War were under the age of 18. The children would lie about their age in order to enlist. While most of the children became drummer boys, nurses, or scouts. When the casualties of war began to climb during a battle some of the children would have to join in a much larger role.
During the American Civil War, children sometimes received medals for their services, courage, and loyalty. One such child is John Cook. John Cook was a Union bugle player who was only 15 years-old when he served. During the Bat...

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...dult soldiers. Along with that enemy soldiers who do not have children in it are more hesitant to shoot at children then they would be fellow adults.
In conclusion, a child soldier is any person involved in warfare under the age of 18. Child soldiers were common and looked up upon in recent history. In today’s times child soldiers are looked at as immoral and inhumane; however, many nations and military groups still use children as soldiers. In recent years many organizations, both government and civilian funded, have tried to spread awareness and stop this from happening in the future. There have been international laws passed by the UN that prohibits the recruitment of children for military purposes. A former child soldier being reintegrated into the public is difficult for both the children and society. Children are used by groups for several different reasons.