2P38

Working Children in Nepal
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Child_labour_Nepal.jpg

            In many people’s minds, the idea of working children usually brings forth negative connotations along with it. I envision something like this photo: Young children spending countless hours every day, in sometimes hazardous conditions, forced to earn an income to help the family survive. This idea reflects the notions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 32: stating the “recognition of the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education..” and they go on to define that work deprives children of their childhood and is harmful to their physical and mental development. Nowhere does it say that the labour of children is wrong or immoral, but just needs to be monitored. That is when I thought to myself, is having children work really a bad thing? Think about it, if these children in developing countries have their jobs taken away from them, these children and their families may go hungry, and in extreme cases, they are put on the line between life and death. Take the street children for example, they are likely at risk for getting involved in crime or drug production as they strive to try and meet their economic needs on the streets. These jobs may occupy these children and give them something to do, as Karen Wells argues that most working children are poor, living in a developing country in which although children are vulnerable, some may benefit from labour, possibly more so than schools.We have been so caught up in this notion that working children is strictly a bad thing but have we really considered all of the consequences. In some situations, children who are working, whether it be domestic work or work in the field, it may potentially be the best alternative for a family. One important thing to consider is that many children around the globe do not have access to an education, so what do these children do? By working, these under privileged children can gain work experience but also assist their families. It is clear that Western values and norms differ from those in other countries. Countries like India have no choice but to have children working, especially when the majority of the population is made up of children, because who else will work? I feel like we sometimes fail to understand that in some places, having children work must be present so that the child themselves can survive. Traditionally speaking, families working in agriculture are likely to have larger families to help do work so they don’t have to hire extra hands so therefore, it makes sense that children would work alongside their parents.

              What I am getting at is questioning what exactly depicts working children as something that is beneficial or harmful? In many cases, especially developing countries, working may be the best option for the children and his/her family. If we were to take away the children’s jobs, where would they end up? On the streets? Suffering from starvation? In black markets such as prostitution? It can be argued that taking children out of work and stripping their income may be even more harmful and possibly putting them at risk towards even more dangerous jobs or potentially worsen their living standards. What many of us may not understand is that their jobs may be essential in order for them to live. Of course it is important to notice my bias here, as I may not fully understand how it truly feels to be a child worker because I was born into a decent living environment with easy access to an education. I am just questioning whether this “ideal” Western notion advocating working children as a problem may be misguided. But don’t get me wrong, I do not want to see extensive child labour and the exploitation of children by working excessive hours in hazardous conditions, but looking at working children, in itself, may not necessarily be a bad thing. I can’t help but think that our understanding of what truly defines child labour is heavily influenced by our Western world viewing working children as exploitative and to be avoided at all costs, but this vision may in fact be more problematic than we think.

References:

Wells, K. (2013). Childhood in a Global Perspective. Cambridge: Polity Press.