Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKCCHDChild: Care, Health and Development0305-1862Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2005?
2005323281286Original ArticleChil-
Keywords
attitudes, child labour,
perception, street work,
working children
Correspondence:
Dr Folashade O.
Omokhodion, Occupational
Health Unit, Department of
Community Medicine,
University College Hospital,
Ibadan, Nigeria
E-mail:
dhf.omokhodion@skannet.
com
Original Article
dren’s perceptions of child labour F.O. Omokhodion
et al
Original Article
Perceptions of child labour among
working children in Ibadan, Nigeria
F. O. Omokhodion,* S. I. Omokhodion† and T. O. Odusote*
*Occupational Health Unit, Department of Community Medicine, University College Hospital, and
†Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
Accepted for publication 13 September 2005
Abstract
Background 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.
Methods 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.
Results 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.
Conclusion 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.
to be exploitative (Nkurlu 2000). In the traditional
Introduction
Nigerian setting, child work is regarded as training
Child labour has been the subject of public health critical to healthy social and moral upbringing of
discourse especially in countries with poor econo- the child (Oloko 1993). In recent times, however,
mies. Some authorities have distinguished between there has been changes in the nature and scope of
child labour and child work, where child work is work that children do. The motivation, expecta-
considered to be part of the children’s training to tions, remuneration and intensity of work is also
be responsible adults and child labour is thought changing. Although the lines demarcating child
© 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 281
282 F.O. Omokhodion et al.
work from child labour are not clearly defined,
many children are now engaged in economic activ-
ities which can be labelled as child labour. Children
working on the streets, out of reach of parents or
guardians are a prominent feature in large cities in
Brazil, India and the other developing countries
(Ebrahim 1984; Rosa et al. 1992; Martins &
Ebrahim 1993; Salem & Abdul Latif 2002). Their
health and social problems remain a public health
concern.
In this study, any work done outside the confines
of the home was categorized as child labour.
Children working outside the home are exposed to
environmental hazards which may affect their
health and safety. Several studies have documented
their health problems (Mehta et al. 1985; Pollock
et al. 1990; Banerjee 1993; Ayaya & Esamai 2001;
Nuwayhid et al. 2005). However, apart from haz-
ards to their health, several job-related factors may
mould their psychosocial development. Many of
these children are at a stage in their psychosocial
development in which crucial aspects of their iden-
tity such as self-esteem, self-confidence and future
aspirations are being formed and negative or pos-
itive influences help to mould their development at
this critical period. Several authorities have advo-
cated the promulgation of laws against child labour
because of its untoward effect on the health and
development of the children. Parents of these chil-
dren value the financial income provided by their
children and their views on child labour are
coloured by this factor. However, working children
have their own perspective of the problem and
their perceptions may be a useful contribution to
policy on child labour. This study sought to deter-
mine working children’s attitude to child labour,
their perceptions of themselves and their future
aspirations.
Method
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among
children working in a large market in Ibadan,
south-west Nigeria. Ibadan, the second largest city
in Nigeria, was the capital of the old Western region
in the 60s and 70s. Now the capital of Oyo State, it
is a sprawling city of about 5 million inhabitants
whose major occupation is trading. Bodija market
© 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Child: Care, Health & Development, 32, 3, 281–286
is one of the largest food markets in the south-west
and attracts a variety of traders from this region.
This market was selected for the study because it
has a large number of children engaged in eco-
nomic activities. Traders and buyers who require
assistance to carry their wares to their vehicles
engage child porters for a fee. Children also work
within the market as hawkers, selling a variety of
items such as iced water, foods, cosmetics and
clothing.
For the purpose of this study, a child is a person
under the age of 18 years as defined by UNICEF
(1997). The study was carried out on weekdays in
the morning and early afternoon hours from
9:00 AM to about 2:00 PM. All children below
18 years engaged in some economic activity in the
market at the time of the survey were asked to
participate in the study after explaining the pur-
pose of the study. Members of the project team
positioned themselves at strategic locations within
the market and recruited children to participate in
the study as they passed by. Child porters were also
recruited at the motor park where they wait to be
engaged for work. About 10 children refused to
participate in the study. A structured questionnaire
which had been pretested among a similar group
of children in another market in the city was
administered to all participants. Questionnaires
were administered by interviews conducted by res-
ident doctors who are skilled interviewers. Infor-
mation on demographic characteristics of the
children, reasons for working, attitude to child
labour and future plans of these children were
obtained. Specifically, respondents were asked
whether they thought children should work or not.
Information was sought about the advantages and
disadvantages of child labour. Self-perception was
assessed by one question. Children were asked if
they perceived themselves as less, more or as fortu-
nate as their peers. They were also asked if they
thought child labour was an index of deprivation.
Data collected were analysed with Epi Info Version
6.0 software (Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, Atlanta, GA). Chi-squared test was used
to test associations between demographic vari-
ables, self-perception and attitude to work. Differ-
ences were regarded as statistically significant at the
P < 0.05 level.
 Children’s perceptions of child labour 283

