India bans child workers

So I read this story and my initial thoughts were....cool! Fewer Child workers in India in potentially dangerous situations. At the same time I wondered...so what's wrong with them learning to clean rooms? Then I realized..would I want my child working long days cleaning hotel rooms or waiting on people?

As I thought about it abit more I thought...well....obviously from the lack of change, making new laws isn't going to really help those children at all is it?

As the article says "The ban takes effect Oct. 10, but its effectiveness remains to be seen. India already bars child labour in hazardous industries, but the rules are widely ignored and tens of thousands of children continue making matches, incense sticks and firecrackers and weaving carpets. According to government figures, nearly 13 million children work in India."

If the government isn't going to enforce the laws that it makes, what's the point? Is it merely public relations? Do they really want to make changes and just don't have the support to do so? OR is it that there are just so many poor families in India that they have to make money somehow? And having the children work is one way to survive? I don't know. I have to admit that I don't understand all the issues around this fact of child workers.

I am not opposed to children working. I find that I often meet children who don't work. Who's mothers wait on them hand and foot. I don't intend to be one of those mothers, but I see it all over the place. I also don't like the extremes of children working 8 hours a day either. I don't like children working to support their families...that's the role of the fathers. Children need to learn how to work, but they don't need to spend their time providing for families instead of learning, growing, maturing, and becoming people of good character. They need to learn who God is and how they can worship and serve him. Working for hours each day doesn't provide them good opportunities to do that.

What is the solution to India's issue of child workers? I don't know. Government support of poor families - i.e starting baby bonus in India like they have here in Canada? Teaching people to wait to start their families until they can provide for them? Enforcement of their own laws? Making the use of child labour socially repugnant? I have no answers. :) Just lots of thoughts.