The Pros And Cons Of Child Labor

The term "child labor" has become associated with the use of children in organized employment settings in fields such as the trades, manufacturing, agriculture, or domestic work. In most cases, children who work for paid employment do so out of economic necessity. Child labor was commonplace in the household, and children were routinely sent away to serve as apprentices and domestic labor for wages at ages as young as eight or nine in many cultures. Modern objections to child labor began within a few decades after the Industrial Revolution took hold in Great Britain.

Critics of child labor in the nineteenth century charged that children took jobs from men, who needed the wages to support their families. Other arguments against child labor included the negative impact on the child 's health, exploitation (physical and sometimes sexual) at the hands of adult workers and owners, the lack of education most working children received, and the lack of religious education most children experienced, as many worked on Sundays.

Arguments in favor of child labor included the belief that small children were ideal for many factory and farm jobs. With tiny hands that could slip into machines to help improve efficiency, or small statures that could withstand crouching in small, enclosed spaces in mines, children were desirable employees for some owners. Children were often considered to be more docile than adults, and could be physically punished and coerced into working long hours without