dents (46%) were currently in school while 122

Results
(54%) were out of school. Of those who were out
A total of 225 children were interviewed. A total of of school, five respondents (2%) had never
132 (59%) were females and 93 (41%) were males, attended school. Forty-one of those in school
while 98 (44%) were Christians and 127 (56%) (40%) were in primary school while 61 (59%) were
were Muslims. Children were aged between 8 and in secondary school. Eighty-seven of those out of
17 years. The mean age was 14.3 ± 2.1 years. A total school (71%) had attained only primary education
of 148 (66%) were hawkers and 77 (34%) were indicating a high dropout rate after primary
porters. Hawking was more common among school. Only 28 (23%) of those out of school had
females; 52 (55%) males were hawkers compared attained secondary education; see Table 2. Forty-
with 96 (73%) females. Their age distribution is five males (48%) had attained secondary education
shown in Table 1. compared with 44 females (34%), P < 0.05; see
Table 3. Seventy-six hawkers (53%) were in school
compared with 27 (35%) porters (P < 0.05).
Educational background
Tables 2 and 3 show the highest level of educational
Future plans and career aspirations
attainment of respondents. In total, 103 respon-
In total, 107 children (48%) plan to continue with
Table 1. Age and sex distribution of hawkers and porters in school or return to school after leaving work, 96
the market in Ibadan (n = 225) (43%) intend to learn a trade and 20 (9%) had no
Hawkers Porters definite plans. This preference varied with age and
Age group Male Female Male Female Total
educational attainment. Child hawkers, younger
children (8–12-year-olds), those who had attained
8–12 years 15 20 5 6 46
13–15 years 21 55 20 18 114 secondary education and those living with their
16–17 years 16 21 16 12 65 parents indicated a desire to continue with their
Total 52 96 41 36 225 education (P < 0.05). Responses to the question on
career aspirations indicated that 61 children (27%)
would like to be artisans, 60 (27%) traders, 34
Table 2. Highest level of education attainment among in-
school and out-of-school children (n = 225) (15%) professionals, 11 (5%) civil servants and 48
(22%) had no definite career aspirations.
In-school Out-of-school Total
School level (%) (%) (%)

Primary 41 (40) 87 (71) 128 (57) Attitude to child work

Secondary 61 (59) 28 (23) 89 (40)
No school – 5 (4) 5 (2) The reasons for working are presented in Table 4.
No response 1 (1) 2 (2) 3 (1)
The commonest reason given was to earn money
Total 103 (100) 122 (100) 225 (100)
needed by parents. This was followed by the need
P = 0.00000037.
Chi square = 32.73.
to earn money for schooling. In-school children
were working to earn money for school while out-
of-school children were working to earn money to
Table 3. Highest level of educational attainment among learn a trade (P < 0.05). A total of 115 (51%) chil-
males and females (n = 225)
dren thought children should work, while 104
School level Male (%) Female (%) Total (%) (46%) respondents thought they should not. Five
Primary 48 (52) 80 (61) 128 (57) (3%) did not know. This response was not influ-
Secondary 45 (48) 44 (33) 89 (40) enced by age, sex or schooling status. Only 50
No school – 5 (4) 5 (2)
No response – 3 (2) 3 (1)
(22%) would recommend their jobs to siblings and
Total 93 (100) 132 (100) 225 (100) 54 (24%) would recommend the jobs to their
P = 0.0293268. friends. There was no association between the chil-
Chi square = 9.54. dren’s age or sex and the response to this question.

© 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Child: Care, Health & Development, 32, 3, 281–286
284 F.O. Omokhodion et al.

Table 4. Reasons for working (n = 225)

Response In-school*† Out-of-school*† Total Male**‡ Female**‡ Total

Money for school 43 11 54 27 27 54

Money to learn a trade 2 33 35 16 19 35
Money for parents 46 57 103 35 68 103
Need to be with friends 1 4 5 2 3 5
No response 3 4 7 2 5 7
Others 8 13 21 11 10 21
Total 103 122 225 93 132 225
*P = 0.00000, **P = 0.328.
†Chi square = 49.48; ‡Chi square = 5.78.

