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Amanda Pulido
Mr. Rogers
Government 1
26 October 2016
Mock Congress Research Paper
Did you know that there are 168 million children worldwide engaged in child labor?
Child labor has been an issue for decades and is only continuing to get worse. Some might
believe child labor is an effective way of making money, however, there are several issues
involved with this topic. Children are denied their right to education and are forced to work in
hazardous conditions for a minimal amount of money. Children would risk their lives to work for
some cash than to stay in school and get an education. This is an issue because not only is it
unhealthy for children, but it is also taking away their childhood. The Child Labor Education Act
of 2017 should become a law because children will be able to get their full education, will be
making money, and will not be deprived from their childhood.
One of the benefits of making The Child Labor Education Act of 2017 a law is that it
allows children to receive their full education. It will motivate children to stay in school so they
can be provided with knowledge that will continue to help them throughout their life. In
developing countries, larger shares of youth leave school at or below the general minimum
working age of 15 years (Compassion). Education is crucial for all children to have and follow
through with because it is an important factor in helping them succeed in life. With complete
education, children are constantly learning new skills and better preparing themselves for when
theyre out on their own in the real world. Early School leavers are at greater risk of remaining
outside the world of work altogether, i.e. never transiting to work (Hobbs, Sandy. Child Labor,

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1999). Not attending school allows children to miss several important skills that will continue to
help them after theyve completed their schooling. In school we learn about time management,
an important component to know when working. Not knowing how to work efficiently will
decrease the chances of maintaining a stable job. Without receiving a full and proper education,
it is much harder to have a solid career as an adult, thus challenging your ability to provide for
and support yourself.
Making The Child Labor Education Act of 2017 a law will provide money for every
student living in poverty to attend school. The purpose of this bill is to encourage children to stay
in school by paying them to attend. In some countries, school attendance rates of working
children are only about half of those non-working children (Child Labor Facts and Statistics).
By paying them, not only will they be motivated to receiving an education, they will be earning
their money just like a real job would. This will also help the schooling systems make money as
well. The more children attending school, the better it is for them and the better it is for the
school. Child labor keeps children from attending school, which contributes to sustaining the
generational cycle of poverty (The Borgen Project). Millions of children around the world are
living in so much poverty that theyd rather work in dangerous conditions than go to school. This
does not help the other issue of poverty happening all around the world. By making money the
chances of a child finishing school is higher, thus allowing them a higher chance of successful
employment once theyre done. Also, being paid to work in school will also teach children what
it is like to have a real job. This can help millions of children gain work experience to help them
later on in life. Along with that, children will be in a healthy environment and not forced to risk
their lives working in hazardous conditions.

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Lastly, this act is very much needed because going to school is a basic part of a kids
childhood. Like stated before, school provides us with several advantages, one being that it
allows us to socialize. 73 million of these children are below ten years old (The World Counts).
At such a young age, these 73 million are nowhere near prepared for how to interact in the real
world. Their brains are not fully developed and havent learned how to work with others.
Leaving school at such a young age prohibits children from having the social interaction needed
in a society. In the Sub-Saharan, 11.07 million children leave school before completing their
primary education (Herring, Michael). The source of our communication skills comes from our
early years of school. The first few years we attend we learn how to socialize with others and
make friends. As students we also learn how to listen and work well with others. Along with that,
we learn about teamwork. All of these qualities are valuable to us because we will continue to
use them in our lives every day. A childhood should be filled with engagements with other
people. It should be provided with meeting new people and working well with others. School is a
fun, safe and efficient way of combining all of those together. We are taught to work with others
and learn how how to interact with one another and that is something we need in a healthy
childhood, and in our everyday lives.
However, there are several people who believe there are positive sides to child labor such
as that it will help shortage in labor and that children can contribute to family income. Many
believe that child labor should continue to go on because labor shortage is a huge problem in
some countries. (Extremology) Those individuals find that child labor is an effective way of
helping that issue. Although the problem of labor shortage will start to get better, the working
conditions of those children will not. Those conditions are extremely hazardous and have
managed to kill innocent children. If children are dying from working to help labor shortage, that

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doesnt solve one of the problems, it just makes both of them worse. Similarly, many believe
child laboring helps keep families stable. The value of labour-power was determined, not only by
the labour-time necessary to maintain the individual adult laborers, but also by that necessary to
maintain his family (Economic Inquiry). Having more family members involved with helping to
provide for the family is beneficial, however, child labor will not contribute to keeping a family
together. By allowing children to work away their childhood, it will not keep a family stable, it
will only make matters worse. If children are being taken away from their families to work in
poor conditions, then it is not worth trying to keep the family supported.
Overall, The Child Labor Education Act of 2017 should become a law because children
will be able to get their full education, will be making money, and will not be deprived from their
childhood. This act will not only help put a stop to child labor, but will also save the futures of
children all over the world. It will open more opportunities for millions of people to make a
better life for themselves. Child labor is destroying the lives of millions of children who have
the potential to make extraordinary accomplishments in their life. It is our job to take a stand and
fight for the lives of innocent children.

Works Cited
"Top 10 Child Labor Facts - The Borgen Project." The Borgen Project RSS2. N.p., 18 Feb. 2016.
Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
"Child Labor Survey Infographic." Child Labor Facts and Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.

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5 Positive Sides of Child Labor - Why Child Labour Should Not Be Banned? Extremology
N.p., n.d Web. 17 Oct. 2016
"Child Labor Facts and Statistics." The World Counts. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016
[www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu], Michael Herring. "Health Issues." - The Child Labor
Education Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.
Hobbs, Sandy, Jim McKechnie, and Michael Lavalette. Child Labor: A World History
Companion. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999. Print.
"Child Labor Facts and Statistics." Compassion. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
[s3amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents], Economic Inquiry . N.p.,n.d Web.