Premium
Children's work and children's well‐being: Implications for policy
Author(s) -
Aufseeser Dena,
Bourdillon Michael,
Carothers Richard,
Lecoufle Olivia
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
development policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1467-7679
pISSN - 0950-6764
DOI - 10.1111/dpr.12215
Subject(s) - sustenance , work (physics) , harm , quality (philosophy) , psychology , sociology , developmental psychology , economic growth , political science , social psychology , economics , law , mechanical engineering , philosophy , epistemology , engineering
This article argues for holistic consideration of children's work. Dominant discourse on “child labour” attends only to dangers of children's work, leading to policies that damage some children's chances for development. Far from being universally negative in children's lives, appropriate work contributes to their well‐being and development, and to transitions to adulthood. Children's work can convey benefits for sustenance and quality of life, provide learning to complement and support school, offer psycho‐social benefits, particularly in building self‐esteem, and help develop social relations and responsibility. These benefits are especially critical for marginalized children. Common policies of abolishing child labour based on age of employment rather than potential harm deny such benefits to younger children.