Child Labor: Legalize or Ban?

Last month, when I was searching minimum wage law for my Economics class' assignment, I accidently found child labor minimum wage law. I was really shocked. Child labor is unavoidable in underdeveloped countries. However, I can't imagine that it is also legal in United State. Despite global activities against it, child labor still exists everywhere.

Child labor exists in every country. UNICEF estimates that 158 million children age five to fourteen are engaged in child labor. One of six children in the world is working. Most of child labor is from underdeveloped countries: About sixty percent in Asia and twenty percent in Africa. However, child labor is also legal in developed countries such as United State. United States Federal Child Labor Law establishes standards such as minimum age, minimum wage, hours of employment. Because child labor is legal, "Hundreds of thousands of children are employed as farm workers in the United States" (Human Right Watch).

Child labor can be found in every industry: Agriculture, manufacturing, mining, services, sexual exploitation and trafficking drug. Seventy percent of child labor is in agriculture. About eight million children engage in commercial sexual exploitation and illicit activities. Ironically, prestige firms such as the Nestle, Firestone, GAP, H&M, Nike and Zara have recently employed child laborers. Some of these firms had to face with lawsuit or boycott since they involved in illegal recruiting child workers and provided poor working condition. However, child laborers are still employed because "Companies achieve greater competitiveness at the cost of children working in the field" (Gay 64).

Physical damage is unavoidable for working children. Child workers are more likely to be injured than adult workers since children are unskilled and don't have adequate awareness of safety. I have seen my little niece hurt herself everyday when she has been playing around my house. Let imagine that we put this little girl in a farm, next to a plow truck and a barrel of pesticide, with a knife on her hand! What will happen? Human Right Watch reported:

Agriculture is the second most dangerous occupation in the United States. However, current US child labor laws allow child farm workers to work longer hours, at younger ages, and under more hazardous conditions than other working youths. They are often exposed to dangerous pesticides, experience high rates of injury, and suffer fatalities at five times the rate of other working youth (Human Right Watch).

Beside injuries and fatalities, child laborers also suffer from other health problems such as high chemical absorption rate, abnormal skeleton growth, hearing loss and skin disease.

Mental health problem is another risk for child laborers. Long working hours lead to stress, aggression, misconduct and frustration. Over forty percent child labor is affected by abnormal psychological growth. In some cases, child laborers also suffer from traumatic and long term psychosocial problems. Lindsay Lohan is a contemporary