Child Labor Argumentative Essay

Think about the cotton in your shirt, the sugar in your coffee, and the shoes on your feet, all of which could be products of child labor. Child labor is a practice that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity and includes over 200 million children worldwide who are involved in the production of goods for companies and industries willing to exploit these kids for profit. Although most countries have laws prohibiting child labor, a lack of funding and manpower means that these laws are rarely enforced on a large scale. However, even for a first-world country like the United States, that has a large number of state and federal law enforcement officers, child labor is still a problem because priority is given to crimes that are more violent or heinous. Child labor must be made a priority issue because it is a global plague whose victims are physically and psychologically scarred, lack a proper education, are impoverished, and whose children are doomed to the same fate if nothing changes.
Child labor has detrimental effects on kids physically, psychologically, and educationally. Physically, the manual labor that children have to go through everyday takes a toll on them. According to a study by the

American Journal of Public Health, at least 60 percent of all child labor is done in hazardous conditions such as factories, plantations or mines, a majority of which, have no safety measures or supervision in place (Roggero, et al.). These jobs are especially harmful to kids due to their still developing bodies and their necessity for rest. Physical injuries, chemical poisonings, growth deficiencies, abnormal body structures and growth, diseases, fatigue, malnutrition, and reduced life expectancy are just some of the side effects that child laborers experience(ECLT). A poll conducted by the University of Iowa showed that in the United States alone, 19 percent of injuries and 41 percent of deaths that occurred in the workplace happened while a child was illegally working (Clark-Bennett, et al.). Also, as a result of spending their time working instead of having normal social interaction with friends and family, these children suffer educationally and psychologically as well. Most child laborers do not even get a basic education because of their work, and even those who do are still at a disadvantage compared to others. Children involved in child labor do not have the ability to think on the same cognitive level as their peers due to their lack of education, and the lack of social interaction they have with their peers and family leads to higher chances of social problems and drug abuse as adults (Gamble). All of these consequences caused by child labor lead to the life of a child laborer being permanently damaged.
Child labor exists because of laws not being in place, regulations not being enforced, and a lack of awareness on the part of consumers toward what they buy.

In terms of laws prohibiting child labor, 180 countries have ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, which prohibits all forms of child labor, including child trafficking, slavery, hazardous work, etc., yet child labor continues to happen in these countries. Other countries like India and Eritrea also need to be pressured and convinced to ratify this convention(ILO). This is not the only law prohibiting child labor, however. Globally, child labor before the age of 14 has basically been banned, but most countries do not enforce this rule or have exceptions to this

rule.
Companies use child labor to better their business while degrading and abusing children. There are two main types of companies involved with child labor: those who do not know about it and those who do know and in some cases even promote it within the company. Despite the majority of companies that people buy products from having regulations in place, these companies often do not take the time or consideration to actually check for child labor. For example, “major electronics brands, including Apple, Samsung and Sony, are failing to do basic checks to ensure that cobalt mined by child labourers has not been used in their products. The report, This is what we die for: Human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo power the global trade in cobalt, traces the sale of cobalt, used in lithium-ion batteries, from mines where children as young as seven and adults work in perilous conditions” (AI).Although these electronic companies did not know about child labor going on to produce materials for them, it still needs to be brought to attention and stopped. Due to the growing size of businesses around the world, it is getting harder and harder to enforce regulations about who can work and the conditions under which they are working, but many companies simply do not care as long as their products are selling. One example of this can be seen as, “According to a National Labor Committee 2006 report, an estimated 200 children, some 11 years old or even younger, are sewing clothing for Hanes, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, and Puma at the Harvest Rich factory in Bangladesh.” (Castillo) Not only did they have to work long hours, up to 19-20 hours a day, but they were also beaten and mistreated for not fulfilling their quota or making mistakes, and some children made as little as 6.5 cents an hour. Recently, in September 2015, three class-action lawsuits were filed in California against chocolate companies Hershey, Mars, and Nestle for child labor occurring in cocoa farms in Africa and the avoidance of bringing up the issue(Nieburg). Both of these examples show how companies are willing to exploit children for personal gain, and in the process put tremendous physical and mental strain on them as well.
Child labor can only be stopped by reducing poverty and promoting education. Many kids have to work or are pressured to work by their families to make money to pay for basic necessities like food, water, clothing, and housing. To find the correlation between poverty and child labor, a study was conducted by Zahid Naeem, Faiza Shaukat, and Zubair Ahmed at Qassim University in the Malir district of Karachi, Pakistan between April and July 2008. “By systematic random sampling, 200 children between ages of 5–15 years were selected from among the working children in the district. A structured questionnaire was designed, including questions about the child, his family, nature of work and workplace and socio economic conditions.” (Naeem, et al.) The results showed that 83% of these children came from from poor families, 82% were working due to their poverty, and another 13% were being forced to work. This example shows how impoverished children tend to work to provide money for their family and how this cycle occurs over and over again. With child laborers making small amounts money and having little to no education, they are not able to get another job with a higher salary and are stuck in their current situation. This causes their kids to have to be child laborers as well and this can continue for centuries. This might explain why child labor reduction rates are stagnating. On the other hand, consumers buying products from these companies remain oblivious to how the product was made and by whom that progress cannot be made to fix this issue. The consumers need to step up and refuse to support companies that allow this to go on (Dewitt).This creates a clash because without a demand for products or good that children are making, children will lose their jobs and be even poorer. With poverty not going away anytime soon, regulations not being enforced, and the absence of responsibility that companies and consumers share, child labor continues and will continue to occur.
Boycotting companies employing children, enforcing laws, and raising awareness about child labor will help end child labor. Boycotting companies that use child labor is an effective and proven way of fighting child labor. Nearly two decades ago, a report was released that Nike was paying their workers, including child laborers, as little as 14 cents per hours and were abusing them as well. Due to public protests and mass boycotts of the company, Nike began to cut down on this and employ regulations to end their flawed practices. They increased the wages of employees, made factory conditions cleaner, monitored factory conditions, and stopped the use of child labor. Now, Nike releases their own reports about their employees and wages and regained their reputation, as well as their control over the athletic footwear market by controlling 62% of the brand share currently ( Lutz). With less demand for products made by child labor, companies will be forced to comply with the consumer and stop the use of child labor. You can also donate to organizations such as UNICEF or the Ark of Hope to raise efforts and awareness. Not only do they take donations for projects with the goal of helping child laborers, but you can also volunteer your time to the cause by spreading the message either virtually or in your community or helping victims of child labor. All of these actions help child labor get one step closer to being dissolved, and that one step begins with one person.
Child labor must be stopped worldwide due to its detrimental effects to children physically, psychologically, and educationally. Not only is child labor one of the worst forms of abuse, but it is prohibiting children from pursuing their interests and achieving their goals. However, seeing as child labor is a product of poverty, both issues must be fought hand in hand by governments, companies, and citizens. Child labor laws need to be strictly enforced by governments, companies need to punished and persecuted for enabling child labor as well as putting regulations and monitoring in place, and consumers need to stop supporting this evil practice. In the fight for equality for everyone, the effort must be made to ensure a better future for the generations ahead by ending child labor once in for all.