Batang Malaya: A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In today's culture, it is possible to see an increase in the number of kid employees. Many youngsters believe they have no choice but to labor to provide for their families survival. With this study, the researchers want to get a better understanding of the lived experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms of child laborers who are caught in the center of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were used by the researchers for the data collection process. This interview was divided into three categories, which were anchored in the following codes: (1) lived experiences as a child laborer; (2) problems experienced as a child laborer; and (3) coping mechanisms. According to the findings of the research, children who are exposed to work at a young age are more likely to suffer from a disease, food shortages, and a lack of access to education and health care as a consequence of their families' limited financial resources. These youngsters tend to cling to their dreams and pray to be able to continue battling through the difficulties in their lives.

Full text

International Journal of Psychology and Counseling.
ISSN 2278-5833 Volume 12, Number 1 (2022), pp. 240-265
© Research India Publications http://www.ripublication.com
Batang Malaya: A Phenomenological Study of
the Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced
by Filipino Child Laborers Amidst
the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jade Marie Dalmacio1
Joseph Robosa2 Jomarie Espinosa3 Catherine Mae Cabria4
Nicole Anne Espiritu5 Lhyza Perante6 Ma. Rovelyn Escoto7 Ella Mae Solmiano8 Ann Jesamine Dianito9
1-9 Research Students, Jesus Is Lord Colleges Foundation, Inc., Bulacan, Philippines
1 dalmaciojademarie@jilcf.edu.ph
Jhoselle Tus10
10 Professor, Jesus Is Lord Colleges Foundation, Inc., Bulacan, Philippines
10 tusjoselle@jilcf.edu.ph
Abstract
In today's culture, it is possible to see an increase in the number of kid employees. Many youngsters believe they
have no choice but to labor to provide for their families survival. With this study, the researchers want to get a
better understanding of the lived experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms of child laborers who are
caught in the center of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were used by the researchers for the data collection
process. This interview was divided into three categories, which were anchored in the following codes: (1) lived
experiences as a child laborer; (2) problems experienced as a child laborer; and (3) coping mechanisms.
According to the findings of the research, children who are exposed to work at a young age are more likely to
suffer from a disease, food shortages, and a lack of access to education and health care as a consequence of their
families' limited financial resources. These youngsters tend to cling to their dreams and pray to be able to continue
battling through the difficulties in their lives.
Keywords: Child labor, Employment, Experiences, Challenges, COVID-19 pandemic
1. INTRODUCTION
Child labor is a crime in which children are compelled to labor from a young age, it's the equivalent of asking
children to take on responsibilities such as working and fending for themselves (Toppr, 2011). According to the
United Nations children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2021, 160 million children were engaged in child labor at the start
of 2020, with an additional 9 million children at risk as a result of COVID-19. This proves that the pandemic did
not discriminate on a basis of gender, age, and socioeconomic status. According to a study released by the
Department of Labor and Employment, children have become "collateral damage from the pandemic," as their
families force them to work under difficult circumstances and in unsafe surroundings (Callejo, 2020).
The growing prevalence of child laborers is seen in today's society. Many children feel they have no option
but to work to help their families survive, according to Human Rights Watch's research (2021), but an increase
in child labor is not an unavoidable result of the epidemic, said Jo Becker, Human Rights Watch's children's rights
advocacy director. "Governments and donors should provide financial allowances to families to keep children
out of exploitative and hazardous child labor and to safeguard children's rights to an acceptable standard of life."
Furthermore, the majority of youngsters questioned by the International Labor Organization ([ILO] 2020) said
that the epidemic and related lockdowns had a detrimental impact on their family's income. Their parents lost

241 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
employment as a result of company closures, transportation limitations, or a lack of consumers as a result of
economic slowdowns. For the first time, many youngsters went to work to help support their families.
Children and adolescents account for a significant portion of human resource investment. Becker (1965)
proposes the idea that people are a kind of capital or capital goods that generate a return, similar to other capital
goods such as land, equipment, buildings, and so on. Investment activity is any expenditure intended to improve
the quality and quantity of capital. Humans are likewise considered to be productive resources under this notion.
The goal of investing in human capital is to improve productivity in the future. Education is the most essential
human capital investment. The nation develops excellent human resources as an essential component of economic
development through educating children and adolescents (Hanushek & Kimko, 2000). As a result, the government
must guarantee that every kid has the greatest opportunity of growing up healthy and receiving a good education
to become a productive citizen in the future.
Child labor, according to numerous studies, maybe anything that deprives a child of his or her youth and forces
him or her to take on a duty that has an impact on his or her physical and mental development (ILO & UNICEF,
2020). Thus, the study was unable to identify the many kinds of hazardous employment and their effect on the
society in which they operate.
Moreover, this study explores children’s lived experiences of child labor, as well as their difficulties and
coping mechanisms in light of the present scenario, the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, contribute to psychology and
society by evaluating and identifying the lived experiences of a child laborer.
1.2 Research Questions
This study explores the lived experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms of child laborers who are
working in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the study sought to provide answers to the
following questions:
1. What are the experiences of child laborers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
2. What are the challenges faced by child laborers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
3. What are the coping mechanisms of child laborers during the COVID-19 pandemic?
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The Experiences of Child Laborers
Childhood is the most enjoyable and memorable period of a person's life. It's the initial stage of life, and we
can enjoy it however we choose. After all, this is the period that shapes the future. Parents love and care for their
children, and children love and care for their parents (Toprr, 2021). Furthermore, it is the time of life when we
can teach children something. But now, the children are not as happy as before. They are now facing the realities
of life; they are now supporting their families at an early age. In today's time, no one chooses the working age, if
you have the courage and the ability of your body, if you can overcome the hardships of life. A "child" is typically
defined as a person who relies on others for their livelihood (parents, relatives, or government officials).
The Financial Responsibilities of Child Laborers
Labor in economic terms is the general body of stipend earners. It is in this sense, for example, that one states
“organized labor.” In a further special and technical sense, however, labor means any valuable aid rendered by
an individual agent in the production of finance, other than accumulating and bestowing capital or assuming the
risks that are a typical part of business undertakings. It includes the aids of manual laborers, but it includes many
other kinds of services as well. It is not synonymous with drudge or exaction, and it has only a remote relation to
“work done” in the mundane or intellectual senses. The application of the mundane energies of people to the
work of production is, of course, an element in labor, but expertise and individualism, within a larger or smaller
sphere, are also components. An attribute of all labor is that it uses time, in the specific sense that it eats up some
part of the short days and years of mundane life. Another common hallmark is that, unlike the play, it is not
generally an adequate end in itself but is executed for the sake of its product or, in modern economic life, for the
sake of a claim to a share of the cluster product of the community’s trade (Labor, 2009).
According to International Labor Organization (2020), in the previous two decades, tremendous progress has
been made in the fight against Child labor being illegal in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic, on the
other hand, poses very substantial dangers backtracking. “Positive trends may falter, and child labor may worsen,

242 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
especially in places where it has remained resistant to change. These risks require urgent action to prevent and
mitigate the tolls the pandemic takes on children and their families.” Pandemic affects and worsen the child labor
that results in bringing hard situation to eliminate it. When these and other variables cause income losses in the
home, children's financial contributions may be expected to increase. They have no choice but to help their parents
to find money for their everyday living and more children may be coerced into dangerous and exploitative
employment. Due to the circumstances of their lives, individuals may have to put their studies on hold for a while
in order to support their families. Economic downturns, rising informality and unemployment, the general decline
in living standards, and health shocks, among other pressures, would disproportionately affect vulnerable
population groups, such as those working in the informal economy and migrant workers. A well-functioning
social safety net. Systemic measures can be taken to limit the consequences, including the danger of children
being forced into child labor.
As stated by Human Rights Watch (2021), “COVID-19 Pandemic fueling Child Labor.” Ghanaian, Nepalese,
and Ugandan children describe long hours and low pay. The Covid-19 pandemic's unparalleled economic impact
is forcing children into exploitative and unsafe child labor. Many children believe they have no choice but to
work in order to help their families survive, although this is not an unavoidable result of the pandemic.
Governments and donors should make monetary allowances a priority so that families can maintain a decent
quality of living without having to rely on child labor. Children are obliged to labor long hours, but their wages
are insufficient. Workers who labor with all of their energy should be prioritized by higher-ups. They were being
abused and taken advantage just because they are young. Based on their interviews, the vast majority of
youngsters polled claimed the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns had a negative impact on their family's
finances. Their parents lost work as a result of business closures, transportation constraints, or a lack of clients as
a result of economic slowdowns. For the first time, many children went to work to help support their families.
Some stated that they chose to work because their families lacked sufficient food. Even after the situation had
calmed down, some people continued to work.
The Self-Concept of Child Laborers
These children are also regretful that they could not be with their friends to laugh and play with them. Without
an education, or with a bounded knowledge, children are more likely to end up low-paid jobs which decline their
chances to rise from destitution. Children may be foreseen to work if their parents are impotent to. In many cases,
the eldest child in the family is the most pregnable to child labor. As soon as they are old enough to work, they
are anticipated to help yield for their younger siblings (How Child Labor Affects Children around the World,
2001).
Several social groups, particularly children, have been disproportionately affected by the latest pandemic's
impacts. As developing countries deal with the aftermath of the recent pandemic, minors' welfare may be
jeopardized, and children's economic exploitation and abuse may rise. Many will find many ways to gain money
and working children is in danger because they will be the target. Based on their research, the pandemic is
projected to have significant socioeconomic and employment effects, affecting the well-being and lives of
individuals, even minor employees. A COVID-19 pandemic could result in human rights violations and societal
inequality, particularly in underdeveloped nations. The recent epidemic may result in a sharp increase in child
labor rates in underdeveloped nations, obliterating earlier attempts to tackle the problem and accomplish the
Sustainable Development Goals on forced labor, trafficking, and child labor. (Kechagia & Metaxas, 2021). Some
youngsters may claim that working is their own option because it is for their family's benefit, although working
at such a young age is not recommended. They should be in school studying and enjoying their youth at that age.
Working children and children in forced and bonded labor have always been a source of concern in India, but
the pandemic has undoubtedly driven more children into child labor, including its most heinous forms. (Educo,
2021). Country Director of Educo in India, Mr. Guruprasad, says that children continue to be one of the worst-
affected groups worldwide as a result of the global pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in a significant increase
in the number of cases of child abuse and exploitation in India. In light of the COVID19 pandemic, the situation
of working children and youngsters in forced or bonded labor in the country has only gotten worse. There a lot
of factors that were being affected due to the pandemic, it made it even worse. Educo, in conjunction with the
Campaign Against Child Labor (CACL), hosted a national webinar to raise awareness about the issue of child
labor and to establish a consensus for its prevention and abolition in India. The webinar aims to bring together

