Worldwide, many millions of children are involved in work which can damage their health and well being and which prevents them from getting an education. We do not know exactly how many of them work or how many are at risk, but the International Labour Organisation estimates that 120 million children aged 5-14 work full time and that altogether, including children who work part time, there are some 250 million working children. There is great diversity in the work children do and not all work is damaging to children.
Many children manage to combine school and work.
Children's earnings often enable them, or their siblings to attend school. Work may also help children to eat better, or wear shoes, or better clothes. Some kinds of work can help children develop their skills and do better in school. Many children work because the schooling they are offered is poor quality and not attractive to them, and work provides a route to earn money for themselves and to develop skills for the future. It is for these reasons that many working children express a clear wish to maintain their access to work of various sorts.