CHILD LABOUR - Radhika Nair

The fall of rupee,the economic crisis, increase in prices  has affected all strata of society. The rich are becoming richer and the poor poorer. The desperate conditions affecting the rural as well as the urban poor in India are forcing growing number of children into sub-human conditions. They are deprived of their most basic rights as children, including education and a happy carefree childhood. Many have never been to schools or have dropped out at a very young age.
          Official estimates show that 15 million children aged between 5-14 work as child laborers in India. But other estimates put the figures far higher. A non-governmental organization projected the figures as alarming as 100 million which is nearly half of the child population in India.
           So India has the largest number of child workers in the world. And they work in many different sectors. Some work in garment industry, brick kiln, hotels, textile shops. Many work in hazardous industries like stone quarries, beedi rolling, gem polishing, coal mining, glass blowing, lead mining, match making etc.
             Working in these industries  cause a lot of health problems like asthma, wheezing, skin and stomach problems, stunted growth as well as menstrual dysfunction among adolescent girls. Accidents are also common leading to fractures and other major injuries. On the long run, exposure to harmful chemicals, dust etc can lead to cancerous diseases. The life expectancy of these children are very short. On an average they live only up to 35-40years.
           Then there are situations where children are abducted and taken of to far off lands and made to work. A few days back I read an article about a girl named Laxmi (12) abducted from her family home in the north east. Taken to Delhi and made to work looking after children , doing house hold work etc. she was found recently after nearly  4 years as a child laborer. So there are also situations like these where children are not forced in to labour by their conditions or by family members. But these are exceptions and poor family status and constant struggle to make ends  meet remains   the  major reason for child labour today.
            Indian laws, such as child labour act 1986, does not prohibit child labour but only bans it in certain sections such as hazardous industries. If tougher laws are introduced they might reduce child labour. But let us think a little further. Why is there child labour? The root cause is extreme poverty. So efforts should be put towards providing better jobs and better wages to parents. Improving their living conditions followed by educating and empowering these people of the evils of child labor which a lot of these people know of but are left with no options. For them it's either dying from diseases caused by harmful chemicals or dying of hunger. And you can't blame them for attending to their more immediate needs. Hence a comprehensive and integrated plan should be followed in ensuring that every child that is unfairly dragged into this system of abuse should be given an opportunity to reclaim their childhood and also prevent anymore children from losing it.

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Child care- an issue neglected by parents in the current corporate age.

She walks with her head bowed down from the bus stop... all forlorn and alone...into a sterile home. She is all alone again...just as all the days before. This is mostly the scenario of a child’s life in today’s world. It is a busy busy world isn’t it? People seem to be very enthusiastic about creating families... so what happens to all that enthusiasm once the children are born? A child knows, understands and feels much more in depth than anyone else and they are the ones who become the silent sufferers of this current corporate age.

Nowadays most jobs require people to work nearly twelve hours a day. Where exactly does a child fit in here? Most parents in today’s age do not have a deep understanding or knowledge about the depth of responsibility that goes along with having a child. Worn out from a whole day's work, all that the parents seem able to do is hit the bed. Children are often juggled between various nannies and day care centers and grandparents from quite an early age.  They are not allowed to even form an attachment with a particular person. Their need for stability and permanence is great in their lives yet they are denied of these most important things. In most metropolitan cities you see the children being left on their own, sometimes even seeing their parents only on weekends. Having at least one parent home has become impossible as now the trends have seen women becoming more career oriented than family wise while the man still continues to be career oriented.

In a hurry to climb up the socioeconomic ladder, today’s parents do not realize the importance of being there for all those important moments in a child’s growing years. From the time the child utters its first word to the first time it learns to walk...all these are turning points in both the parent’s and child’s life. Nothing can ever compensate for a parents absence in their child’s life. A child is exposed to a lot of vulnerabilities and dangers without proper guidance from an adult. Being left alone the whole day in the house is not exactly the poster of child safety. Careless attitude of people who are supposed to take care of him/her also makes the situation worse. A child needs to know unconditional love, care and generosity from people around them, especially in their growing years. This not being available leads to growth and psychological development. Parents also try to over compensate their absence with money thereby causing further problems. These children are also more vulnerable to social and peer pressures. Children are suffering from an unprecedented rise in various psychological problems with depression topping the list.

Being alone would affect anybody’s mental health so just imagine the effect it will have on a child... a child who at that age should be playing happily with various people and be extremely active. Now due to no guiding sensible influence the children are content to sit in front of the television thereby adding another problem of obesity on their already full plate. They are also more likely to get addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs with the huge available resources and no supervision. Staying with grandparents might be the most feasible options but how much of it is good? The grandparents are already old and tired...no match for an energetic child. There are a lot of restrictions that go along with having the child stay at the grandparents. It is also physically and mentally taxing to the old people who sometimes require peace and quiet.

All in all it is very detrimental for a child to be neglected. We have to come up with practical solutions to solve this before it is too late. There should be a proper understanding among people who wish to be parents about the huge responsibility they are undertaking. They should be prepared to sacrifice their time and also sometimes their work so that they can be together as a family. The corporate companies should also meet the parents halfway. They should ensure that the parents get enough leave to be with their child or at least provide flexible hours of work for a year.

To conclude... there isn’t really an excuse for not having time for them. You love them; you make time and give them the tools to function as responsible people.