243 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
lessons and insights from diverse CSOs and activists' advocacy activities to avoid child labor, as well as explore
strategies to collaborate to multiply efforts at a bigger scale which are very helpful and informative for everyone.
The Self-Efficacy of Child Laborers
As stated from What is Child Labor (2021), The term “child labor” is usually expounded as work that strips
children of their childhood, their prospective and their decorum, and that is detrimental to their somatic and
psychological development. It refers to duties that are intellectually, physically, eugenically or ethically menacing
and deteriorating to juvenile; and/or interferes with their schooling by: divesting them of the opportunity to attend
academe; compelling them to leave school too early; or entailing them to strive to combine school presence with
absurdly long and heavy labor. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be referred “child labor” depends
on the child’s age, the classification and hours of work carried-out, the conditions under which it is executed and
the intentions pursued by solitary countries
“Child labor is a global phenomenon occurring predominantly in countries with lower socioeconomic status
and resources.” (Kaur & Byard 2021). Among the many causes for children's involvement in the workforce
include societal and household poverty, parental death or incapacity/illness, a lack of social security and
protection, and ignorance of the value of, or limited access to, education. Child labor is a barrier to individual
children's growth as well as the development of their community and economy. Due to their status, they are
unable to attend in school. According to them, estimated of 152 million children (64 million girls and 88 million
boys) labor around the world, accounting for about one in ten of all children. The COVID-19 health pandemic,
as well as its economic and labor market ramifications, is currently wreaking havoc on people's lives and
livelihoods. The abolition of child labor is a crucial step toward the development of a free and equal society, but
it will only be achievable with the cooperation of all segments of society as well as law enforcement institutions.
“In 2020, the Philippines made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.”
(Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2020). They were used for money due to their innocence and being
blinded by money, which is their remuneration. Some cases are extremely serious since their parents are abusing
their children for financial gain. The authorities found and sentenced a U.S. citizen to life in prison for "large-
scale qualified trafficking in persons," making it the first foreigner convicted of online sexual exploitation of
youngsters in the country and allowing for the largest seizure of digital evidence to date. Commercial sexual
exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and armed conflict are just a few examples. Children
also work in hazardous environments such as agriculture and gold mine. It is heartbreaking to imagine a child
undertaking a heavy job for money at such a young age.
The Developmental Task of Child Laborers
As stated from What is Child Labor (2021), The term “child labor” is usually expounded as work that strips
children of their childhood, their prospective and their decorum, and that is detrimental to their somatic and
psychological development. It refers to duties that are intellectually, physically, eugenically or ethically menacing
and deteriorating to juvenile; and/or interferes with their schooling by: divesting them of the opportunity to attend
academe; compelling them to leave school too early; or entailing them to strive to combine school presence with
absurdly long and heavy labor. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be referred “child labor” depends
on the child’s age, the classification and hours of work carried-out, the conditions under which it is executed and
the intentions pursued by solitary countries
The series of physical, language, mental, and emotional changes that occur in a kid from birth to the beginning
of maturity is referred to as child development. A youngster moves from dependent on their parents/guardians to
increased independence during this period. Prenatal events and genetic variables (genes passed down from
parents) have a big impact on a child's development. Environmental facts and the child's learning capacity also
have a role. Targeted therapy intervention and the "just right" home-based practice, as indicated by Occupational
Therapists and Speech Therapists, can help children develop more actively (Kid Sense Child Development,
2021).
According to Estes (2010), children focus on establishing initiative and purpose during the pre-school era (3
to 6 years). Play is a tool for children's physical, mental, and social development, and it becomes their "job" as
they use it to comprehend, adjust to, and sort through their experiences with their surroundings. Pre-schoolers’
show a strong imagination as well as the ability to invent and imitate. They are continually curious about why,
what, and how things happen around them, are literal in their thinking, are becoming more sociable with children

244 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
and people other than their parents, and are becoming more aware of their places and duties in their homes. A
young school-age child is in the preoperational stage, according to Piaget (1952), whereas an older school-age
child (ages 7 to 12) is in the concrete operations stage. Inductive reasoning and concrete problem solving are
being taught to the youngster in the concrete operations stage. The school-aged child, according to Freud's (1946)
psychoanalytical theory, is in the latency stage. Children identify with their same-sex parent at this age and begin
to compare their talents to those of their peers. The psychological theory of Erikson (1974) places the school-
aged child in the stage of industry versus inferiority. During this period, the child's key responsibilities are to
acquire industry (a sense of productivity), self-assurance, and self-esteem. The school-aged child is in Kohlberg's
moral judgment theory's conventional level, which includes mutual expectations, connections, and compliance
to moral norms. The child emphasizes the importance of "doing good" and believes in following laws and
regulations.
According to Lally et al. (2021), between the ages of 6 and 11, middle and late childhood include the years
between early childhood and adolescence. Children have better control over their body' movements, achieving a
variety of gross and fine motor skills that previously eluded them. Changes in the brain at this age allow for not
only physical development, but also better reasoning and cognitive flexibility. School becomes an important
element of middle and late childhood, and it broadens their horizons beyond their immediate family. Peers take
center stage, which frequently leads to changes in the parent-child relationship. Peer acceptance has an impact on
a child's self-perception and can have long-term ramifications for emotional development. Another source of
concern is that the youngsters themselves are unable to appropriately determine whether or not they are
overweight. In a study of 8-15-year-olds in the United States, more than 80% of overweight boys and 70% of
overweight girls misperceived their weight as normal. It was also found that when the children's socioeconomic
level improved, the prevalence of these beliefs dropped. Families with more money appeared to be more aware
of what constitutes a healthy weight. Children who are overweight are more likely to be rejected, ridiculed,
taunted, and bullied by their peers. This can be detrimental to their self-esteem and popularity. Obese children
are also more likely to have orthopedic disorders, such as knee injuries, as well as an increased risk of heart
disease and stroke as adults. Obese children have a difficult time becoming non-obese adults. Furthermore, the
number of children with diabetes has increased considerably in recent years.
Children in this age range are beginning to experience anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders, and other
concerns, which may necessitate a diagnosis and therapy if the concerns interfere with the child's ability to
function on a daily basis. As youngsters discover that life is no longer so small and that it may not be as safe as
it once appeared, challenges arise. Indeed, they learn to perceive the world as vast and expansive. The younger
children in grades two and three begin to be concerned about passing the third-grade exam (test anxiety). As
children approach adolescence, social media, peer pressure, and a lack of emotional regulation skills become
more prevalent. For both children and parents, pre-puberty and puberty are difficult developmental times. The
task is to navigate, guide, and cope in order to achieve favorable results. At this age, children have completed all
of the developmental phases. Some of the difficulties that children face during puberty include: Pressure,
accountability, technology, social media, and natural coping mechanisms are all factors to consider (Child and
Adolescents Behavioral Health, 2018).
The Trauma of Child Laborers
In today's society, a large percentage of children are exposed to stressful life situations. A traumatic incident
is one that poses a risk of injury, death, or damage to one's or others' physical integrity, as well as fear, terror, or
helplessness at the time it occurs. Sexual and physical abuse, domestic violence, community and school violence,
medical trauma, motor vehicle accidents, acts of terrorism, war experiences, natural and man-made disasters,
suicides, and other devastating losses are examples of traumatic occurrences. By the age of 16, more than two-
thirds of youngsters in community samples have experienced a traumatic event. The type of sample, type of
measure, informant source, and other factors have all influenced estimates of trauma exposure rates and
subsequent psychological sequelae among children and youth. Estimated rates of witnessing community violence
range from 39 percent to 85 percent, with victimization rates as high as 66 percent. Rates of sexual abuse, another
common trauma, are estimated to be 25 to 43 percent. Disaster exposure rates are lower than other traumatic
events, but when disasters strike, large proportions of young people are affected, with rates varying by region and
type of disaster. Children and adolescents are estimated to have made up a significant fraction of the over 2.5

245 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
billion individuals globally who have been touched by catastrophes in the last decade. A huge percentage of
children are also affected by other acute and potentially traumatic situations. In 2006, 7.9 million children in the
United States got emergency medical care for unintentional injuries (such as car accidents, falls, fires, dog bites,
near drowning, and so on), and over 400,000 for injuries caused by violence. Children's trauma risk is influenced
by race and ethnicity, poverty level, and gender. In the context of communal violence, for example, significantly
more boys than girls are exposed to traumatic events, and serious injury disproportionately affects boys, poor
youths, and Native American teenagers (Presidential Task Force on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma in
Children and Adolescents, 2008)
Furthermore, The International Labor Organization also stated and estimates that there were 215 million child
employees in 2011. Child work jeopardizes children’s health and safety, as well as their personal development.
Additionally, it reduces their time available for schooling and recreational activities (Huebler, 2006). Fassa et al.
(2000), discovered that in underdeveloped nations, children who begin working at a young age are malnourished,
underpaid, and at risk of occupational risks, despite the fact that they are necessary for their family’s survival.
The Philippines is one of these countries, with a large number of children employed in the productive sector.
Putnam (2009) mentioned that, an increasing body of evidence links childhood experiences of abuse and
neglect to serious life-long issues such as depression, suicide, alcoholism and drug misuse, as well as major
medical issues like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Early maltreatment and neglect have an impact on two
basic processes: neurodevelopment and psychosocial development. Scientists are starting to figure out how these
traumatic experiences affect a child's development and lead to negative mental, physiological, and social results.
These revelations have given rise to new possibilities for intervening to prevent and ameliorate maltreatment.
The spread and refinement of information is critical to future success.
According to Baumgardner (2017), before they age 18, 60 percent (46 million) of the 76 million youngsters
in the United States will have experienced violence, abuse, criminality, or psychological trauma. That is,
according to the United States. The Department of Justice is a federal government agency. Home life, believe it
or not, plays a significant role in these figures. Children from single-parent homes, in particular, appear to be at
a higher risk of negative childhood experiences than those who live with both parents. Parents of 95,677 children
under the age of 18 were asked if their children had ever seen or heard "any parents, guardians, or other adults in
the home slap, hit, kick, punch, or beat each other up" in the National Survey of Children's Health. Unfortunately,
in homes with a divorced or separated mother, the exposure rate was seven times greater (144 children per 1,000).
Age, sex, color, family income, poverty status, and parent education level are all factored into these comparisons.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigated almost 17,000 adults in the Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACE) study. It looked into the relationships between childhood trauma (abuse, neglect,
and family dysfunction, including divorce, incarceration, substance misuse, and mental health difficulties) and
present adult health and well-being.
Trauma and stress can alter a child's brain functioning, affecting learning, producing behavioral issues, and
starting a cycle of violence. Poverty, violence, sexual abuse, food insecurity, and family instability are just a few
of the variables that cause our country's children to experience brain-altering stress. According to the National
Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), nearly half of all American children have experienced "at least one or more
types of serious childhood trauma." Understanding trauma and its effects on young learners allows educators to
better serve their students' emotional needs and help trauma survivors thrive in the classroom. It can be difficult
for students to trust their classmates and/or adults after a traumatic event. When a child's confidence is broken by
a caregiver, the child may come to believe that many, if not all, people are terrible and should not be trusted.
"When someone is traumatized, they frequently have an immediate and profound change in how they perceive
the world around them." This is especially true for children who have experienced traumatic events that have
harmed their ability to create early models of good connections. "If left ignored, trauma becomes the prism
through which people view all interpersonal relationships, suffocating their ability to be open and completely
trust in their interactions with others," explains clinical psychologist Dr. Janice Galizia. As a result, a kid who
has experienced trauma may have trouble trusting teachers, authority figures, or peers. They may also be pulled
into harmful love relationships or alienate themselves (Gunn, 2018).
Deprivation of Child Laborers
The increasing numbers of child labor in the Philippines is caused by economic crisis brought by the Covid-