Table 5. Children’s perception about disadvantages of nate; 45 child porters (61.6%) compared with 63
working (n = 225) child hawkers (44.4%) expressing that opinion
Response Female Male Total (P = 0.01). Otherwise, there was no statistically
Miss school 5 10 15 significant difference in responses by socio-
Bad company 12 24 36 demographic variables (P > 0.05). Only 55 (24%)
Poor performance at school 1 1 2
Exposure to RTA 15 16 31
children thought that child work was for those who
Ill health 27 33 60 are deprived. Child porters, children who had
Feel ashamed 2 2 4 attained only primary education, those who were
Don’t know 13 18 31
out of school, those who had done street work for
No response 18 28 46
Total 93 132 225 more than 6 months and those with small daily
P = 0.919.
earnings, indicated that child work was for those
Chi square = 2.60. who are deprived. These differences were statisti-
RTA, road traffic accident. cally significant (P < 0.05).
Responses to the question on services which can
be provided to alleviate their hardship are shown
When asked about the benefits of working, 81 in Table 6. The provision of free, state-sponsored
(36%) children reported that it provided a source full-time education was desired by 112 (50%) of
of income for themselves, 56 (25%) indicated that children while 19 (8%) said the government could
it was a way of helping their parents and 39 (17%) assist them by providing vocational training, and
thought it was part of their training to be respon- 22 (10%) said the government could provide loans
sible adults. Opinions about the disadvantages of to start a trade. Four respondents (2%) thought
working are presented in Table 5. Bad company, ill that their teachers’ pay should be increased, 5 (2%)
health and exposure to road traffic accidents were thought that the government should provide more
frequently mentioned. When asked what they money for parents and only one thought the gen-
would rather do if this job opportunity was not eral improvement in the country’s economy would
available, 103 (46%) indicated that they would go alleviate their problems. More hawkers and in-
to school full-time, 46 (21%) would play at home, school children indicated the need for state-
and 69 (31%) would learn a trade. sponsored education while more porters and
out-of-school children indicated the need for
sponsorship to learn a trade (P < 0.05). There was
Self-perception
no difference in responses between males and
A total of 106 (47%) of these children rated them- females or among age groups.
selves as less fortunate than their peers while 43
(19%) rated themselves as more fortunate than
Discussion
their peers. Sixty-six (29%) children thought they
were just as fortunate as their peers. Child porters The majority of children in this study were working
were more likely to consider themselves less fortu- to earn some money for their parents or to supple-

© 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Child: Care, Health & Development, 32, 3, 281–286
 Children’s perceptions of child labour 285

Table 6. Services which government or other agency can provide (n = 225)

Response In-school*† Out-of-school*† Total Male**‡ Female**‡ Total

State-sponsored education 64 48 112 49 63 112

Sponsored vocational training 1 18 19 11 8 19
Loan to start trade 9 13 22 7 15 22
Others 13 19 32 15 17 32
Don’t know 14 18 32 7 25 32
No response 2 6 8 4 4 8
Total 103 122 225 93 132 225
*P = 0.00105, **P = 0.1135.
†Chi square = 20.39; ‡Chi square = 8.89.

ment their parent’s financial input to their educa-
tion. It is probable that for those in school, the cost
of education was one of the factors that created the
need for them to work. Low per capita income is
the main reason for child labour in low-income
countries (Ebrahim 1984; Pollock et al. 1990; Mar-
tins & Ebrahim 1993; Ali et al. 2004). The role of
supplementing the family income has been forced
on many of these children as indicated by the fact
that nearly half of them were of the opinion that
children should not work. Other studies have
reported a similar observation. A study in Pakistan
reported that 79% of working children did not like
to work (Tabassum & Baig 2002) and another study
in India reported that 94% of working children
would rather go to school (Mathews et al. 2003). In
this study when asked what they would rather do
if they were not allowed to work, the most frequent
response was that they would attend school full-
time or learn a trade. The majority of younger
children (8–12-year-olds) wished to continue with
their education rather than learn a trade. The
response to this question was also related to the
child’s highest educational attainment in that those
who had attained secondary school education or
were in school would rather go to school full-time
while those who had attained only primary school
education or were out of school would rather learn
a trade. This finding suggests that the disruption of
educational progress in working children may lead
to low aspirations for educational attainment. This
effect has been observed in other studies (e.g. Rosa
et al. 1992).
Only a quarter of the children in this study felt
that child labour was a sign of deprivation. The
perception that child labour is an indication of
deprivation was more prevalent among children
who had attained only primary school education,
were out of school, had worked for a long time or
had small earnings. A greater proportion of child
porters thought that child labour was for those
who are deprived. Child porters were also more
likely to think they were less fortunate.
The children in this study were aware of the
disadvantages of child labour. Ill health was the
commonest item mentioned corroborating reports
of increased ill health among working children
(Ayaya & Esamai 2001; Nuwayhid et al. 2005).
Road traffic accidents and bad company were also
mentioned as risks.
This study concludes that while it is desirable to
abolish child labour, the reality is that many fami-
lies are forced to send their children to work to
augment the family income. In cases where work
seems to be the only option for survival, adverse
outcomes in child development can be minimized
if children are allowed to continue with their edu-
cation and if the period of time engaged in child
labour is minimized.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the Wellcome
Nigeria Fund. The assistance of resident doctors
in the department of Community Medicine with
data collection in the market is gratefully
acknowledged.
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