No room for dreams - When a child's family is very poor, there is no creative growth, no play for the child. There's no time that the child can spend doing something that is not essential for the family's survival. You'll have 4 year-olds going out working. There are all these 'teaching shops', where in theory the child just has to do a little bit of work in return for free schooling. In practice, the children just work for people making money out of them.
Child labour is often highest where adult employment is lowest.
Parents could get employment if their children were not working - but children are cheaper. There are not enough schools for poor children. But even if there is a school, and a slum family can save enough to pay the fees for a few years, children often drop out because teachers are not trained to be sensitive to the obstacles these children face. A girl may have to walk to school alone through rough areas where she may get raped. Almost half of our children are still out of school.