A Note on Child labour and Mental Wellbeing

Samuel Gaither^*
*Correspondence: Samuel Gaither, Department of Economics, Tufts University, USA, Email:

Editorial

According to the World Health Organization, mental health is "a condition of well-being in which the individual recognises his or her own strengths, can cope with the usual stresses of life, can work successfully and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to his or her community" (WHO). Subjective wellbeing, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependency, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential are all examples of mental health. Positive psychology and holism view mental health as an individual's ability to enjoy life and strike a balance between life activities and attempts to acquire psychological resilience. Child labour is defined as the exploitation of children through any sort of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is psychologically, physically, socially, and morally damaging [1]. Such exploitation is outlawed by law around the world, while these laws do not consider all employment by children to be child labour; exceptions include work by child artists and family responsibilities. Throughout history, to varied degrees, child labour has occurred. Many youngsters aged 5–14 from poorer families worked in Western nations and their colonies during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Child labour is an inextricably linked component of pre-industrial economy. There is rarely a concept of childhood in the contemporary sense in preindustrial society. As soon as they are capable, children often begin to actively participate in occupations such as child rearing, hunting, and farming. Children as young as 13 are treated as adults in many civilizations and participate in the same activities as adults [2]. Children's labour was crucial in pre-industrial societies since children needed to give labour for their own existence as well as the survival of their society [3]. Pre-industrial societies were marked by poor productivity and short life expectancy; barring youngsters from participating in productive activity would be more detrimental to their wellbeing and the welfare of their group in the long term. Thousands of youngsters were employed in the glass-making industry in the early twentieth century. Making glass was a risky and difficult task, especially without modern technology. To melt glass (3133 °F), tremendous heat is used in the manufacturing process. The boys are exposed to tremendous heat while at work. This could result in eye problems, respiratory problems, heat fatigue, wounds, and burns. Workers had to work for hours without a break because they were paid by the piece [4]. Mental health can be viewed as an unstable continuum on which an individual's mental health can take many different forms. Even if a person does not have a recognised mental health disorder, mental wellbeing is generally regarded as a positive trait.

Child labour accounts for 22% of the workforce in Asia, 32% in Africa, 17% in Latin America, and 1% in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other wealthy countries. The amount of juvenile labourers varies substantially between nations and even within countries. Africa has the highest percentage of children aged 5–17 worked as child labourers, with over 65 million in total. Accurate current-day child labour statistics is difficult to collect due to disputes among data sources about what defines child labour. Government policy in various countries contributes to this difficulty. Working children at a young age has been a recurring theme throughout Africa. Many children began working in the home to assist their parents in running the family farm [5].

Social work in mental health, often known as psychiatric social work, is a process in which an individual is assisted in achieving liberation from overlapping internal and external difficulties in a context (social and economic situations, family and other relationships, the physical and organisational environment, psychiatric symptoms, etc.). Across all systems, it strives for harmony, quality of life, self-actualization, and personal adaptation.

References

1. Roggero, Paola, Viviana Mangiaterra, Flavia Bustreo and Furio Rosati, et al. "The health impact of child labor in developing countries: evidence from cross-country data." Am J Public Health 97 (2007): 271-275.

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2. Fassa, Anaclaudia Gastal, Luiz Augusto Facchini, Marinel Mór Dall'Agnol and David C. Christiani, et al. "Child labor and musculoskeletal disorders: the Pelotas (Brazil) epidemiological survey." Public Health Rep 120 (2005): 665-673.

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3. Nuwayhid, I. A., J. Usta, M. Makarem and A. El-Zein, et al. "Health of children working in small urban industrial shops." Occup Environ Med 62(2005): 86-94.

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4. Tiwari, R.R. and A. Saha. "Morbidity profile of child labor at gem polishing units of Jaipur, India." Int J Occup Environ Health 5 (2014): 125.

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5. Öncü, Emine, Ahmet Öner Kurt, Figen Işık Esenay and Fatma Özer, et al. "Abuse of working children and influencing factors, Turkey." Child Abuse Negl 37 (2013): 283-291.

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