Child labor is the illegal use of children for business, war, etc. What this does is it takes away children's childhood and their education. The conditions under which child labor operates are harsh and undesirable for anyone. Unfortunately, the use of children for work is very widespread in the world, and is especially found in Africa and the Middle East. Many laws have been passed around the world to reduce the use of minors for work. There are many reasons why children work at such a young age and in such difficult conditions. Some reasons are that they are kidnapped and have no choice, or that his/her family needs extra financial help and he/she has to provide for his/her family. Child labor has existed since the late 1700s (History of Child Labor). There are many factors that have made child labor prevalent. One factor is culture. Some cultures, such as that of old Europe, suggest that child labor is useful for building character and developing skills. Around the late 1700s child labor was not uncommon to see in places like Europe. At that time children worked in factories or coal mines for long hours and little pay. In one factory the owner required children to work 12-18 hours a day, 6 days a week to earn just one dollar. Which was scandalous because the children did jobs that adults were supposed to do, like taking care of cars and lifting heavy loads. The conditions in which the children had to work were also terrible and they often fell ill as a result. This raises the question “why would anyone hire children to work in such conditions?” the answer is that sometimes kids have no choice but to work due to their parents' economic situation and choose to work instead of living on the streets. But also the holders of the……paper……ssed which protects children and young people under 18 from any form of economic exploitation and from any work which is dangerous or which interferes with the child's education, or is in any way harmful for the child. The law also prohibits hiring anyone under the age of 18 into the military. And in Ghana a law was passed that prohibits children from working if they are under 13 years old. Child labor is an issue that should concern a student at Mamaroneck High School. It should be important to us because it is human nature to care about others. And we should care about this problem because, even if laws are passed to prevent it, children continue to work underage. And we should take care of them because those children are being deprived of their childhood, also child labor reduces the chance of working children becoming healthy and responsible adults and even possible leaders of the world..