What Is Child Labor?

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Labor Trafficking and Trade, Trafficking in Children

Published November 07, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT

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When I was 16, I got my first official job as a hostess at an Applebees is the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. It wasn't the most emotionally fulfilling job I've ever worked, but I made $6.50 a hour (slightly above minimum wage at the time) and my co-workers were nice to me. Before that, at the tender age of 14, I babysat for a family who lived in my neighborhood a few nights a month. At 14 or 16, was I a child laborer? No. My teenage jobs could technically be considered "child labor", but that's not what the term has come to mean.

The term "child labor" is most often used to refer to regular, sustained labor by minors and has a connotation of exploitative or unethical conditions. For example, children who must work to support their families, who are prevented from attending school due to working, who work in dangerous or degrading jobs, or who can't control their working conditions are often considered child laborers. Sometimes, questions of child labor are clear. I was clearly not a child laborer at Applebees because I still went to school, I was free to leave, and my work wasn't dangerous or demeaning (unless you count the time I spilled hot chili con carne on a rather large biker). For children in slavery, in prostitution, or who work long hours instead of going to school, child labor is an appropriate term. The technical meaning could include my job, but when the term "child labor" is used it generally refers to children who work under some type of exploitattive conditions. It's important to understand that when we talk about child labor, we're talking about exploitation and abuse.

Not all cases of child labor are so cut and dry, however. Now, I'm about as sick of hearing about Jon and Kate Gosselin as Mark Sanford is of getting Appalachian Trail souvenirs sent to him, but the recent investigation into whether the Gosselin family or TLC violated child labor laws for Jon and Kate Plus 8 brings up some interesting questions. What do we mean by "work?" If part of the job is going to play at a water park or taking a trip to a science museum, is that work for kids? What do we mean by "length of workday?" What if the cameras film the kids doing things like homework, cleaning their rooms, and brushing their teeth -- things they'd be doing regardless -- but all day long? Do our definitions change if the presence of the television cameras makes them do it in a certain way? And if there was a child labor law violation, whose fault is it? The parents'? TLC's? Ours for watching the show? It's makes us think about child labor in a new light.

But the vast majority of children in child labor are not Applebees hostesses or reality TV stars. According to UNICEF, they are mostly from poor families in rural parts of developing countries. About 158 million children around the world are engaged in child labor.  In Sub-Saharan Africa around one in three children are engaged in child labour, and in South Asia, another 44 million are also. Some common industries for child labor include agriculture, factory work, commercial sex, construction materials, and domestic servitude. Child labor robs children of a childhood, and in many cases, an education, healthy physical development, normal psychological development, and freedom.

So keep in mind that when we talk about "child labor," we're not referring to teens working after-school jobs to buy a car or save for college. And we're not even talking about child actors and celebrities most of the time. We're talking about children working long hours for little pay, often at dangerous jobs and with no other options. Child labor is not about building a work ethic or developing skills for children, it's about abuse and exploitation for profit. And it's up to use as consumers not to support users of child labor by not buying their products.

You can see the U.S. Department of Labor's full list of consumer goods made by child labor here. Check it out and know where what you buy comes from.

Photo credit: Afghan Lord