Question

Suppose a family in Ghana is dependent on the wages a child makes harvesting cocoa beans.  Is it fair to force the child to stop working?  What would this mean to the family?  

Answer 1

The large extent use of children in the production of cocoa is controversial, not only because of the concern about child labor but also because many of the children concerned are their families' main or only income in this situation. However, it is important to ask the reasons why a family allows a child to work in order to answer this question. Parents, for example, are sick or other children have to feed. It is fair to force the child to stop working under conditions that affect his or her physical health since it is the responsibility of the adult to ensure that children are healthy and not the other way around.