Children’s work

Abstract

This chapter first considers the place of work in the lives of the majority of the world’s children. In the family context, young children naturally start imitating and taking part in social activities like work, through which they acquire motor, technical, and social skills. This learning process through work continues as children grow and spread their relationships beyond the family context, including taking up gainful employment in a variety of situations. Children acquire competencies, status, and self-esteem through their work, which therefore contributes to their well-being. Children’s work is not, however, always benign, and in certain situations and under certain conditions, it can hinder children’s full development. In a variety of ways, research has shown how work situations can be physically, psychologically, and socially damaging. Damage is, however, often assumed rather than proven, particularly in relation to schooling: although work, particularly excessive hours of work, can hinder attendance and performance at school, in many situations children can effectively combine school and work to contribute to their development in a complementary way. There is a need, therefore, to find ways of assessing benefits and harm from work in particular situations. Interventions that pay attention only to harm can restrict opportunities of development through work (particularly among the poor) and can therefore have a negative impact on the well-being of children.