152 million children.

Two causes of child labour

i)Living in Poverty

ii)Low rates of literacy and numeracy

I think living in poverty is the most significant cause. This is because-

i) Children will be forced to work to get basic resources because of

poverty.
ii) Poverty projects the idea that child labour is good, as a kid gets
validation due to the money, they bring into a poverty ridden
family, which will establish a cycle of child labour.
Child labour is a prevailing issue thus it is an important issue for
governments to look into. As of 2023,140 million children aged
between 5-17 are child laborers.

Child Labour has many harmful consequences to the child, making it a

issue to be dealt with. These reasons make it a violation of human
rights and it is a government’s duty to care for their citizens and give
them human rights.

 Physical and mental health problems for the child

 Lower educational achievement
 Children becoming victims of crime
 social disorder
 community breakdown.

It also has damaging effects on the economy of a country due to slower

economic growth and damaging reputation of businesses. This will
greatly slow down a country’s progress, making it an important issue
for the governments to solve.
This claim can be tested in many ways. Firstly, statistics
have to be collected. Data on how many failed crops in a
set time period (preferably a year) to be collected as well as
the climate changes over a set time period. The data should
be from different nations to get a more global perspective.

We could get this information from official websites such as

UN’s food and agriculture organization or Nation’s press
reports as well as research reports in recent years. We
could also bring in expert testimonies as well as interviews
with local farmers, to get multiple perspectives.

Possible methods to collect the data could be through

interviewing relevant experts, in our case
environmentalist’s farmers and agriculture scientists. We
can also conduct surveys for a local perspective.
I disagree with this statement. As mentioned in source 2
- Living in poverty, Climate change, disasters and conflict
are some major causes of child labour. In such
circumstances, a child may benefit from working in paid
employment.

Earning money early on will help keep the family

together and in a financial position. It also teaches them
self-discipline skills that will greatly benefit them in the
future. Not allowing them to work in paid employment
may put families further into poverty, leading them to
turn towards violent crime.

Another perspective is of cultural importance. In some

cultures, working from an early age is seen as positive
thing (mostly in fields of agriculture and family owned
business) and is rooted in years worth of tradition. It is
important to note here that often in these traditions, a
safe working place is ensured and consent of family as
well as kid is established.

Thirdly, in some region, education is simply not

affordable. Here, not only does paid employment teach
them skills but also allow them to socialize as one would
in a school.
I acknowledge that this can have damaging effects
on the child. As mentioned in source 2- children may
suffer- Physical and mental health problems,
Children become victims of crime. In this case, we
should ensure safe working conditions and a
relatively high pay. Children also tend to be
extremely vulnerable, thus educating the child that
physical or mental abuse at the workplace is wrong
and must be reported is necessary to ensure a
smooth sailing experience. Being transparent and
treating the child with empathy is to be expected
from the workplace. This is in addition to tightening
the many laws already instilled regarding this topic.

Lastly, as mentioned in source 2- it may cause slower

economic development. Child labour in paid
employment though, can increase gdp per capita for
a short time

In conclusion, I disagree with this statement because

child labour can serve socializing skills, teach children
important life skills, is rooted in cultural importance
and may temporarily boost GDP per capita.