246 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
19 pandemic. This study shows the report of the Philippine Statistic Office where it said that nearly 50,000 or
four percent of about 1.4 million Filipino domestic workers are minors. This also mentioned that the protection
of children’s rights must be the priority of the government leaders that should be upholds, (Calleja 2020). In
addition, The Department of Labor and Employment (2021), remind that a person that caught forcing the children
to work at a young age will be criminally liable and can be charged with Republic Act No. 9231 (An Act Providing
for the Elimination of the Worst Form of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child,
Amending for this Purpose of Republic Act No. 7610, as amended, otherwise known as the “Special Protection
of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act”). This was signed into law on December
19, 2013. In summary, this law protects the children and their rights and it prohibited any kind of abuse, neglect,
cruelty, exploitation and discriminations, and other conditions prejudicial to their development including child
labor and its worst form.
According to Mackes et al., (2020), Adulthood rates of neurodevelopmental and mental diseases are linked to
early childhood deprivation. The effect of childhood deprivation on the adult brain, as well as the extent to which
structural alterations underlying these consequences, are unknown at this time. To answer these questions, we
compared MRI data from 67 Romanian adoptees (with between 3 and 41 months of deprivation) to 21 non-
deprived UK adoptees who were exposed to severe deprivation in early life in Romanian orphanages during the
Ceausescu era and then adopted by UK families. Romanian adoptees exhibited lower total brain volumes (TBVs)
than non-deprived adoptees (8.6% lower), and TBV was closely correlated with deprivation length. After
controlling for potential environmental and genetic confounds, the impact remained. Compared to non-deprived
adoptees, deprived adoptees had lower right inferior frontal surface area and volume but higher right inferior
temporal lobe thickness, surface area, and volume. The volume and surface area of the right medial prefrontal
cortex were positively correlated with the duration of sleep deprivation. In limbic areas, no deprivation-related
effects were identified. The observed connection between institutionalization and both lower IQ and greater levels
of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms was statistically mediated by global reductions in TBV. The
increase in right inferior temporal volume associated with deprivation appeared to be compensatory, since it was
linked to decreased levels of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Despite extended enrichment in
adoptive households in the subsequent years, we show compelling evidence that time-limited acute deprivation
in the first years of life is linked to changes in adult brain structure.
Infants and children's growth might be stunted as a result of emotional neglect. The mechanism(s) at work
differ in that the primary metabolic issue for babies is insufficient calorie intake for growth. In early children,
emotional deprivation is likely to create a syndrome that includes hoarding, overeating and vomiting,
hyperphagia, drinking from toilets, and eating from garbage cans, among other odd habits. The article opens with
a historical perspective on stress, children, and growth before moving on to the subject of hospitalization, in
which small infants failed to thrive (and died) due to insufficient stimulation and energy intake. Some children
did not thrive despite adequate energy intake, according to re-feeding initiatives after the conclusion of World
Wars I and II. It seems that taking care of their emotional needs in addition to their physical demands allowed for
super-physiologic (catch-up) growth. Then came the first suggestions, based on clinical research, that
hypopituitarism could be the cause of growth stalling. The hypopituitarism was relieved upon departure from the
depravation setting, and occurred much too quickly to be attributed to adequate energy alone, according to studies
that address this mechanism from a number of observational and clinical research investigations. These findings
are then contrasted to those of malnourished children and adoptees from developing nations, particularly those
from orphanages where psychosocial requirements were not satisfied despite adequate calorie intake. These
conditions together make up one facet of the science of psych neuroendocrinology (Rogol, 2020).
According to Chzhen and Ferrone (2017), the article examined the occurrence and intensity of
multidimensional child deprivation and its relationship to household-based monetary poverty, drawing on
disparities between rural and urban areas, using data from the Extended Living Standards Measurement Survey
2011 for children aged 5–15. Nutrition, Clothing, Educational Resources, Leisure, Social Participation,
Information, and Housing are the seven elements of deprivation recognized by the child rights framework. We
discovered that the majority of school-aged children in Bosnia and Herzegovina are deficient in one or more
dimensions, with one in every four being deficient in three or more of the seven dimensions. Children from low-
income families are more likely to be disadvantaged in each of the aspects studied independently, as well as in a

247 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
higher number of dimensions at once. Nonetheless, there is a moderate overlap between poverty and
multidimensional deprivation, implying that child deprivation cannot be eliminated just by raising household
consumption capacity. Finally, there are no significant differences in multidimensional deprivation rates for
consumption-poor children aged 5–15 by type of area, according to the study. Non-poor children in rural areas,
on the other hand, are far more likely than their urban counterparts to be impoverished in three or more aspects
at the same time. Overall, these findings point to the need for a multidimensional policy strategy that addresses
both the demand for and supply of children's goods and services.
In an Asian/Chinese society (Hong Kong), the paper investigated the mediating effect of child deprivation on
the associations between family poverty (i.e., relative poverty and household deprivation), bullying victimization,
and psychological distress, as well as sex differences in the interrelationships of family poverty, child deprivation,
bullying victimization, and psychological distress. A random sample of 792 children and their adults living in the
same household provided the data. Family poverty did not directly predict bullying victimization or psychological
distress, according to the structural equation modeling research, but it did influence both bullying victimization
and psychological distress indirectly through child deprivation. The interrelationships between variables in the
model showed no sex differences. Our findings suggest that child deprivation may play an important mediating
role in the association between parental poverty and poor consequences for children. This study also found that
lowering child deprivation can help to prevent the detrimental impacts of family poverty on children's behavioral
and psychological health (Chen et al., 2021).
The Social Relationship of Child Laborers
“The worldwide surge of Covid-19 pandemic threatens the lives of impoverished and vulnerable segments of
society.” (Md. Abdul Ahad, Yvonne K. Parry & Eileen Willis, 2020). Children, in particular, are more vulnerable
to mistreatment and neglect than to illness transmission. Children in labor have received far less attention in
studies and governmental initiatives than other forms of child abuse brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. These
specific risk factors for the Covid-19 epidemic appear to be hastening the global expansion of juvenile labor.
Furthermore, the children's social relationships may be lost. They will be more concerned with their work than
with talking with others or establishing friends, both of which are crucial during childhood. Along with raising
public awareness about the dangers of child labor in this unprecedented crisis, governments must establish cash
transfer programs that prioritize the poor and vulnerable, as well as encourage online education platforms that
provide the necessary support for vulnerable children.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) (2020) stated, that Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor had been sanctioned by all countries that are factions to the ILO, labeling the first time in the
organization’s history that all member states have sanctioned a labor assembly. Convention No. 182 provides for
the eradication and forbidding of the worst classifications of child labor, including slavery, trafficking, and
obligatory labor. It interdicts using children in armed dispute, pornography, prostitution, and other illicit practices
such as drug trafficking, as well as in perilous work. The Convention is one of the ILO’s eight Fundamental
Conventions, which together discourse the obliteration of child labor, eradication of forced labor, revocation of
work-related discrimination, and rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association. However, the
universal dedication to end child labor is imperatively needed now, as experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic
could backpedal decades of progress on this issue. Widespread academe shutdown and the economic difficulties
that families are encountering could cause children who are at risk of missing out on an academe to get involved
in hazardous work. According to the ILO statement, there are roughly 152 million adolescent performing child
labor and 73 million of whom are in perilous work. 70% of child labor happens in agriculture and is customarily
related to destitution and the parents’ difficulties obtaining adequate work. The ILO stated, however, that
universal ratification of Convention No. 182 illustrates the will of all of its member states to guarantee that every
child is liberate from child labor in its direst classifications (International Labor Organization: Child Labor
Convention Ratified by All ILO Member States, a First in ILO History, 2020).
According to International Labor Organization (2020), “COVID-19 may push millions more children into
child labor – ILO and UNICEF.” Based on the survey, children who are already working as children may be
working longer hours or in worsening conditions. More of them may be forced into the most hazardous sorts of
labor, endangering their health and safety. UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said that child labor
becomes a coping tool for many families during times of stress. As a result, a child will be unable to develop and

248 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
communicate with other people. Their work will take up all of their time, resulting in a lack of social interactions
such as companionship. As poverty levels rise, schools close, and social services become scarce, more youngsters
are forced into the labor. Everyone needs to make sure that children and their families have the tools they need
to weather such storms in the future as we reimagine the world post-COVID. Better educational chances, social
protection programs, and economic opportunities can all be game changers.
South Asia has not been impacted as hard by the COVID-19 epidemic in terms of infections and deaths (to
date) as well as deaths in other regions of the world (notably Europe). It is, nevertheless, having a significant
impact. The region is suffering from a negative economic impact. (Iffat Idris, 2020). There have been numerous
changes as a result of the pandemic, including an increase in child labor as a reason of families having little choice
but to encourage their children to work and forgo education for a while. Previous pandemics/financial crises
indicate that the current crisis will result in an increase in child labor throughout the developing world, notably
in South Asia. Loss of work in the informal sector, increased poverty, and a lack of social security, along with
widespread school closures, may drive families to rely on child labor to make ends meet. Already employed
children may face worse labor conditions, including lower pay and longer hours. Agriculture and the garment
industry have been recognized as two areas where child labor may increase, although there is a dearth of
disaggregated data elsewhere.
School-Related Experiences of Child Laborers
As studied by How Child Labor Affects Children around the Word (2021), a lot of children work in agrarian,
cube construction and other perilous jobs of the 152 million children working, 73 million are in high-risk jobs.
Agrarian, construction and manufacturing are some of the main industries recruiting children. In these industries
adolescent can be exposed to noxious chemicals, expected to utilize and calibrate hazardous machinery, and
expected to work long hours and risk maltreatment. Just about half of all child laborers are younger than 11 years
old. When children work, they oftentimes have to drop out of academe, or their quality of learning suffers as a
result of the ancillary duties they have outside of school. A young individual named Phuong from Cambodia who
dropped out of school in Grade 6 to support her younger brother carry on with his education said. In life, they are
merriest when they go to school, and see their friends and batch mates having fun.
Galli (2001) stated that, these are the outcomes of child labor at the micro family status, particularly on family
indigence. Momentously, child labor surges revenue and odds of continuance but in the long run, it perpetuates
household destitution through nether human capital. Child labor and academe are not inevitably, mutually
absolute and may not lead to the inflation of human capital. In most wage-employment non-agriculture ventures,
it does not open onto skills development. In macroeconomic level studies, child labor can stagnate long run
growth and social progress through decreased mundane capital accumulation. It mostly transpires in the
disordered sector and in compact units with fundamental technology and little capital equipment. Whether
decreasing child labor would hasten capital investment and technological shift depends on the impact on adult
wages. Child labor can be anticipated to have an enigmatic impact on income disproportion in the short run, and
to increase income imbalance in the long run. It might also affect more girls than boys, surging gender inequality
in education. Child and adult workers can be surrogates for one another, whether children actually do cover adult
workers creating adult unemployment and/or decreasing adult wage rates remains an open query to the extent
that children contend with inverse adults for the same task.
When your child reaches the age of five or six, school takes over her life, diverting much of her focus and
energy away from the family unit. Her early school years can be a period of great joy and excitement for her. She
will develop a love of learning and pride in her accomplishments as she learns to read and master other academic
abilities. This can help her self-esteem, not just because of her academic achievements, but also because she is
able to successfully disengage from her family environment. Her instructor can become a source of support and
an essential role model in her life as a result of this process. School, on the other hand, can be a source of
frustration and worry for certain youngsters. Learning difficulties can make learning less enjoyable. Academic
challenges might be caused by poor study habits and/or a lack of drive. Sometimes children have a strained
relationship with their teachers, or they may suffer from separation anxiety, which can make it difficult for them
to attend school (Health Children.org, 2015).
According to raisingchildren.net.au (2019), Observing, listening, exploring, experimenting, and asking
questions are all ways that children and teenagers learn. Once children begin school, it is critical that they remain

