Child Labor and Its Effects on Schooling, Health and Recreation of Filipino Children

This study used a novel log linear analysis to identify the factors that enhance and hamper working children’s effort to receive education, stay healthy and engage in recreational activities. The study looked at a sample of working children aged between 5 and 17 years in a nationwide study in 1995 and 2001 by the National Survey on Working Children (NSWC). It was found that the dropout rate from school decreased when the number of working hours and frequency of heavy physical work lessened. Working for a relative, and when the child is an unpaid worker did not affect their schooling as compared to children who engaged in heavy physical work. In 1995, the adverse effect on health among working children in the agricultural sector was due to heavy physical work and exposure to parasites and bacteria. In 2001, it was found that most children working in the industrial sector were affected by exposure to extreme temperatures and harmful chemicals. Long working hours meant less time for recreational activities. The identification of these specific factors are useful for policy makers in the Philippines who aim at reducing the incidence of child labor.