Child Soldiering Effects

880 Words4 Pages

It is debatable that child soldiering is the worst form of child labor. The United
Nations Children 's Fund (UNICEF) defines child soldiers as "any child—boy or girl—under eighteen years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity." (UNICEF, Children and Armed Conflict, 2003). It is estimated that 250,000 children are fighting in wars all over the world. From ages as young as 8 years old, these children have to fight in wars that they most likely know nothing about. Young kids like this should not be taken and put into situations that put their lives at risk due to their countries’ poverty and political issues.
Children may end up in war due to some of the following reasons. Under
international …show more content…

In countries that are already poor, war tends to deteriorate economic and social conditions, thereby, forcing families into further economic hardship. As a result, children might end up …show more content…

Conflict can also destroy the children’s education. Studies examine the use of child soldiers and the impact it has on economic development in African countries. The result shows that, both child recruitment and child labor can potentially lead a country to extreme poverty and may often deny children from basic education (Owusu, 2012).
As I learned throughout my extensive research, children becoming soldiers is a political issue and social issue that can be stopped. It is not an easy solution but if we come together as a nation, we can put an end to it or at least reduce the amount of children that are being used as soldiers by a significant amount. A child becoming a soldier of war is more than what it sounds like, it is a family being destroyed, a child losing his or her life, a feeling of rejection from society, an experience some men could not even handle that can most likely result in psychological issues such as Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and many more post war symptoms. If you have a little sibling around the ages of 8-12 imagine them holding an AK-47 to another human being and ending their life. Child soldiering is an extremely disturbing issue that should not be happening in today’s day and