armyofone:

oh well, i thought i was talking with a sane person.
better day we will meet.

Fhemmmy:

A mistake is do understandable went the child was not planned, and even at that, the man or the woman might have to pick up more than one job if that is the only way to provide for that child.
team work with a 5 year old to eat is not the way to go, that is an abuse.
The Nigerian men that left no legacy behind that you are talking about is what brought us to where we are in Nigeria today or should i say Africa, where a man think he can justhave kids and have baby mama all over the place . . .shame on such people.

Those kids deserves better

EuroMeko:

A beautiful picture.

What you call child abuse I call survival.

Those look like well fed kids, certainly well dressed. I've seen kids in the US that are far worse.

Before you start sullying the terminology "child abuse" be careful so you don't water it down for those kids who are really facing abuse.

ShipIt:

It's not necessarily child abuse by Nigerian standards, its a means of family livelihood. But according to western standards this can be considered child abuse as these children are being deprived of their right to an education and a worry free childhood. Funny though considerg that Michael Jackson and other child celebrities also started work at a similar age. The difference is that they weren't selling moin moin on their heads.

NatGas:

Yes its Child Abuse, but these kids might still be in school and do this after school hers and support the family.which is more abusive to hawk or to be given out to marriage to a man old enough to be their grand father cos from the look of the pix I think they are from the north or north-west.

lurkee:

I do not think this is necessarily abuse in the typical way. As in, emotional, physical and [i]s[/i]exual mis-treatment but I still think it is inappropriate. I mean how many moi-moi can the little children carry? The mother should have added it to hers because these children are too young to be left wandering the streets at the prey of kidnappers, paedophiles and what not. I do not think the children would see as fun and at that age, they do not need to carry the burden of caring for the family.

It is however not shocking to me. When I see kids like this selling things especially in traffic, I usually give them extra money out of pity. I know that this is probably counter-productive because the parents would keep using them but I cannot help it. 

woodcook:

Am sure wilo smith and her bros are still kids and yet they hawk their "talents" instead of being in school. Nobody sees anything wrong with that. What is the kids in the photos have talent for business and their mama just the smiths is trying to inculcate it in them at a very tender age.

[b]Defining child labour

Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children’s development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.

The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.

It refers to work that:

   is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and
   interferes with their schooling by:
   depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
   obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
   requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work[/b].

odumchi:

This is in no instandce child abuse. What do you want the kids to do? Sit down and do nothing? They are only helping support their lives and its common for many children who are under-privileged to help in their parents street vending business. These kids are probably only paying for their school-fees or next meal.

If you say its child abuse, feed them, give them new clothes and pay their school fees.

The Child Right's Act 2003, passed into law in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), defines a child as a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years.
However, according to Art. 2 of Children and Young Persons Act, enacted in Eastern, Western and Northern regions (hereafter referred to as CYPA, see details p.21-22), a "'child' means [a] person under the age of fourteen years, while 'young person' means a person who has attained the age of fourteen years and is under the age of seventeen years."

eGuerrilla:

Sir, but these kids never asked to be born into a life of penury! They were never consulted by self-centred parents exercising their God given right to procreate.

While I am prepared to suspend judgment on whether or not the fleeting moment in time captured on film actually constitutes child abuse, I refuse to be indifferent on the issue on child rights.

Why is it okay for us, as Adults, to cite human rights when our sensibilities are assaulted even while refusing to afford to same to children?
Even if what we have up there is not a clear cut case of child abuse, it surely provides clear evidence of child labour, since it satisfies some of the criteria outlined by the ILO.

What is the point of having a Child Rights Act if we refuse to accept that children are autonomous holders of rights, who need to be protected under the law, in much the same way as you and me?

horny4u:

How old are those kids? 4 ? 5 ?

I cannot judge o when i did not give their parents charity , i wish such babies did not have to hawk at that age yet i cannot say a man should not breed his generation because of his pocket size.

The advantage is that this kids learn arithmetic on the street and hardwork

p.s  My heart tears out to the one on the left she is not finding it funny at all  . Lets pray for a better 9ja o some people are not laughing.

kandiikane:

@eGuerrilla, I think the Government should look at the rights of children to a free education with money from resources. .

odumchi:


Maybe you should donate all of your wealth to their parents so they dont have to work. You are only happy when these children are iddle and starving right?
This is only hard honest work. If you cannot do anything about their condition then you have no right to call it child abuse.

eGuerrilla:

Absolutely, the problem here is not simply about poverty and most of us know this.

odumchi:

I dont see what the prostitution thing has to do with this but my point is since it is Child abuse maybe you should go out there and sell the moi moi for them. You have to realize that they are only helping themsleves, beside its not as if their work is lethal or etc. Im notin support of this either but what else can these kids do to help their families?

odumchi:

I dont see what the prostitution thing has to do with this but my point is since it is Child abuse maybe you should go out there and sell the moi moi for them. You have to realize that they are only helping themsleves, beside its not as if their work is lethal or etc. Im notin support of this either but what else can these kids do to help their families?

kandiikane:

If it pains you so much, go take bundles of monies and go help all these children hawkers. .It is not hard,na?

kandiikane:

@eGuerrilla, I think the Government should look at the rights of children to a free education with money from resources. .

