It is disappointing to hear about child labor in this fast-paced world, as this problem has arisen since those ancient times and is still happening now. It’s like an endless problem. When we talk about child labor, we can relate it to child exploitation, child slavery and also child trafficking. Child labor can be defined as the exploitation of children under the age of 18 who are forced to work illegally, which can harm them physically and abuse them psychologically. In this issue, we will discover the causes that contribute to child labor and also the solutions to it.

The first New York Times online article titled “Children in Service, Haiti’s Poorest of the Poor” deals with child labor that occurred in Conaives, Haiti. Haiti, which had been hit by hurricanes and tropical storms, has turned its Haitian society from rich to poor and from poor to poorer due to the devastating economic impacts caused by the natural disaster. As a result, many poorer families had a hard time looking for daily necessities, especially food. The poorest parents had to work and send their children to rich or poor families that could feed their children at least once a day. Unfortunately, the children who were fired did not receive free meals. They had to be servants and clean the host’s house while other children went to school. Meanwhile, their parents had to work somewhere and promised that they would return once they could afford to support their children.

In response to this article, I can see that a natural disaster not only brings destruction to buildings or other facilities, but also affects the economic state of the affected country. Eventually, unfortunate citizens have to face poverty and those who cannot afford to send their children to school will force them to work. Therefore, in my opinion, the bad economic situation leads to poverty and eventually contributes to the problem of child labor. People facing poverty cannot afford to send their children to school and these unfortunate children cannot afford to lead lives like other children. The need for food, shelter, and clothing leads your children into the trap of preterm birth. However, poverty is not the only cause of child labor. Other common causes are parental illiteracy, low social status, lack of education and parental exposure, exploitation of a cheap source of work.

The second article in The Star (April 6, 2010) titled “Begging Runs in the Family” features about the Myanmar community begging for a living. A mother of five admitted that she used to beg with her mother as a child and now it seems her children are following in her footsteps. In Klang, seeing children wandering around and begging for money has been a normal scenario for a few decades. When beggar children were asked about their parents, they said that their parents had died. Meanwhile, some of the beggars deliberately got pregnant so that they could have babies to carry and when the babies are grown they are asked to beg like their mothers.

In response to the second article, I discovered that it is indeed irresponsible for parents to pass on the begging culture to their children. In my opinion, the main cause in the above case is the lack of education and the exposure of parents about the importance of education. Children, regardless of their community or race, must be educated and sent to school. As for me, parents who ask their children to beg and work have a negative mindset. These types of parents only think about taking advantage of their own flesh and blood. If you are wise enough, you should know that education is the most important component of life that can help provide a better life for your children. Illiterate and ignorant parents do not understand the need for proper and healthy physical, cognitive and emotional development of their child. They themselves are neither educated nor exposed, so they do not realize the importance of education for their children.

The third article in the online magazine Health and Style offers several solutions to child labor. It is mentioned that there are no magic bullets for this problem, but if collective efforts are made, the problems can be resolved slowly. One of the solutions proposed in this article is to provide financial assistance to parents. In addition to that, free admission to school should also be implemented to reduce the financial constraints of parents with poor financial backgrounds. The acceptance of abandoned child laborers into the Society’s homes could also help provide education for these unfortunate children. Other than that, law enforcement agencies must act to protect child laborers under the law. Finally, it also aims to improve economic conditions to prevent child labor from continuing.

I totally agree with all the solutions proposed in the previous article. It is true that parents with poor financial backgrounds must receive financial assistance from stakeholders, such as the government. If financial aid is not provided, job opportunities can probably be offered to ease your burden. Parents must also be educated about the importance of education in life so that they realize that asking their children to work will never help free them from poverty. Meanwhile, free admission to school is a good idea to prevent poor children from getting compromised before delivery. Most of these children are not sent to school due to financial problems. Therefore, by providing free school admission, parents would have no more excuses for not giving their children a proper education. However, this idea would have been better if the government provided not only free admission to school, but also free education. This means that textbooks and other things are given for free. In my opinion, another alternative measure such as placing children in boarding schools is also an effective way to provide them with education. This will help children to focus on their studies, while parents can also focus on their work. Apart from that, enforcement of the law is also needed to protect child laborers by law. In fact, sending children to school should be mandatory. Finally, I fully agree that economic conditions must be improved to prevent child labor from continuing. This is because poor economic conditions can lead adults, especially parents, to commit child labor, as it is considered one of the sources of funding.

In conclusion, poverty, lack of education, poor economic conditions and economic background are the causes of child labor that have been identified. There is no doubt that child labor is inhumane, as children are exploited and forced to work for the benefit of others. Therefore, I am strongly opposed to this issue, as no matter what the reasons are, children have the right to lead a good life and enjoy their childhood like other lucky children. Earning a living by working or begging is never the responsibility of a child, but of their parents. Children are the future generation that will lead our nation. Therefore, we must provide them with education so that they can be a healthy person. Remember, your failures are our failures.