Child Labor

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Consequences of Forced Child Labor and Possible Solutions
Introduction
Although indentured child labor may be beneficial to children and families with a poor background, I disagree with Divakaruni’s argument against the law that forbids goods produced by forced child laborers. This is because forced child labor has detrimental effects on children. Childhood is a stage when children are provided with a chance to explore, acquire knowledge and skills and to have a better understanding of the world (Faria, 18). However, when children are forced to engage in such work at a tender age, they, miss out on this chance. Child labor is a hindrance to children’s overall development as well future opportunities. Hence, it is imperative to explore the adverse effects that child labor has on children as well as possible solutions on the same.
Consequences of Child Labor
In most circumstances, child labor has adverse consequences on the child’s life. For instance, it has damaging effects on a children’s physical development; this is because child laborers tend to be more vulnerable than adults are since their bodies are still developing (Faria, 19). Most of these children are subjected to heavy and intense tasks and are even exposed to harmful chemicals and objects, which affect their overall well-being. The effects of this exposure can be immediate like in the case of cuts and burns or may have lifetime consequences such as suffering from parasitic and respiratory diseases.

Child labor may also affect children’s emotional development in the sense that these kids usually work in environments that are isolating and exploitative. As a result, the children are unable to have healthy interactions with others or even acquiring an actual sense of belonging and identity. They also experience low confidence and self-esteem. More so, these children experience mental trauma while working in this exploitative environment as they may feel bad when they are kept working while their fellow age mates are playing or going to school (Faria, 19). Issues such as sexual exploitation, long working hours and bullying at the workplace can cause trauma in these children. They also find it hard to get over their pasts and may become community rebels due to their degrading childhood experiences.
More so, indentured child labor can have a negative effect in a child’s social development; this is due to the fact that they are denied the opportunity to engage in activities that form an important part of their growing such as education, playing and socializing with other kids. This compromises their ability to interact with others and to participate actively in other enjoyable life activities as they are pushed to adulthood at an early stage. Illiteracy is another negative consequence that arises from indentured child labor. Children who are employed may not find time to attend school, and if they do, it is likely that they will register low academic achievement (Faria, 20). Lack of literacy or education subjects an individual to a limited pool of opportunities. More so, education prepares one for various challenges in life, and without it, an individual may lack fundamental skills required to solve many problems in life (Beegle et al. 17). A person who has gone through school tends to have skills on how to handle particular situations without using brute force. On the other hand, a person who is not educated considers force as the only option to solve the problems that they experience. Additionally, child labor tends to carry on inter-generational poverty in the sense that the children grow up unskilled, illiterate, or even underemployed. This continues the vicious cycle of poverty as they remain poor and are as well not likely to educate their children once they grow up which jeopardizes the future of their next generation.
Solutions
Some of the possible solutions to the child labor problem include interventions such as, providing free education, which would help raise a literate generation. Most parents in developing countries lack money to pay school fees; this restrains children from acquiring necessary literacy skills that help them solve various problems in life. Studies that have been performed across the world have proved that education has helped reduce cases of child labor significantly (Rahman, 59). More so, introducing a free meal program in schools can be used to encourage those parents who can hardly afford meals and tuition fees to take their children to school. In this case, children will not only be going to school because of the meals; but they will also get an opportunity to get a good education and a better life as well.
Moral tenets hold that child labor is illegal and unethical since there are laws and regulations enacted to prohibit the same. In light of this, individuals should take responsibility to ensure that child labor is not entertained. It is morally wrong to engage children in such labor at the expense of quality education and childhood. The industrial revolution era saw many children drop out of school to work in the mines and factories. In the contemporary society, such places should not permit children to work due to the numerous adverse effects (Rahman, 60). This type of moral polishing is imperative as it deters people from exploiting children to provide cheap labor. Arguably, most immoral actions occur in the society when people are negligent towards taking the right measures. Therefore, when child labor becomes unethical in the society, few people will engage in this behavior thus contributing to the overall well-being of minors in the community.
Creating demand for skilled workers is another possible solution; this will reduce cases of child labor as most children fall under the unskilled category. This will upsurge adult employment due to the increased demand for skilled labor. More so, the establishment of skill based and vocational training centers will help improve societal literacy levels and will contribute to the availability of a qualified pool of labor in the market. The government may also create job opportunities, which would aid in reducing cases of unemployment and increasing household income. Hence, such government interventions are important as they raise the living standards of people in the society and as well eliminate the necessity of child labor in a bid to sustain the family.
Educating people about the negative consequences of child labor would help in eradicating the practice. Parents should be enlightened about the torture that they subject their children to by allowing the practice. They should also be made aware about the legal ramifications that they may attract in case they are found facilitating the vice (Rahman, 61). It is due to the ignorance that prevails among parents in the society that makes children engage in child labor. Therefore, a campaign to create awareness about the adverse effects that child labor has on children would help eliminate the vice. More so, the government should collaborate with other non-governmental agencies with the aim of developing strategies to ensure successful elimination of child labor in the society.
The problem of child labor could also be solved by empowering the poor people since they are the most affected. Lack of finances and poor living standards are some of the factors that make children engage in child labor. Thus, empowering poor people through knowledge and assisting them to start up income generating activities would help reduce cases of child labor by a significant threshold (Rahman, 62). More so, parental literacy plays a critical role in upholding children rights as well as ensuring that minors are not forced to engage in child labor. Enlightening parents with such kind of information can influence positive change in the community and encourage the barring of child labor in the society.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that child labor has negative consequences on children and the society at large. Some of the prominent effects of child labor include poor social, emotional and physical development, low literacy levels, and facilitating the vicious cycle of poverty. As such, it is essential to eliminate this problem to ensure the welfare of all children in the society. Some of the possible solutions to this problem include educating parents and community members about the illegality of the practice as well as potential lawsuits that it may attract. Besides, empowering people to start up income generating activities by supporting them financially would also solve the problem. Another solution may be providing free education to ensure that all children attend school regardless of prevailing financial constraints. In addition, creating demand for skilled labor would help reduce chances of child labor, which falls under the category of unskilled labor. Finally, moral polishing should be conducted in the society in order to deter individuals who may be willing to employ children for cheap labor.

Works Cited
Beegle, Kathleen, et al. The consequences of child labor: evidence from longitudinal data in rural Tanzania. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008.
Faria, Cassandra Fernandes. “Why is child labour detrimental for children?.” Nurture 9 (2010): 18.
Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur, and Rasheda Khanam. “Child labor: the effects of globalization.” The Journal of Applied Business and Economics 13.4 (2012): 59.