The Influence of Sociocultural Practices of Child Work on the Rights of Children

Abstract

Work is generally good for children as they obtain experiences that prepare them for their future. Therefore, work must not hinder their growth, but rather contribute to their growth. The nature and condition of work must be taken into account when involving children in work because they are the factors in determining the suitability of working children. This research, in its primary goal, identifies how sociocultural practices of child work violates children's rights and further recommends how such methods can be eliminated or reduced. A qualitative design with a purposive sampling technique was adopted for the study. The sample included 16 participants upon reaching the point of saturation. Eight were males, and eight were also females. Primary data was used for analysis and discussions purposes. Thematic analysis were employed to derive themes, which included; the basic, organizing and global themes. With respect to the first objective which is, cultural perspective of child work, it proved that, a lot of meanings have been ascribed to child work, these were cultural factors, Cultural perspective of child work and implication for violation of rights and economic reasons. Findings on the importance of child work as a socio cultural practice for children’s development also proved that, the work children engage in provides them with some level of informal education which has positive influence on children. Further findings of the study looks at the socio cultural practices of child work and its violation of the rights of children. Findings on that regard also proved that children’s right were violated. In conclusion, the study revealed that, it is good for children to work, but must be in accordance to the legal frameworks which guides and protects children. It is recommended that, institutions must, be tasked to educate communities on the rights of children while government also puts in measures to ensure that there are legal forms of training for children who want to acquire vocational training.