Parents Socio-Economic Level and Child Labour in Benin City, Edo State

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. Background of Study Children are regarded as a source of joy to families and are invaluable assets to the parents (ILO, 2005). Hence they should grow up and be nurtured in family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love, care and understanding. Also because of their peculiar needs in physical and mental development, children require particular care with regards to the health, mental, physical and social development and require the legal protection in conditions of freedom, dignity and security (Child Right Act, 2003). They should not be maltreated, exploited, over worked or deprived of their rights to education, association and health. Child labour is any work that is likely to interfere with the child’s education or harmful to his or her health, physical, mental or social development (Rights of the Child in Nigeria, 2005). However, the situation of most Nigerian children remains critical due to the unique factors of socio economic, cultural, traditional and developmental circumstances (natural disasters, armed conflicts and poverty) (Osiruemu, 2007) Child labour is one of the greatest social ills facing Nigeria today, and Africa in general (Togunde and Carter, 2008). In the eye of an African traditional person, what is called child labour is introducing a child into occupational training early in life. Traditional parents often believe that the earlier such training commences, the better for the child, hence parents introduce their children to their (parent’s) chosen careers early in life (ILO, 2005). This has therefore made the issue of child labour rather a global phenomenon whose notoriety has attracted the attention of important world bodies as the UNICEF and the ILO. In 2000, the ILO estimated that 23.9 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in Nigeria were working (United States Department of Labour, 2002). Also in

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