Op-Ed: Child Labour

Introduction Persuasive
Techniques I Will Use

Introduce the issue and state your position. (not all techniques will
- Child labour be used in each piece
- It’s bad of writing)
- Maintaining it will take a lot away from our youth

Discussion of opposing view

Points for Child Labour: Analogy: compare

- It may be required for a family to make enough child labour to a flower
money to survive getting plucked out of
- It could be rooted in traditions from cultures the ground before it
- It helps them to develop all sorts of skills can bloom

Rebuts for said points: Rhetorical Question:

- Focus on addressing the roots of those problems “Shouldn’t we prioritize
rather than perpetuating the cycle of poverty their education over
- While respecting and participating in your culture is work?”
important, it shouldn’t exploit children, but rather
protect them Rule of Three:
- We should prioritize ensuring them access to a proper Emphasize that child
education before letting them develop skills in labour takes away kids
potentially dangerous environments innocence, potential,
and youth

Main argument

Child labour should be abolished everywhere as it robs Repetition: repeat the

millions of youth of their innocence and potential. above Rule of Three to
reinforce the idea

Proof

According to the ILO (International Labour Organization), Nostalgia: Think back

between 150 million and 160 million kids are victims of child to when you were six,
labour. school was the only
79 million of those children work in highly dangerous thing you had to worry
environments and 4.3 million are forced to do it. about and you
The UNICEF estimates that about 22,000 children die due to probably didn’t even
causes linked with child labour every year. have chores. Do you
Children engaged in work are more likely to remain trapped think it’s fair for other
in low-skilled jobs and experience limited economic children to have to
opportunities as adults. work at that age?
Conclusion

Child labour is horrendous and we should rid of it from the

face of the Earth.
We should protect the rights of children so that we may
ensure that their innocence is preserved, potential is
unlocked, and that their dreams can be realized.

Unveiling The Hidden
Suffering
Maximilian Bartoszek, Jul 7, 2023
Mississauga, ON
Think back to when you were a kid.
What wonderful days those were. No
stress, no fear of the future, and most
importantly, nothing to do! Now imagine
this: a childhood with no laughter, no
love, and a lot of manual labour. If you
were to think back on a past like that,
you would probably be a lot less happy
now, right? This was the same
childhood experience that many people
all across the world have had and still
do.
Child labour is a deeply troubling issue
that plagues our world, robbing millions
of kids of their innocence, potential, and
youth. While progress has been made in
recent years, the tenacity of child labour
demands attention and action from
leaders all over the world. It is about
time we recognize that the elimination of
child labour is not just a political or
economic issue, but rather a moral one
that must be beaten before dreaming of
building a just and right society.
Some argue that children doing
laborious work is not always so bad,
since it can help them develop skills and
traits at a young age that otherwise
would be difficult to. However, would not
it make more sense for us to prioritise
giving them access to a proper
education first? They could then learn all
sorts of skills that can develop over the
course of their lives before letting them
develop more mundane skills in
potentially dangerous environments, like
construction sites.
Many talk about how children working is
deeply rooted in the traditions of their
cultures. While you should show respect
for and participate in your culture, it
should not exploit children. Instead, if
anything, it should protect them. By
abusing them, you could cause them to
stray away from your culture, or help
cause generational trauma.
Others speak about how families may
be unable to afford their expenses if
children do not work with their parents. If
that is the problem, then we should
focus on addressing those problems
rather than perpetuating the cycle of
child labour. Children should not have to
make up for how bad their country is
being run, rather, their leaders should
instead.
Child labour should be abolished
everywhere as it robs millions of
children of their innocence, potential,
and youth. It is a practice that strips
children of their childhood, denying them
the joys of education, play, and growth.
Moreover, the toll it takes on their
physical and emotional well-being is
immeasurable. By subjecting children to
these sorts of hazardous environments,
we are also compromising their growth,
health, and safety.
Child labour is akin to the cruel theft of
one’s innocence and potential. Just as a
beautiful flower, destined to bloom and
spread beauty, is abruptly plucked and
denied the chance to flourish, child
labourers snatch away precious
childhoods, depriving children of their
right to education, success, and a
hopeful future. They are like cold pairs
of scissors that mistake children for
weeds, swallow their dreams, and bury
them beneath the world.
According to the ILO (International
Labour Organization), between 150 and
160 million kids are victims of child
labour today. This means that hundreds
of millions of flowers are being denied
the right to blossom even at this
moment. These flowers could be the
keys to saving the world, but instead,
they are withering away deep in the
cobalt mines, hoping to be able to buy
enough bread to feed their families.
Can you believe that 79 million kids
work in extremely dangerous
environments? That is about half of all
of the kids in the world that are victims
of child labour. They risk their lives
everyday for all sorts of unorthodox
reasons and barely receive anything in
return.
On top of that, 4.3 million kids are forced
to work in those conditions and do not
have a choice to get out even if they feel
unsafe. 71% of them work in agriculture
by farming and fishing. 17% work in
different types of services, including
tourism, and even things as heinous as
sex trafficking. The last 12% work near
industrial areas in factories and
sweatshops.
Many people work in the same
conditions as those kids, but at least
they are fully grown and built for those
specific jobs. The UNICEF estimates
that about 22,000 children die due to
causes linked with child labour every
year, which is a disturbingly large
number.
If you think back to your own youth, that
number is likely ten times larger than the
population of your old high school.
Among your peers, there were surely
those who blossomed into remarkable
individuals, becoming educators who
shaped the young minds of future
generations, or doctors who healed the
sick. But now, all sorts of kids who could
have been like them, are dying in
terrible conditions instead.
Furthermore, children engaged in work
at a young age are more likely to remain
stuck in low-skilled jobs and experience
limited opportunities as adults. This is
due to the lack of education they receive
when they are young, and narrow
access to resources they have as they
grow up. We can combat this, though,
by providing them with schooling and
ample time to be taught.
Eradicating child labour is not a choice,
but an obligation we owe to our future
generations. We cannot afford to ignore
the predicament of these children who
are robbed of their innocence, potential,
and youth any longer. It is our collective
responsibility to protect the rights of
these children, and provide them with
the childhoods we had. Because that is
our purpose, and we should always
strive to leave the Earth in a better place
than when we set foot on it.