BoyCotting Child Labor | Teen Ink

BoyCotting Child Labor

March 9, 2018
By goatlady430 SILVER, Enoch, Utah
goatlady430 SILVER, Enoch, Utah
5 articles 0 photos 0 comments

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See the light in others, and treat them as if that is all you see.


Small beautiful children spend many harsh hours working. They sit in grim factories blistering their hands, as they slave away. One small complaint could make their bosses scream. They are pretty much hopeless. Many of these young adolescents work in dangerous conditions in hopes that they can eat. As they sit and work their hearts out, they are risking their lives. Most of them are deprived from a proper education. Their childhoods are torn from their delicate little fingers. Their lives are destroyed. They are forced to work before they are the rightful age; these young children are victims of child labor. Consumers should boycott (withdraw from; stop buying from) companies that employ these innocent children because the working conditions are dangerous, the children deserve a proper education, and they deserve a childhood. 
   

First of all, the working conditions in these factories are dangerous. In 2013 a factory was engulfed in flames. It was one of the deadliest disasters. More than 1,100 people were killed, and several more were injured. In the article “Why Are Your Clothes So Cheap?” It states, “...One wrong move and the needle could slice through her finger. If she cried out, her boss would punish her”(Lewis 6). That’s one of many dangers adolescents face on a daily basis, as they work away their lives. There are multiple physical dangers that are risked by many as they work in factories. The article “Nike Pledges to End Child Labor And Apply U.S. Rules Abroad “ it states, “ ‘ A sweatshop is a sweatshop unless you start paying a living wage ’ “ (Cushman 107). That’s describing how young kids risk so much, for so little in return. They work long hours for a few dollars. They risk their lives to provide for their families, yet they do not even make enough to live on. Factories are far to dangerous for anyone, let alone small children. Consumers need to boycott companies that encourage child labor, because the working conditions are far to dangerous.
   

Second of all, children deserve a proper education. Innocent children are forced to work in hopes that they can survive, they are taken out of school. They are turned into hopeless adolescents who will not receive an education. Without an education their lives are going to be hard, nobody is going to want to hire them when they are older. They will not be able to make much of themselves. The article states, “ ‘The factory owners were depriving and cheating us’, she says” (Lewis 9). That describes how the children felt as they were pulled out of school. They believed their lives were being destroyed. The adolescents were heartbroken. The children were often avid about getting back to school. The article also states, “.... That’s when it hit Kalpona: she would never go back to her school. Her old life was gone” (8). That describes the worry that was brought over Kalpona. All she wanted was to go to school like a normal child. Her life had just been broken. These sweet, young adolescents being deprived, deserve a proper education.
   

Not only are children being taken out of school, but also their childhoods are being destroyed. Most people have the best memories from their early years. Having a childhood is an important part of an adolescent’s growth development. Without a childhood, kids will not know how to and how not to interact with everyday people. They deserve to have an easy, fun point in their life without having to worry about providing for a family. The short passage states, “Children some as young as 5, worked long hours in factories throughout the U.S. many of these factories, known as sweatshops, were dangerous and dirty” (Cushman 8). That is a prime example of how young these children really are, and how they are not going to get to experience a proper childhood. They should not have to worry about working, and earning enough money to eat. Adolescents should be free from all the worries money and jobs bring. The touching story states, “...She often thinks back to her teenage self, peering down at her school from the factory roof, wishing for a different kind of life” (Lewis 10). That shows how the young adolescent wanted to be free. She did not want to have all the worries her job brought. The child wanted to be like the other children. The innocent adolescents deserve to be free from worry and have a childhood.
   

Other people might say that letting children work helps them provide for their families. These people may believe this because adolescents that work often come from poor families. However, working conditions are extremely dangerous for anyone not just children because there is heavy machinery that could crush them or go up in flames at any moment. Cushman states, “....Factories have heavier machinery and use more dangerous raw material, including solvents that cause toxic air pollution” (105). This shows how factories can harm young adolescents, and hurt them physically. They could ruin their lungs just from breathing the air at a
factory, they could even be killed. Children are risking their lives just to earn a couple dollars. Therefore, companies that hire young children should be stopped.
   

All things considered, people should boycott factories that support child labor. It is treacherous for the young adolescents to be working in big factories at such a young age. The children deserve a proper education and childhood. These innocent children are risking their lives as they slave away. They want to go back to school, but are not allowed to because they need to continue working. These adolescents are never going to get the life they deserve. They are just young bright-eyed children who want to be like a normal kid. The adolescents want to go to school and play with their friends. They face many hard things that can even hurt adults. It is clear to see that companies that have young children working should be boycotted.
  



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