Omokhodion F O, Omokhodion S I, Odusote T O
Occupational Health Unit, Department of Community Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Child Care Health Dev. 2006 May;32(3):281-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2006.00585.x.
The adverse effects of child labour on the children's psychological development continue to raise concerns about this public health problem worldwide. Several views have been presented by child health authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies. Few studies have focused on the children themselves. This study sought to determine working children's perspective of child labour, its benefits and disadvantages and the working children's perceptions of themselves, and their aspirations for the future.
A cross-sectional study was carried out among working children in a large market in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to all consenting children.
A total of 225 children, 132 females and 93 males, participated in the survey. Their age range was 8-17 years. A total of 103 respondents (46%) were currently in school while 117 (52%) were out of school. Five respondents (2%) had never attended school. A total of 104 (46%) thought that children should not work. However, when asked about the benefits of working, 81 working children (36%) felt that work provided a source of income for them, 52 (23%) indicated that it was a way of helping their parents and 39 (17%) thought it was part of their training to be responsible adults. Bad company, ill health and road traffic accidents were the perceived ill effects of child labour. The majority of the children interviewed were aspiring towards artisan trades and very few towards professional or office jobs. A total of 106 (47%) children perceived themselves as less fortunate than their peers. Fifty-five children (24%) thought that child labour was a sign of deprivation. The perception that child labour is a sign of deprivation was more prevalent among child workers whose highest educational attainment was primary school, child workers who had worked for more than 6 months and those whose earnings were small.
We recommend that school education for children should be a priority even when the harsh economic realities in their families force parents to send them to work outside the home.
童工对儿童心理发展的不利影响持续引发全球对这一公共卫生问题的关注。儿童健康当局、非政府组织（NGO）及国际机构已提出了多种观点。但极少有研究关注儿童自身。本研究旨在确定童工对童工劳动的看法、其利弊，以及童工对自身的认知和他们对未来的期望。
在尼日利亚西南部伊巴丹的一个大市场对童工开展了一项横断面研究。向所有同意参与的儿童发放问卷。
共有225名儿童参与调查，其中132名女性，93名男性。他们的年龄在8至17岁之间。共有103名受访者（46%）目前在上学，117名（52%）失学。5名受访者（2%）从未上学。共有104名（46%）认为儿童不应工作。然而，当被问及工作的好处时，81名童工（36%）觉得工作为他们提供了收入来源，52名（23%）表示这是帮助父母的一种方式，39名（17%）认为这是他们成长为有责任感成年人的培训的一部分。不良同伴、健康不佳和道路交通事故被认为是童工劳动的不良影响。大多数接受采访的儿童向往手工艺行业，很少有人向往专业或办公室工作。共有106名（47%）儿童认为自己比同龄人更不幸。55名儿童（24%）认为童工劳动是贫困的标志。认为童工劳动是贫困标志的看法在最高学历为小学的童工、工作超过6个月的童工以及收入微薄的童工中更为普遍。
我们建议，即便家庭严峻的经济现实迫使父母送孩子外出工作，儿童的学校教育仍应是优先事项。
