Research Abstracts on Child Labour Women Labour - Nipccd

Health Status
Nagda, B.L. (2005).
Socio-Demographic parameters of health of working children. Indian Journal of
Population Education, Sep (30) : 12-25.
Key Words : 1.CHILD LABOUR 2.HEALTH 3.WORKING CHILDREN 4.SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC
FACTORS 5.SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS 6.HEALTH STATUS CHILD LABOUR 7.OUT OF
SCHOOL CHILDREN.
Abstract : Working children can be broadly defined as that segment of the child population
which participate in work either paid or unpaid. World Bank (2002) revealed that there are
6 crore working children in India including one and a half crore bonded working children.
Working children are engaged in agrarian, industrial and service sectors. UNICEF has
classified working children into three categories namely, within the family, within the family
but outside home, and outside the family. The main objectives of the study were to
investigate the socio-demographic and economic background of working children and their
families and assess the type of work done by them along with its impact on their health.
Five towns in the urban areas of Udaipur district, including district headquarters, were
selected for the study. A total of 200 children were selected who were engaged in
different types of economic activities in the unorganized sector. Interview schedules and
observation methods were used to collect data. It was found that about 89% of the
children belonged to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The mean family size was 5.9
and the mean monthly income of working children was Rs. 578 per month. About 71% of the
parents and 75% working children were illiterate. More than half of the working children
were in the age group 10-12 years. They worked at construction sites of buildings and roads.
Some of them worked in factories and also as domestic servants. Mean working hours of
male and female children were 8.1 and 7.6 respectively. The length of working hours varied
from 6 to 12 hours per day. The children strongly agreed that it was poverty, disinterest in
studies, motivation by friends to take up a job, death of parents, and the need to
supplement family income that compelled them to take up jobs. The children worked in uncongenial
conditions which deteriorated their health. About 66.67% of the working children
were suffering from various diseases such as fever, cold and cough (18% females),
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<strong>Research</strong> <strong>Abstracts</strong> on Child Labour, Labour and Women Labour 1998 - 2009