138M children are in child labor. What does this mean?

(ourworldindata.org)

9 points | by surprisetalk 9 hours ago ago

4 comments

  • pmpmpmpm 7 hours ago ago

    So what are we doing to stop this, friends? We have the power.

    • pstuart 6 hours ago ago

      > We have the power.

      Only if we are united in using it.

    • stefantalpalaru 3 hours ago ago

      [dead]

  • laughing_man 4 hours ago ago

    >Much of this happens in agricultural settings, where any work done by children under 12 is counted as child labor, even if it is light and non-hazardous.

    >Imagine an 11-year-old helping on a family farm in sub-Saharan Africa. He feeds the animals every day, a couple of hours in the morning and again in the afternoon.

    ...

    >As I mentioned above, the reason this type of work counts as child labor under the international conventions is that it’s considered to be harmful because of what it displaces: the children’s time for studying, resting, playing, and socializing.

    This seems overly broad. I don't think it's unreasonable to have younger children doing chores, and the definition they've adopted includes children doing anything economically productive for even one hour a week. Yes, a couple hours twice a day is too much, but I don't think having your kid feed the animals for 45 minutes before school is going to stunt his or her development.