249 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
interested, motivated, and involved in their studies. It may also be beneficial if they comprehend why they are
learning something. As your child grows older, he will appreciate taking on more responsibility for his education
and becoming more active in decision-making and activity planning. Children are still learning through play at
this age. Unstructured, unconstrained play helps to complement traditional school instruction. It also allows
students to relax after a day of school routines and rules. Children can also learn by interacting with items in a
variety of ways. When your child experiments, explores, and creates with a variety of materials, she learns how
to solve problems in situations where there are no predetermined or 'correct' answers. Children do not naturally
possess social skills; they must learn them, just as they must learn to read and write. Allowing your child to play
with other children is an excellent method for him to develop the social skills he requires.
The Challenges Faced By Child Laborers
According to the International Labor Organization (2021), the COVID-19 problem has added to the poverty
of these already vulnerable groups and may undermine years of progress in the battle against child labor. School
closures have exacerbated the issue, and millions of children are working to contribute to their families' income.
Children of low-educated guardians are more likely to be at work. However, in nations with relatively lower
(higher) aptitude composition of emigrants, low-skilled inhabitant guardians are significantly less (more) likely
to send their children to work. These come about point to a noteworthy part of universal relocation in shaping
child time assignment in nations of beginning through changes within the nearby labor market conditions (De
Paoli & Mendola, 2014). According to Prichett (2006), as portion of the globalization process, lifting boundaries
to universal mobility of laborers may address a few of the economic roots of child labor in creating nations.
The Mobility of Child Laborers
The decade as a whole produced a large and diverse collection of literature on child labor. These studies cover
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, as well as the three primary industry sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and
service, as well as a wide range of formal and informal labor kinds. They provide us with a more or less detailed
picture of child workers' personal characteristics, the types of households in which they live, the types of labor
they do and how they do it, the profiles of some of their employers, and the types of communities in which they
live and work. One study details the history of child labor in the Philippines, demonstrating how children's labor
has been used and exploited in the country since Spanish colonization. Some of the case studies of child laborers
allow us to experience the disadvantaged circumstances of specific children who work on a more personal level.
Poverty keeps a large proportion of children working rather than attending school, therefore the availability of
types of child labor that enable skill-enhancing learning-by-doing can be critical for compulsory education
legislation to be sustained as a steady state equilibrium. Such legislation may fail to gain public political support
in underdeveloped nations because a substantial number of poor children are participating in kinds of child labor
that give no learning-by-doing, causing the economy to slip into a poverty trap (Dessy, 2002).
Mobility is the movement of individuals of a specific society in terms of their social status, commonly
described in terms of work and money (vertical mobility), or from one social group to another, not always with a
simultaneous change in social position (horizontal mobility) (new world encyclopedia, 2000). The pandemic did
not discriminate based on socioeconomic position; all of humanity was affected by these viruses. This also
indicates their requirements and assistance from the government and their families, yet on occasion, children
were denied the activities that they should be doing, such as playing, going to school, and enjoying life. As a
result, children shift from being a kid to becoming a child laborer or burdened with a lot of responsibilities at a
young age.
The study looked at the association between poverty and child labor in different parts of the Philippines. It
looked at how working children's attendance at school links to poverty prevalence from 2008 to 2012. The
researchers looked at data from the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) and the National
Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) to see if there were any links between poverty, child labor, and the number
of working children who weren't in school.
The Health of Child Laborers
There are many things young workers face that may reflect the current situation of their lives. Child Labor has
fallen by 94 million since 2000, according to COVID-19 and Child Labor: A Time of Crisis, a Time to Act, but
this progress is now under jeopardy. According to the survey, children who are already working may be working

250 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
longer hours or in worsening conditions. More of them may be forced into the most hazardous sorts of labor,
endangering their health and safety. Child labor, according to UNICEF (2021), can cause severe physical and
emotional suffering, as well as death. Slavery and sexual or economic exploitation are possible outcomes. In
almost every case, it denies children access to education and health care, limiting their fundamental rights and
jeopardizing their futures.
According to Parker (2010), child labor is a continuum with no apparent cutoff point for when employment
transitions from a positive to a negative experience. Despite the hazards associated with many types of labor, for
a substantial number of children, the alternative to work may be starvation or other negative effects. In addition,
according to the Lowa University Labor Center (1993), child labor, particularly in agriculture, loses 2.7 million
years of healthy life expectancy each year. In many industries that employ large numbers of young workers in
the United States, injury rates for workers of all ages, including grocery stores, hospitals, nursing homes, and
agriculture, are above average.
Children are inexperienced in terms of the tasks they are performing, and there is a lack of training and senior
supervision. Their employment might also be unlawful or unsuitable at times, therefore having less work
experience can raise the danger of an accident.
Ide and Parker (2005) stated that children who begin employment at a young age have a far greater chance of
developing sickness than adults who perform the same profession. According to a household survey of child
laborers in Ethiopia, a large number (more than 90%) of children in both urban and rural areas of the country
reported not wearing protective equipment. However, the present author DP's experience indicates that this
equipment is rarely, if ever, appropriate, even when it is made available. For instance, protective gear such as
respirators and impermeable gloves is made for adults and hence does not fit children correctly. When defining
hazardous child labor, it is necessary to consider the greater context of public health. Child work research must
take into account the baseline health of those exposed. The poorest and most vulnerable children in
underdeveloped countries are frequently forced to work in order to survive. Additionally, these children are likely
to be in need of basic food and medical treatment, predisposing them to diarrhea, anemia, and vitamin
deficiencies. Nutritional deficiencies may predispose youngsters to the effects of hazardous chemicals such as
lead. Additionally, due to their substandard living conditions, young laborers may be exposed to lead and other
harmful elements.
The School-Related Challenges of Child Laborers
As studied by Abocejo and Fernandez (2014), Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used. The
prevalence of child labor and the rate of poverty were shown to be substantially connected. Similarly, the number
of working children who do not attend school is highly linked to poverty. Poverty keeps these kids out of school.
Schoolchildren are tempted to work because of the possibility of earning money in the short term. However,
there is no link between the incidence of child labor and the number of working children who are not enrolled in
school. According to empirical statistics, CARAGA, ARMM, and Zamboanga have higher percentages of poor
people than other parts of the country, with a considerable proportion of children who do not attend school. It is
clear that youngsters have assumed responsibility for supplementing home finances and meeting their families'
needs. There is enough data to suggest that poverty forces youngsters to work in order to supplement their
family’s income. Apart from offering free basic education, it is advised that the government provide and construct
schools near poor neighborhoods so that all students who cannot afford transportation can attend school.
The ILO is making a major effort against child work; education programs have proven to be effective in both
preventing child labor and rehabilitating former child laborers. This education resource bundle brings together
data, guidelines, tools, and best practices for eliminating child labor. Child labor diminishes school attendance
and deprives children of learning opportunities and social connection with other children (Beegle & Gatti, 2004).
Children require a great deal of assistance in terms of health, education, and a variety of other areas. Because
they are vulnerable and unable to provide for themselves, they are enrolled in school to learn, yet they are working
and are burdened with responsibilities as a result of their poverty. Child labor will continue to grow and appear
in the following generation as a result of this.
In addition, Ersado (2005), mentioned that poverty has an effect on students' attendance at school. To combat
poverty, it was recommended that children have access to good schools and that institutions support adult wages.
On the other hand, Holgado et al. (2012) discovered that the nature of work, its intensity, and morning labor work

251 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
all have a negative effect on academic performance. There are, however, some critical issues to consider,
including whether education and development of children should be primarily focused on economic objectives.
Sasmal et al. (2015) stated that, poverty is the leading cause of child labor, as it denies children access to education
and the opportunity to learn new skills. In maturity, the underprivileged children grow up to be unskilled laborers
with low pay. Child labor is on the rise in Nigeria, according to Abubakar et al. (2018), with many youngsters
being victims of illiteracy, violence, rape, kidnapping, adolescent pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections,
which they may not be able to cope with due to their age.
The Financial Challenges of Child Laborers
Child labor is associated with the development of human capital and poverty alleviation in developing
countries. Child labor is viewed as a by-product of underdevelopment from a human capital perspective, which
emphasizes the importance of eradicating poverty and its causes. Additionally, child labor has an effect on
schooling because these children have limited access to education, which ultimately limits their ability to develop
skills, attitudes, and other human capital capacities. According to Bhalotra and Tzannatos (2003), when weighing
the trade-off between child labor and education, it is critical to consider the characteristics of the household and
community, as they can provide employment and educational opportunities. Other critical demographic factors
to consider include the household head's age and occupation, the parents' employment status, the community
infrastructure, and the child's relationship with the household head.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (2018), child labor is one of our society's
oldest and most persistent challenges. As a result of the industrial revolution, child labor went from laboring in
farm or small handcraft enterprises to being forced into factory work in urban settings. Children where extremely
valuable assets since their salary was cheap, they were less inclined to strike, and they were simple to influence.
Child labor is exacerbated by socioeconomic inequities and a lack of access to education, among other factors.
According to Innovation for Power Action (2011), there are 152 million children working illegally throughout
the world, and many of the children working illegally in the Philippines are in vocations that are hazardous to
their health and safety. Because poverty is seen to be the main cause of child labor, governments have attempted
to minimize it through increasing the economic well-being of impoverished families who use or are at risk of
employing child labor.
Work, from a labor market perspective, is detrimental to children because it invariably exposes them to abuse.
Thus, child labor is a clear market violation. Employer maltreatment combined with substandard working
conditions exemplifies the numerous work-related issues confronting children in the labor force. Children's
working conditions are particularly critical, as they can impair their physical and mental development. Physical
growth, for example, has been shown to be influenced by the type of activity a child engages in during his or her
formative years (Fassa, et al., 2000). This is especially true when children begin working at a young age. Rosati
et al. (2015) stated that, the primary reasons for school dropouts are disability and illness. The same study found
that 84% of child laborers are exposed to hazardous conditions, 26% work long hours, and 16% work at night.
These factors have an effect on a child's development because they limit their opportunities for growth and
learning. Child labor's persistence is partly due to growing demand, particularly in the business sector, where
hiring children is less expensive. Additionally, children are easily controlled and are unlikely to organize unions
or strike. Children make up the majority of the labor force in third world countries, and as a result, children
employed in industries are more likely to be exploited.
Financial development is for the most part characterized as enhancements in normal per capita salary. Child
labor is overwhelmingly concentrated within the poorest of family units. Consequently, development can affect
child labor through changes in living standards when development benefits the poor. Whereas there's
consid0erable subtlety within the writing, it appears sensible to accept that development in normal per capita
salary will ordinarily raise the living guidelines of the destitute. This section contends that changes within the
standard of living of the destitute impact child labor by changing how family units adapt with financial stuns,
how families organize their generation and utilization, and how family units make choices with respect to child
time allotment (Edmonds, 2016).
The Coping Mechanism of Child Laborers
Even if our fate does not want to be kind to us, let us continue to look for the ray of hope that will lead us to