EuroMeko:

A beautiful picture.

What you call child abuse I call survival.

Those look like well fed kids, certainly well dressed. I've seen kids in the US that are far worse.

Before you start sullying the terminology "child abuse" be careful so you don't water it down for those kids who are really facing abuse.

Ndipe:

It's child abuse, period! Where in America have you seen kids hawking? Oh, ok, there are some teenagers who sell newspapers and girl scout cookies to raise funds for their schools, that's different. The USA has imposed strict regulations on the number of hours and the minimum age that one could engage in physical or manual labor. I dont know the exact age, but I do know you have to be in your teens and of course enrolled in school with good academic standing.

Most farms in the US today are owned by massive corporations that use tools, heavy machinery and engage in extensive pesticide spraying. Child labourers (who are often as young as seven or eight) working on these industrial farms can expect to work 14-16 hours a day, seven days a week. Lunch breaks are often only a half hour and as with most farm workers, bathrooms and even clean water to drink are rarely supplied by the growers. Federal minimum wage is $7.50 an hour, but because farm workers are paid by the bucket rather than by the hour, their wages often average out to as low as $2.38 an hour.

eGuerrilla:

Child labour is sometimes a by-product of child abuse, but since it has its own set of causal factors a clear distinction must be made to maintain clarity of focus.

I looked into this problem in earnest years ago, so know first hand that the issue of child labour cuts across geographical divide, ethnicity and religion.
In the excerpt provided below, Demand for cheap labour stands out as the main driver.

The scandal of child labour in US farming -- http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/may/31/children-farm-jobs-immigrants

kandiikane:

I, in no way support hawking but if it in done for survival which many are then it should be done. Parents born in poverty will still give birth regardless of when/if they can afford it or not. They went through it, their parents when through it so they will give birth. Maybe, with the "big monies" many have been brought up with will be seen as the right amount to bring up a child but to the parent living in poverty the "smallest monies" they receive can be seen as enough to bring up a family. I believe with the money coming from all of Africa's resources, can support these people and children(it does not have to be much but enough to give them jobs or give them free education) so I do not blame the parents but the Government.

In europe if with one job you cannot afford to pay for your child or living adding a second job will help do that but in Africa even sometimes five jobs cannot bring in enough.

Ofcourse, every child deserve better but what if better can only come if they all work together? No, it is greed and corrupt that has left Nigeria or Africa in the state it is. I have said this so many time but will say it again, did know DRCongo can light up Africa? As many as 500million home.s . If just that one country can do that how about all the other resources in Africa? There is water but still no clean water. .

May I ask you Fhemmy where you are at the moment?

kandiikane:

Fhemmy, I cannot type a long post now will have to reply to this post fully tomorrow.

I asked to find out where you reside because I wanted to know(if you live in the western world) if you are planning on moving back to Africa with  the education you have received to better it.  I have seen loads of people say such and such but spend their whole lives living and dying in a country without leaving any useful thing behind. You mentioned legacy, what will your legacy be? Contribution in bettering Africa?

chaircover:

The truth is that this is child abuse. The reality is that we can sit behind our laptops and say all sorts ot things about the govt and these kids parents yet more and more children go out each day to hawk because we all just talk but no action.

If each one of us who has responded to this post did something to help the situation, changes can be made no matter how little; remember little drops of water make  a mighty ocean.

Yes the Govt has a responsibility to her citizens and yes parents have a responsibility to only have the number of kids that they can afford to care for, likewise we have a duty to help the less privileged when we can.

The parents of these kids and other parents in the same kinds of situations are not likely to read our posts on NL, so its better that we take our "help" to the grassroots.

We can make a difference if we choose to. I know that there are at least 2 motherless babies homes on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway. How many of us stop by to give anything? How many of us give to charity? How many of us have "adopted" a less privileged kid that is not a relative? How many of us give our drivers & gardeners a hand with paying their kids school fees even if we can afford it; instead many owe their staff wages giving all sorts of excuses. How many of us take bags of rice & food to the less privileged? How many of us ask those kid hawkers to keep the change when we buy things from them?

Bottomline is that it is poverty that is making these parents get these kids to go out and hawk. The fact that they are poor doesn't mean that they don't love their kids & none of these parents will want their kids to be knocked down, kidnapped or violated but in many cases they don't have any alternative but to send these children out. I don't believe that many of these parents are sitting at home watching Africa Magic while the kids go out to hawk gala.

You cant afford to buy a loaf of bread, how then will you afford to buy a condom or go to the hospital to get an implant fitted? How will you even get transport money to get to the hospital in the first place?

Many of us born with silver spoons on our mouths havent got a clue on how the other side live.

Yes its child labour . . . . .so what are we collectively going to do about it to make a difference?

The fact that they are poor doesn't mean that they don't love their kids & none of these parents will want their kids to be knocked down, kidnapped or violated but in many cases they don't have any alternative but to send these children out. I don't believe that many of these parents are sitting at home watching Africa Magic while the kids go out to hawk gala.