Index IntroductionDisadvantages and advantages of child laborThe prosConclusionIntroductionThe United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) defines a child as any person under the age of 18. Child labor, therefore, means engaging any person under the age of 18 in productive, paid work. The International Labor Organization (ILO) “defines child labor as work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their education by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; force them to leave school prematurely; or by requiring them to try to reconcile school attendance with excessively long and arduous work." Statistics on child labor vary from region or country to country. Countries with weaker economies have a higher prevalence of child labor. Child labor mainly affects children between the ages of 5 and 18. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay On a global scale, there are 152 million children, including 88 million boys and 64 million girls who are victims of child labor. The ILO, however, fears that cases of girls forced into child labor are under-reported due to the complexity of the work performed. Most girls work in domestic services, while boys work in industries or manufacturing sites where data is easy to acquire. Further statistical information shows that approximately 73 million child laborers work in hazardous environments. A more recent report published by the United Nations in 2019 identified that the number of child workers was 218 million. The UN also provided the regional distribution of these cases, with Africa carrying 19.6%, Asia 7.4%, Arab countries 2.9% and the Americas 5.3% . The fight for children's rights has been carried out on a global scale, but the data released by the international organization does not show any substantial success. The main question we therefore ask ourselves is what benefits child labor presents. Why has this illegal practice thrived despite concerted efforts by various stakeholders to put an end to it? Cons and Pros of Child Labor The Pros Child labor has survived the centuries and the violent storms against it mainly because of the economic benefits associated with it. The main benefits of child labor include: Reduction of industrial actions Most companies are interested in child labor because they do not know their rights and therefore do not resist unfair practices. Companies make the most of this vulnerability and naivety to exploit their energies and obtain the greatest profits (UNICEF par. 6). In some cases where children are sold into slavery, they provide free labor and the organizations make 100% of the profits. Working children help support their families Children from low-income families, especially in Africa, Asia and Arab countries, work mainly to supplement their parents' meager incomes. Most of them use their earnings to pay their younger siblings' school fees. In short, child labor helps increase family income and therefore improve living standards in the short term. Child labor helps children become independent and mature quickly Most children who engage in paid work do so because of poverty at home, although others may be lured with cheap money. Children forced into child labor..