252 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
happiness. A youngster who uses his or her affect as a coping method is reliant on the ability to express or
ventilate through emotion, according to NASP (2021). He or she will need opportunities to express anxiety, fears,
anger, sorrow, and grief, as well as having those feelings acknowledged by adults in his or her life. According to
a GMA News documentary from 2015, the children's coping method at the time was to trade or labor, and by
assisting and earning money, they were able to reach out to their families.
With that attitude and action by these child laborers, it becomes the only means for them to survive their
daily struggles in life. According to Sarhedi (2020), a positive attitude entails more than constantly wearing a
smile on your face at all times. It is about maintaining an optimistic mindset and attitude even when everything
around you are in disarray. These thoughts will matter and by feeding your mind with positive thoughts, you will
notice incredible changes all around you.
Health Care of Child Laborers
Child labor, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) (2019), is defined as work that deprives
children of their childhood, potential, and dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and psychological
development. This definition includes types of work that are harmful to children's mental, physical, social, and
moral development, as well as work that causes school disruption Children's physical health is affected by child
labor in a variety of ways, such as dietary habits, physical abilities, labor mental conditions, muscle pain, HIV
infection, systematic symptoms, infectious diseases, tuberculosis, and eyestrain (Ibrahim et. al, 2018)
Furthermore, children who are engaged in labor have poor health status, which may be exacerbated or caused by
their employment. Malnutrition and stunted growth were found to be extremely common among working
children, according to the research. In addition to malnutrition, the nature of the work has an impact on the health
of children. The majority of the studies were conducted during normal working hours. It has been shown that
working long hours is associated with poorer physical outcomes. Child labor deprives children of all aspects of
what it means to be a child. A child who is supposed to be playing and enjoying his life is in stark contrast to
what they are currently doing.
In that reason, Weel and Kidd (2018) stated that it is one of the importance of strengthening primary health
care are essential to achieving universal health coverage. It shows that by doing that people’s health needs will
be properly addresses and it can result to integrating care, prevention, promotion and education. Indicators that
reflect the core characteristics of primary health care should be used to track health system reforms: continuity
of care, person and population centeredness, coordination of care, prevention, health promotion and patient
autonomy. In addition to that, primary cares are the first steps in contact with health services and serve as a
gateway to the rest of the health-care system. Access to primary health care services has been linked to improved
health outcomes, including self-related health improvements and decrease in all-cause mortality (Wilson, 2020).
World Health Organization (2018) stated that, it is very important to protect and improve the health of the
children. Over the past few decades, we have made significant progress in improving the health of 4,444 people
and reducing child mortality. Specifically, between 2000 and 2017 the number of children who died before the
age of five fell by half, leaving 4,444 mothers and children alive today more than ever before. However, there is
a lot of work to be done to improve the health of the child. The world faces a double mission. More than half of
child deaths are due to illness that can be easily prevented or treated if medical care is available and quality of
life improves. At the same time, children must be provided with a stable environment growth, including health
and nutrition, threat protection, learning and access to growth opportunities. Investing in children is one of the
most important things society can do to build a better future.
Being Frugal of Child Laborers
According to Najeeb (2020), we should elevate children to be ready to withstand the world when they reach
maturity, which is what raising a young one all is about. There are some 18-year-old people who are even now
acts as children because of the absence of consciousness and experience in life, making them incapacitated of
conducting just actions or decisions. Furthermore, what delineates a child is not just a number, but it also depends
on many factors in order to know the moment an adolescent becomes an adult. We should also take into
consideration the distinctions between societies when deciding the age childhood diminishes. In the end, you
cannot give children their rights, if there is no global accordance on the word "child". Having a real
comprehension of the interpretation of the word is the beginning
There are various study showing how are important our choices in life, in reason that it will be having a huge

253 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
impact in our life. With that, according to Goldsmith and Flynn (2015), frugal conduct is rarely explored in
psychology and marketing. It merits more consideration as a consumption pattern since thrifty consumer behavior
is a target population considered to be both people and societies. Frugality should be the one of the most important
and widespread individual variations influencing consumer spending and saving. It is defined by the Oxford
English Dictionary as “the quality of being frugal; modest of sparing consumption or usage of provisions, goods,
etc.
López-Calva (2002) mentioned that models a positive household stigma toward particular types of child work,
such that households engage in such types of child labor while having a household income above the subsistence
threshold. Positive home stigma, according to Bowles and Gintis (2004), is an endeavor by indigenous households
to retain their culture and traditions and thus steer away from the modern way of life. Such employment is
regarded as positive and vital for a child's growth when it does not negatively impact their mental and physical
development, health, or interfere with their schooling (End Child Poverty, 2019).
The Survival of Child Laborers
As Indicated from Child Labor (2016), Destitution, prejudice and marginalization are the main culprits of child
labor. Children in indigent circumstances work because work is viewed as the most productive use of their time
in chipping in to the necessities of the family and preparing them for the life they are expected to usher. Education
is a verified strategy for decreasing child labor. Lack of access to knowledge keeps the rhythm of enslavement,
ignorance and destitution going – limiting future choices and forcing children to accept underpaid work as adults
and to raise their own children in poverty. Children who have access to education can shatter the pattern of
beggary at the root of child labor.
According to Lu (2000), regardless of a country's level of development, the government's education policy,
which includes compulsory schooling and investment in the education sector, may improve the well-being of its
citizens. Apart from that, if the duration of compulsory education is sufficiently long in both rich and developing
countries, the government can boost economic growth by extending the duration of obligatory education or by
increasing investment in the education sector. As a result, public education policy is one of the most effective
ways for developing countries to catch up with developed countries. As a result, aside from officially prohibiting
child work, the government can adopt these types of regulations to address the problem of child labor.
Emotional neglect in childhood can have a detrimental effect on a child's self-esteem and mental health. It tells
them that their emotions are irrelevant. The ramifications of such neglect can be severe and endure a lifetime
(Holland, 2021). According to Rodriguez (2020), "A child's purpose is to learn, not to earn!" And yet, 200 million
youngsters work as child laborers worldwide today, earning as little ascents. And we are failing them as a society
by allowing this pattern to continue. Children are the future of humanity. They will mature into adults who will
struggle for peace, justice, and equality. However, before that occurs, we must ensure that they have a calm, just,
and egalitarian upbringing. And for it to happen, we must immediately put an end to child labor.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
This study utilized the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to understand better how an individual
perceives a particular phenomenon. IPA is also advantageous when a study's objective is to examine and make
sense of the participants' gathered lived experiences or points of view. Additionally, it is beneficial when
accessing and analyzing participant-oriented topics (Smith & Osborn, 2014). Since this study will involve
extensive observations of the participants' experiences, phenomenology will be the primary approach.
3.2 Respondents of the Study
The participants in this study are child laborers who are actively employed at the time of the pandemic's
occurrence. The ten (10) participants in Table 1 range in age from 6 to 12 years old. Some of them are not enrolled
in classes. Furthermore, all participants in this study are currently residents in Bulacan, according to the criteria.
The researchers did a virtual interview through video calls, phone calls, and other available mediums. Privacy
and confidentiality are a must. Also, it was done with parents' or guardians' consent. This is to ensure the safety
of everyone.

254 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
Table 1. Participants’ Demographic Profile
Participants’ Code
Age
Gender
Grade level
Birth Order
Participant #1
12
Male
7
Third
Participant #2
12
Male
7
Eldest
Participant #3
10
Female
5
Eleventh
Participant #4
10
Male
5
Eldest
Participant #5
9
Female
4
Second
Participant #6
11
Male
Out of School
Twelfth
Participant #7
10
Male
4
Youngest
Participant #8
9
Male
4
Eldest
Participant #9
12
Male
7
Youngest
Participant #10
11
Male
3
Second
3.3 Research Instrument
Research instruments are any tools that a researcher uses to collect, gather, measure, and analyze data that is
useful or important to the topic of the research study (DiscoverPhDs, 2020). This supplied the researchers with
the information they needed for the study based on the viewpoints of the participants, which was useful to them.
Before data collection, an informed consent letter is provided following research ethics principles. This is
necessary to ensure that participants have sufficient information to consider before deciding to participate in the
study voluntarily. Additionally, the researchers provided a Semi-structured Interview Guide that was specifically
designed to elicit child laborers` lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was validated by a
panel of professionals. Following validation, the interview delves into three aspects of the participants' daily lives
that are anchored in the following codes: (1) lived experiences as a child laborer; (2) challenges encountered as
a child laborer; and (3) coping strategies.
3.4 Ethical Considerations
The present researchers requested permission from their research professor for the data collection procedure
and tools. Ethical standards shall be scrupulously followed to guarantee that permission is granted. Legalities
should be considered in all studies and research. Everyone should respect fellow creators regardless of their
viewpoints or approaches (Chapman,2010). The interview procedure mustn't negatively impact the participants
in any way. The current study sought informed permission in writing. It contained the necessary study information
and an option to withdraw from the study at any time. As required by Republic Act 10173, all personal
information provided by participants will be kept confidential and will not be used for any purpose other than
that stated.
3.5 Data Gathering Procedure
There are various situations in which it is critical to build an emotional connection between the researchers
and the participants. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, rapport-building may be difficult. It was
determined, on the other hand, by developing a feeling of mutual dependence among participants and providing
support concerning their situations, terminology, and aesthetic settings. To ensure compliance with legal
requirements, participants were presented with a consent form in advance. Each participant got this through
Google forms, along with a consent form allowing the recording and transcribing of the full interview. It was
decided that the interview guide would consist of thirty-nine (39) questions that may run up to one hour. The
participants were urged to voice any clarifications, concerns, or confusing questions that they had after the
opening phases of the meeting as a result of any technical interruptions that may occur. Following an online
semi-structured interview, a comprehensive transcription and analysis were carried out to make sense of the
information acquired. The interview transcription contains the precise verbatim responses of each participant to
eliminate any uncertainty about the data collection's contents.
3.6 Data Analysis Procedure
Many different approaches may be used to collect qualitative information. When it comes to eliminating
content errors, one of the most effective approaches is to record and transcribe interviews. Before this, a detailed
examination of the data obtained from young workers is required to make sense of it. The transcripts of the
interviews included each participant's precise remarks verbatim and were submitted to a comprehensive review.
According to Canary (2019), The process of thematic content analysis starts with the elimination of biases and

