One of the biggest problems that affect the lives of millions of children is child labour. It is a very big problem in different countries, especially in developing and poor countries in Asia, South America and Africa. Actually, 246 million children are child labourers. Most of them just want to survive or help their families. They do not have any choice. They lose their childhood and never go to school.
According to the International Labour Organization, most of those children who are under 14 work in poor conditions as domestic workers, prostitutes or factory workers. In addition to that, 73 million of them are less than ten years old.
It is a sad fact that 22,000 child labourers die every year in work-related accidents. They don’t have any legal protection at their workplaces. Child labourers work in different industries like agriculture, hunting, fishing and forestry. Reports say that 8% of them work in manufacturing as cheap labour.
Some people believe that childen sometimes need to work because they gain experience and get money to support themselves and their families. They also argue that they learn how to depend on themselves at a very young age.
In my opinion, leaving school to get a job is not good for young children because they destroy their future lives and they can not read or write. It is not good for their health because they badly affect their mental, physical and emotional development.
On the other hand, those children can get sexually abused and get involved in illicit activities like prostitution, slavery and drug trafficing.
All things considered, child labour has to stop and all countries around the world must protect young children and force parents to send them to schools to protect their future.