255 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
the establishment of the overall impressions created by the data. The next step will entail the development of
preliminary codes and the identification of themes that were collected and tied together with each piece of
information. It is anticipated that the participants' experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms would be the
key topics of this research. The method was also finished with the development of more precise sub-themes and
the production of a brief and cohesive report including these sub-themes, among other things. All of these tactics
work together to guarantee that the data content is trustworthy, accurate, and unavoidable.
4. RESULTS
4.1 The Experiences of Child Laborers amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
Indeed, working at a young age is a burden to every child. According to the participants, it is the only way for
them and their families to survive daily. It takes bravery and perseverance to obtain the strength that can be used
in the situation they have. Likewise, the following subthemes were identified from the data-gathering and are
based on their perspectives. As shown in Table 2, the following subthemes include financial responsibilities, self-
concept, self-efficacy, developmental task, trauma, deprivation, social relationship, and school-related.
Table 2. Experiences Themes
Experiences
Frequency
Financial Responsibilities
8
Self-Concept
6
Self-Efficacy
5
Developmental Task
7
Trauma
4
Deprivation
6
Social Relationship
8
School Related.
7
4.1.1 Financial Responsibilities of Child Laborers
According to the participants, in this time of the pandemic, they are having a hard time with the situation
now, they are afraid that they might get infected and bring disease to their families. Specifically, child laborer
no. 2 said;
“Okay naman po maayos, nahihirapan din po kasi dati maraming bumibili ngayon konti na lang po,
bumababa po benta namin ngayong may pandemya. Siguro po natatakot sa virus.”
Child laborer no. 1 shared the same sentiments;
“Okay lang po kaso mas mahirap kaysa sa dati, kasi po kapag nakitang walang facemask ngayon hinuhuli.
May limit nadin po yung pag bebenta namin, minsan po tuwing linggo lang kami nakakapag lako po.”
Young workers find their jobs tough in daily basis. It became one of the reasons why they are the one who
really suffered now that there is economic crisis. Child laborer no. 8 said;
“Mas nahirapan po kami ngayon.”
As stated by Human Rights Watch (2021), “COVID-19 Pandemic fueling Child Labor.” Ghanaian,
Nepalese, and Ugandan children describe long hours and low pay. The Covid-19 pandemic's unparalleled
economic impact is forcing children into exploitative and unsafe child labor. Many children believe they have
no choice but to work in order to help their families survive, although this is not an unavoidable result of the
pandemic.
4.1.2 Self-Concept of Child Laborers
According to the participants, for them success is to deplete their daily merchandise. Specifically, child
laborer no. 2 said;
“Kapag po maaga nauubos etong mga paninda ko para nakakarami po ako.”
Child laborer no. 5 shared same sentiments;
“Sa tuwing nakakaubos kami ng gulay at walang natitira.”
Child laborers help their families to have something to eat on a daily basis and they have also talent that is
shared to everyone they meet. Specifically, child laborer no 1. Said;
“Tumutulong po ako para may makain sa araw draw.”
A COVID-19 pandemic could result in human rights violations and societal inequality, particularly in

256 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
underdeveloped nations. The recent epidemic may result in a sharp increase in child labor rates in underdeveloped
nations, obliterating earlier attempts to tackle the problem and accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals
on forced labor, trafficking, and child labor. (Polyxeni Kechagia and Theodore Metaxas, 2021). Some youngsters
may claim that working is their own option because it is for their family's benefit, although working at such a
young age is not recommended. They should be in school studying and enjoying their youth at that age.
4.1.3 Self-Efficacy of Child Laborers
According to participants, child laborers work hard for their families, they overcome their problems through
many aspects such as selling on the street or sometimes they just sleep with their problems. Specifically, child
laborer no. 6 said;
“Depende po sa problema na meron ako kasi minsan natutulog na lang po ako.”
While Child laborer no. 1 Said;
“Opo, Kasi kapag nalalampasan ko po yung problema lumalakas po yung loob ko.”
Child laborer no. 2 shared same sentiments;
“Opo, mas tumatapang po ako sa mga susunod na problemang mararanasan ko.”
Child laborers are able to overcome their problems because they need and care about the situation of their
families. Specifically, child laborer no. 4 Said;
“Opo, iniisip ko na lang po na magkakaroon naman po ako ng pera para pambili namin ng pagkain para sa
pamilya. Sila po talaga dahilan kaya ako nag titinda, iniisip ko po kapakanan ng mga kapatid ko.”
“Child labor is a global phenomenon occurring predominantly in countries with lower socioeconomic status
and resources.” (Navpreet Kaur and Roger W Byard, 2021). Among the many causes for children's involvement
in the workforce include societal and household poverty, parental death or incapacity/illness, a lack of social
security and protection, and ignorance of the value of, or limited access to, education
4.1.4 Developmental Task of Child Laborers
According to the participants, the child laborer is really hard working and patient they put down their goods
first before playing. Like child laborer no. 2 said;
“Nag tiyatiyaga na lang po akong mag tinda rito para po mabili ko mga pangangailangan namin atsaka po
minsan binibilisan ko po pag titinda para mamaya makapag laro po ako.”
Child laborer no. 1 said;
“Nag susumikap po mag trabaho, kapag natatapos po akong mag trabaho gumagaan po ang pakiramdam
ko.”
It shows how hard the child laborer work hard to help their families. They are really positive in facing the
future, being postive helps them to sell. Specifically, child laborer no. 6 said;
“Sinasabi ko po sa sarili ko na magagawa ko po lahat. Nagiging positibo po ako sa pagharam ng
kinabukasan, kasi po kapag hindi po ako naging positibo, naapektuhan po yung pagtitinda ko, lagi ko sinasabi
sa sarili ko na mauubos itong tinda ko.”
These findings supported the study conducted by Lally et al., (2021), between the ages of 6 and 11, middle
and late childhood include the years between early childhood and adolescence. Children have better control over
their body' movements, achieving a variety of gross and fine motor skills that previously eluded them. Changes
in the brain at this age allow for not only physical development, but also better reasoning and cognitive flexibility.
4.1.5 Trauma of Child Laborers
According to participants, it is sad to think but Innocent child laborer experience various of hurts, abuse and
trauma on the street and in their own homes. Specifically, child aborer no. 3 said;
“Binubugbog po mama ko po at nahirapan po ako pag nakikita ko po si mama nahihirapan.”
Child laborer no. 6 Shared same sentiments;
“Kapag po nag bebenta ako minsan po pinapaalis ako, Kapag po yung iba masama tumingin hindi ko na po
inaalukan, kaya minsan po nahihiya at natatakot ako.”
Child laborers have been interacting differently with others since they experienced harm to others. Child
labor no. 3 said;
“Opo lumalayo na lang ako kapag hindi nakakapag bigay ng pera. Nakakatrauma po kapag minsan parang
aamba sila na manununtok, anliit ko pa naman po.”
These findings supported the study of Gunn (2018), Trauma and stress can alter a child's brain functioning,

257 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
affecting learning, producing behavioral issues, and starting a cycle of violence. Poverty, violence, sexual
abuse, food insecurity, and family instability are just a few of the variables that cause our country's children to
experience brain-altering stress.
4.1.6 Deprivation of Child Laborers
According to participants, child laborers become aware of their responsibilities early on, they raised needs,
they served as parents to their siblings, they become deprived of the things they should be doing such as playing,
studying and most of all enjoying life. Respondent no.3 said;
“Pagtapos ko mag tinda. Kapag po wala na sila mama inuutos nag lalaro na po ako kalaro ko din po ibang
bata dito sa palengke.”
Child laborer no. 4 Shared same sentiments;
“Pag ka tapos ko po mag tinda, mga 5 po ng hapon. Nag papahinga lng tas nag lalaro na po ako.”
Children should be in school, they should learn things that are appropriate for their age, but the reality is that
they are deprived of these rights. Specifically, child laborer no. 4 Said;
“Minsan, pero madalas hindi na po. Kasi kapag tapos ko po mag tinda nakakatulog na po ako sa pagod.”
Family poverty did not directly predict bullying victimization or psychological distress, according to the
structural equation modeling research, but it did influence both bullying victimization and psychological
distress indirectly through child deprivation (Chen et al., 2021).
4.1.7 Social Relationship of Child Laborers
According to the participants, relationship to other part of the family is very important it serve as the foundation
of every family in the world the proper communication to other. Child laborer no. 7 said;
“Ok naman po. Minsan nag kaka pikunan po pero normal na lang naman po samin kasi maya maya hindi
namin namamalayan nag papansinan na pala kami.”
Child laborer no. 6 shared same sentiments;
“Nasa bahay po sila kasama po kuya ko, sya po nag aalaga sa bunso namin nag aaral din po sya. Okay naman
po sila kuya”
Build a very strong relationships with family, friends and with the people we meet. Sometimes it doesn`t
matter what you have, as long as you're happy with the people you meet it always seem to fulfill what you need.
Child laborer no. 6 said;
“Di po kami nag aaway. Masaya po kami sa bahay. Kahit wala kami ng bagay na gusto po namin. Basta po
nag lalaro kami mag kakapatid pag uwi okay na po ako”
According to Iffat Idris (2020), There have been numerous changes as a result of the pandemic, including an
increase in child labor as a reason of families having little choice but to encourage their children to work and
forgot education for a while.
4.1.8 School Related Experiences of Child Laborers
According to the participants, quality education is what children who work today need. They faced other
problems due to the pandemic such as lack of teacher and guides. Specifically, child laborer no. 4 said;
“Module po, Mahirap po kasi hindi ko nakukuha minsan yung lesson.”
The pandemic has exacerbated their situation, they have difficulty accessing quality education and now they
are afraid to go out because of the spreading virus. Child laborer no. 3 said;
“Dati po, Matuto po mag basa at mag sulat. Ngayon po nag stop ako dahil sa pandemya.”
Children should learn not only in school but also in his own home. Specifically, child laborer no. 5 said;
“Module lang po, Masaya po ako kapag nag momodule tinuturuan po ako minsan ng mama sa pagbasa at
pagsulat.”
These experiences of the respondents supported the How Child Labor Affects Children around the Word
(2021), Just about half of all child laborers are younger than 11 years old. When children work, they oftentimes
have to drop out of academe, or their quality of learning suffers as a result of the ancillary duties they have outside
of school.
4.2 The Challenges of Child Laborers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
This superordinate theme shows the challenges of child laborer amidst pandemic. Table 3 contains subordinate
themes perceived in the interview. Likewise, the following subthemes were identified from the data-gathering

258 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
and which are based on their own perspectives. As shown in Table 3, the following subthemes include Mobility,
health, school-related and financial.
Table 3. Challenges Themes
Challenges
Frequency
Mobility
4
Health
8
School Related
5
Financial
10
4.2.1 Mobility of Child Laborers
According to the participants, as the location of their work have proper way to public market, mobility is
their least problems that they are experiencing. Most of the participants are not having problem in this aspect, in
fact, it became their reasons to still continue to work despite the struggles they are facing. Specifically,
Respondent 1 said:
“Motor po, Diyan lang po kami malapit kaya 30 minutes lang po ang byahe, Kaya po di ako nahihirapan
papunta sa trabhao. Sinisipag pa nga po ako kasi di ako nahihirapan mag byahe.”
The particular problem limits some of participants as some of them don’t have personal transportation.
However, they are not considering this as problem to stop them from working. The Respondent 6 stated:
“Naglalakad lang po kami sa tabing ilog lang po kami malapit dito sa bayan. Tsaka mas nakakatipid nga po
eh. Kasi po di na naming kailangan mamasahe.”
These findings supported the study of New World Encyclopedia, (2000), mobility is the movement of
individuals of a specific society in terms of their social status, commonly described in terms of work and money
(vertical mobility), or from one social group to another, not always with a simultaneous change in social position
(horizontal mobility).
4.2.2 Health of Child Laborers
Participants may not consider the mobility as one of their challenges as child laborer. Health is one of their
major concerns, as these participants are prone to the COVID 19 virus due to their nature of work. They also
notice the huge difference before the break out of COVID19 pandemic. Respondent 2 stated:
“Sobrang hirap po kasi di kagaya ng dati mabilis po talaga ang tinda. Kaya po mas kailangan ko pong habaan
ung oras ng pag tititnda namin para po makaubos. Opo nilagnat po ako, tas natatakot po ako baka kasi isipin po
ng iba may covid ako tapos po di ako makapagtinda.”
This particular problem limits their sale and finds this time of pandemic as hindrance to their chance to sell
more goods. As stated by the Respondent 1:
“Dati po kasi kahit saan po pwede tapos ngayon po ditong pwesto na lang. Dito lang po pero kapag alas
kwatro na lumilipat po kami ron wala na po kasi tao rito eh. Tapos minsan nilalanat po ako sa sobrang pagod.”
This finding supported the statement in the article of COVID-19 and Child Labor: A Time of Crisis, a Time
to Act, but this progress is now under jeopardy. According to the survey, children who are already working may
be working longer hours or in worsening conditions. More of them may be forced into the most hazardous sorts
of labor, endangering their health and safety.
4.2.3 School Related Challenges of Child Laborers
Another subtheme identified in the study is school related. According to the participants, they find it
difficult to work and study at the same time. With that, half of the participants are having a hard time to fulfil
their duty as a student. Specifically, Respondent 4 said:
“Opo kasi pag uwi ko pagod po ako tapos mag momodule pa”
Respondent no. 6 shared the same thoughts;
“Minsan po kasi pagod po ako tas nakakaligtaan ko gawin module ko”
Moreover, other participants find this pandemic as advantage because they were able to still provide for
their family and be able to study and finish their modules at night or to their free time. Specifically, Respondent
1 said:
“Hindi naman po, pag uwi ko naman sa bahay po mag momodule na ko kaya po di dumadami ung mga
module ko po.”

259 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
The Respondent 9 have different way to fulfil the duty of being a student:
“Pagtapos po ng almusal nagmomodule ako tapos saka po ako nagtatrabaho”
These finding are supported the study of Holdago et al. (2012). According to the latter, it is discovered that
the nature of work, its intensity, and morning labor work all have a negative effect on academic performance.
There are, however, some critical issues to consider, including whether education and development of children
should be primarily focused on economic objectives.
4.2.4 Financial Challenges of Child Laborers
The participants common challenges as child laborers are financial problems, it also their main reasons why
they are forced to work at the age. Their income may help them somehow to their daily needs. However, it is not
enough for them to have saving. Specifically, Respomdent 5 stated:
“Maliit lang po kinikita ko sa pag tinda, atsaka po hindi po ako nakakaipon kasi nagbabayad pa po kami ng
tubig tsaka kuryente tapos bahay po.”
Respondet 6 has the same statement:
“Hindi po ko nakakaipon kasi nagbabayad po kami tubig, ilaw tas pag kain pa po namin. Mga gamot pa po
naming.”
Even though most of the participants can’t afford to save some to their incomes, there is still participants that
can still somehow save to their income. Specifically Respondent 7 said:
“Kaya naman po kahit papano, nakapag iipon din po kahit konti pero po nakukuha ko din po pag wala
kaming pagkain ng mga kapatid ko.”
According to Edmonds (2016), financial development is for the most part characterized as enhancements in
normal per capita salary. Child labor is overwhelmingly concentrated within the poorest of family units.
Consequently, development can affect child labor through changes in living standards when development benefits
the poor. Whereas there's consid0erable subtlety within the writing, it appears sensible to accept that development
in normal per capita salary will ordinarily raise the living guidelines of the destitute.
4.3 The Coping Mechanism of Child Laborers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
This superordinate theme shows the coping mechanisms of child laborers amidst pandemic. Table 4 contains
subordinate themes perceived in the interview. Likewise, the following subthemes were identified from the data-
gathering and are based on their own perspectives. As shown in Table 4, the following subthemes include health
care, being frugal, and to survival.
Table 4. Coping Mechanisms` Themes
Coping Mechanism
Frequency
Health Care
8
Being Frugal
7
To Survive
10
4.3.1 Health Care of Child Laborers
In the situation where participants are in and with this time of pandemic, health care is one of their major
concerns. However, despite the challenges, the participants showed that there are still ways to cope up. Being
more concern to their health, was given them assurance that they can still provide help for their family.
Specifically Respondent 1 said:
“Mag ingat lang po, wag alisin yung mask. Tapos sabi po ng mama ko uminom daw po kami ng vitamins
atsaka po kumain ng gulay. Kasi daw po nakakmatay ung viru virus po.”
Respondent 9 has the same thoughts;
“Kumakain po ako ng mga msusuntansya tsaka po di po ako masyadong nagtititnda sa madadaming tao po.”
Also, this coping mechanism is not just applicable for participants’ protections but also for their families.
Respondent 3 said:
“Bumibili po ng vitamis tapos po mga gulay kasi po lagi po akong nasa labas kaya kailanag ko po para di po
ako mahawa ng covid. Para din po kasi sa pamilya ko un, baka po kasi mahawa ko sila.”
These finding supported study of Weel and Kidd (2018) stated that it is one of the importances of strengthening
primary health care are essential to achieving universal health coverage. It shows that by doing those people’s

260 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
health needs will be properly addresses and it can result to integrating care, prevention, promotion and education.
4.3.2 Being Frugal of Child Laborers
In midst of this of this pandemic, everyone is suffering and the circumstances are different. Especially in
terms of financial aspect, everyone is concern about where to take their daily needs. As a result, these child
laborers are not immune to these obstacles; in fact, the respondents have greater difficulty in meeting their
family’s daily needs. However, despite these difficulties, they are still able to cope in these challenges. Being
frugal is one of their coping mechanisms that helping them to choose the needs that are more important.
Specifically, Respondent 3 said:
“Binibili lang po naming yung kailangan naming sa araw araw atsaka po di po ako bumibili laruan kasi
sabi ng nanay ko mas mahalaga daw po pagkain. Tapos matipid din po kasi ako kaya po may naitatabi po ako
tas un po ung ginagamit po namin pero po nagkakautang pa rin po kami.”
However, despite of being frugal, due the reason that they are still lack for financial resources. They still
need to borrow money. Respondent 7 said:
“Medyo mahirap po pag kasyahin, minsan po nangungutang kami, tapos hinuhulug hulogan namin, tas pag
may natira po binibili namin bigas.”
There are various study showing how are important our choices in life, in reason that it will be having a huge
impact in our life. With that, according to Goldsmith and Flynn (2015), frugal conduct is rarely explored in
psychology and marketing. It merits more consideration as a consumption pattern since thrifty consumer behavior
is a target population considered being both people and societies. Frugality should be the one of the most
important and widespread individual variations influencing consumer spending and saving. It is defined by the
Oxford English Dictionary as “the quality of being frugal; modest of sparing consumption or usage of provisions,
goods, etc.
4.3.3 To survive of Child Laborers
Surviving their daily needs gives them hope in this time of disarray. There are many challenges in this new
normal that one can encounter. However, optimistic thinking became the coping mechanism of these child
laborers that help them to survive. Despite the challenges, the participants did make the situation turn out so well.
They see these challenges as a good thing that can lead to other good things. Respondent 6 said:
“Nag dadasal po, o di kaya nag bebenta na lang kasi ma dalas pera ang problema namin eh. Tsaka po dapat
maging masaya pa din po, kasi sabi po ni papa ko lilipas din daw po to. Tapos dapat mangarap daw po kami
kasi mahirap daw po ung gantong buhay sabi po ni papa ko.”
Also, having cooperation in family to have common goal, which to survive these struggles in life, allows the
participants to have strength to survive. Respondent 7 said:
“Sama sama tas nag tutulungan po kaming mag kaka pamilya kaya po medyo gumagaan.”
These findings supported the article of Calling All Optimist (2020), it shows that it is scientifically proven that
being an optimistic thinker helps to boost happiness and motivates you to achieve your goal. With that instance,
you start to notice the changes in your life and will be able to see the silver linings in challenging situations. It
also mentioned that health benefits of positive thinking and optimism helps to reduce stress, increase
psychological and physical well-being, and better-coping skills during stressful times.
5. DISCUSSION
This study explores the lived experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms of child laborers who are
working in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the participants' experiences, most child laborers
become vulnerable to disease and illness and continue to work for their families, although they still face financial
challenges. All of the participants encountered food scarcity, as well as a lack of access to good education and
healthcare. However, there are various strategies to deal with this circumstance, such as maintaining a positive
attitude, sticking to their quota, and playing after a long day at work.
Furthermore, the challenges of these children are primarily centered on education. However, because of their
work, the majority of child laborers do not have access to a stress-free atmosphere in which to learn. This study
also finds that these problems experienced by these child laborers have doubled; as they lack equipment and time
to study, and it is caused by this pandemic. For these reasons, deprivation keeps them not to experience the rights
of being a child. A big percentage of these child laborers are exposed to violence, exploitation, and other violation

261 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
of human rights.
Moreover, child laborers' most common problems are financial, proper environment to study, and risk to their
health as they need to still work even though there is a possibility for them to be infected with the COVID-19
virus. Facing the reality of life at a young age is not an easy task that is why coping mechanisms among child
laborers played an important role to help them get through all the difficulties. Moreover, most of the participants
hold to their dreams, faith and use prayers as their shield from all they have through; keep fighting the struggles
of life and being optimistic about their future. These coping mechanisms made them equipped in facing life
challenges and keep learning about their problems. The participants felt fulfillment by helping their families.
They see themselves as a breadwinner that keeps their family fighting these struggles.
6. CONCLUSIONS
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusion was derived: Children who have been exposed to
labor at an early age are likely to exhibit illness, food scarcity, lack of access to education and health care due to
their financial capabilities. These children's challenges are mainly focused on their education as they can’t avail
to have access to good education in their current situation. Child labor affects children's educational needs
resulting in low academic performance, leaving them with unfavorable tenurial opportunities in the future. As
their coping mechanism, these children tend to hold onto their dreams and pray so that they can keep fighting for
the struggles in their life. Playing after work is also one of their coping mechanisms.
REFERENCES
[1] Abubakar et al. (2018) Child labor activities in a changing world: Evidences from a metropolis in Nigeria:
International Journal of Development and management Review. Vol. 13 No.1.
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijdmr/article/view/172288
[2] Admassie, A. (2003). Child labor and schooling in the context of a subsistence rural economy: can they be
compatible? International Journal of Educational Development,23(2), 167-185.
[3] Ahad, M. A., Parry, Y. K., & Willis, E. (1AD, January 1). Spillover trends of child labor during the
coronavirus crisis- an unnoticed wake-up call. Frontiers. Retrieved December 21, 2021, from
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00488/full
[4] Baumgardner J. (2017, September 5). The Effects of Childhood Trauma. https://firstthings.org/the-effects-
of-childhood-trauma/
[5] Becker, G. S. (1965). The theory of allocation of time. Economic Journal, 75(299), 493-517.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecoj.12157#:~:text=Becker's%20(1965)%20paper%2C%2
0',use%20decisions%20within%20the%20household
[6] Beegle, K et. al. (2004). Why should we care about child labor? the education labor market, and health
consequences of child labor; national Bureau of economic research.
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w10980/w10980.pdf
[7] Bhalotra, S.R.,& Tzannatos, Z. (2003).Child labor: What have we learnt? World Bank, Social Protection.
https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/hdnspu/27872.htmlBornstein, M.H.,& Yl Putnick, D.L. (2015). Is child l
abor a barrier to school enrollment in low-and middle-income countries? International journal of
educational development,41, 112-120.
[8] Calling All Optimist (2020). The Importance of Optimism During Challenging times. Graduate Management
Admission Council. https://www.callingalloptimist.com/the-importance-of- optimism-during-challenging-
times.
[9] Chen J et. Al. (2021, July 28). Child Deprivation as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Family Poverty,
Bullying Victimization, and Psychological Distress. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12187-021-
09835-y
[10] Child Labor. (2016, October 17). Their world Organization. https://theirworld.org/explainers/child-labor
[11] Chzhen, Y., Ferrone L. (2017). Multidimensional Child Deprivation and Poverty Measurement: Case study
of Bosnia and Herzegovina. https://www.unicef-irc.org/journal-articles/16-multidimensional-child-
deprivation-and-poverty-measurement-case-study-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina.html

262 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
[12] Covid-19 has likely worsened the situation of child laborers in India: Educo and campaign against child labor
led efforts to bring together stakeholders to help end child labor - India. ReliefWeb. (n.d.). Retrieved
December 21, 2021, from https://reliefweb.int/report/india/covid-19-has-likely-worsened-situation-child-
laborers-india-educo-and-campaign-against
[13] Covid-19 may push millions more children into child labor – ILO and UNICEF. COVID-19 and child labor:
COVID-19 may push millions more children into child labor – ILO and UNICEF. (2020, June 12). Retrieved
December 21, 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_747583/lang--
en/index.htm
[14] Covid-19 pandemic fueling Child labor. Human Rights Watch. (2021, October 19). Retrieved December 21,
2021, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/26/covid-19-pandemic-fueling-child-labor
[15] De Paoli, A., & Mendola, M. (2014, March). International Labor Mobility and Child Work in
Developing Country. https://ftp.iza.org/dp8066.pdf.
[16] Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), (2021)., DOLE Vows to Free 5 Million Children form
Illegal labor. https://www.dole.gov.ph/news/dole-vows-to-free-5m-children-from-illegal-labor/
[17] Dessy (2002), Endogenous Mobility And the emergency of mandatory.
https://web.williams.edu/Economics/neudc/papers/dessy.pdf
[18] Edmonds, E. V. (2016, April). Economic Growth and Child Labor in Low Income Economies. Growth and
Labor Markets in Low Income Countries Programme. https://glm-lic.iza.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/glmlic_sp003.pdfEnd
[19] Child Poverty, (2019). Child Labor- opportunities and Challenges.
https://endingchildpoverty.org/en/blog/500-child-labor-opportunities-and-challenges
[20] Edmonds E. and Theoharides C., (2011). The impact of productive assets and training on child labor in the
philippines; innovation for poverty action. https://www.poverty-action.org/study/reducing-child-labor-
philippines
[21] Ersado, L. (2005) Child Labor and schooling decisions in urban and rural areas in Nepal. World
Development. 33(3), 455-458.
[22] Estes, M. (2020). Health Assessment and Physical Examination, Chapter 4. Delmar Cengage
Learning.http://www.delmarlearning.com/companions/content/1401872069/About%20the%20book/index.
asp?isbn=1401872069
[23] Fassa, A. et. al. (2000). Child labor and health: Problems and pespectives. International Journal of
Occupational and Environmental,6, 155-162.
[24] Fassa, A. et. al (2010), Child labor: A Public Health Perspective; Oxford Scholarship Online.
https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558582.011.0001/acprof-
9780119558582
[25] Findings on the worst forms of child labor - philippines: U.S. Department of Labor. United States Department
of Labor. (2020.). Retrieved December 21, 2021, from
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/philippines
[26] Galli, R. (2001). The Economic Impact of Child Labor. International Labor
Organization. https://www.eldis.org/document/A12577
[27] Geneva., (2020) Covid-19 may push more Children into Child Labor – ILO and UNICEF:
https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/covid-19-may-push-millions-more-children-child-labor-
ilo-and-unicef
[28] Goldsmith and Flynn (2015). The Etiology of Frugal Spending: A Partial Replication and Extension. Sage
Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2466/09.20.CP.4.4
[29] Gunn J. (2018). This is Student`s Brain on Trauma. https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/this-
is-a-students-brain-on-trauma/
[30] Hanushek, E. A., & Kimko, D. D. (2000). Schooling, labor-force quality, and the growth of nations. The
American Economic Review, 90(5), 1184-1208. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.90.5.1184
[31] Healthy Children.org. (2015, November 11). Parenting School-Age Children.
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/Pages/Parenting-School-Age-
Children.aspx

263 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
[32] Holgado et. Al. (2012). Impact of Child labor on academic performance. Evidence from the program
“Educame primero Columbia”International Journal of Educational Development, 1483b https://so03.tci-
thaijo.org/index.php/jpss/index
[33] How Child Labor Affects Children Around the World. (2001, June 11). Child Found Australia.
https://www.childfund.org.au/stories/how-child-labor-affects-children-around-the-world/
[34] Huebler, F. (2006).Child labor and school attendance in developing Countries: Empirical Evidence
from National Household Surveys.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://data.unicef.org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/12/Child_labor_school_FHuebler_2008_89.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjCi-
DsqaD0AhUXPnAKHTmZCu8QFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3OJCMuYV3xtIwgYWYwUcUa
[35] Human Right watch, (2021)., Covid-19 Pandemic Fueling Child
Labor. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/26/covid-19-pandemic-fueling-child-labor
[36] Ibrahim, A. Et Al. (2018) Child labor and health care. A systematic literature review of the impacts of child
labor's health in low and middle-income countries. Journal of health care. V-14 p. 16-18.
https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy018
[37] Iffat. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on child labor in South Asia. Retrieved December 21, 2021, from
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/819_impact_of_covid-19_on_child_labor_in_south_asia.pdf/
[38] International Labor Organization: Child Labor Convention Ratified by All ILO Member States, a First in
ILO History. (2020). International Labor Organization. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-
monitor/2020-09-30/international-labor-organization-child-labor-convention-ratified-by-all-ilo-member-
states-a-first-in-ilo-history/
[39] International Labor Organization, (2009), Combating chil labor through education; A resource kit for policy-
makers and practitioners. https://www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_103992/lang--
en/index.htm
[40] International labor organization, (2021)., international year for the elimination of child labor.
https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_766351/lang--en/index.htm
[41] International Labor Organization. (2020). COVID-19 AND CHILD LABOR: A TIME OF CRISIS, A TIME
TO ACT. December 21, 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
ipec/documents/publication/wcms_747421.pdf
[42] International Labor Organization (ILO), UNICEF & World Bank Group. (2012). Towards Ending Child
Labor in Zambia: An Assessment of Resource Requirements Interagency country reports, Understanding
Children Work (UCW) project Rome, Italy: International Labor Organization.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---
ed_norm/---
ipec/documents/publication/wcms_193907.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjQv7DOqqD0AhVGeXAKHcuXD78QFno
ECAcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1khVxVcS9OIpxDgWklqJvR
[43] International Labor Organization, (2020)., Covid-19 impact on child labor and forced labor; The response of
IPEC+ flagship program.
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@ipec/documents/publication/wcms_745287.pdf
[44] Kechagia, P., & Metaxas, T. (2021, August 24). Are working children in developing countries hidden victims
of pandemics? MDPI. Retrieved December 21, 2021, from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/9/321/htm
[45] Kid Sense Child Development. (2021). What is Child Development?
https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/what-is-child-development/
[46] Lally et al. (2021). Parenting and Family Diversity Issues. Iowa State University.
https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/parentingfamilydiversity/chapter/middle-and-late-childhood/
[47] “Labor”. (2019, December 4). Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Dreier-Robins
[48] Lopez- Cava (2011) A Vulnerability Approach to the Definition of the Middle Class: World Bank
Documents. Pg
5(28https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3669/WPS5902.pdf?sequence=1&isAll
owed=y

264 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
[49] Mackes N. et. Al. (2020, January 6). Early Childhood Deprivation is Associated with Alteration in Adult
Brain Structure Despite Subsequent Environmental Enrichment. https://www.pnas.org/content/117/1/641
[50] Manahan (2015) A 10-year-old child's labor of love and sacrifice | Investigative Documentaries: GMA news.
https://youtu.be/W0MJ29C2W4o
[51] Najeeb, Rayan. (2020, July 30). A Universal Definiton of what it means to be a “Child”.
UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/universal-definition-what-it-means-be-child
[52] NASP (2021) How Children Cope with ongoing Threat and trauma: Basic Ph Model: National Association
of School Psycholigist. https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-
podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/mental-health-resources/trauma/how-children-cope-with-
ongoing-threat-and-trauma
[53] Navpreet Kaur, R. W. B. (n.d.). Prevalence and potential consequences of child labor in India and the possible
impact of covid-19 – a contemporary overview - navpreet kaur, Roger W Byard, 2021. SAGE Journals.
Retrieved December 21, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0025802421993364
[54] Oracion, P. (2014) Teacher leadership in public schools in the Philippines, UCL
Discoveryhttps://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10021652/
[55] Othman, E. (2004). Children in Urban America. https://www.marquette.edu/cuap/intrl
[56] Pain, J. (2015) Interpretative phenomenological analysis as a useful methodology for research on the lived
experience of pain: British journal of pain. 9(1): 41-42
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4616994/
[57] Presidential Task Force on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma in Children and Adolescent. (2008).
Children and Trauma. https://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/children-trauma-update
[58] Prichett L. (2006), Let their people come: breaking the gridlock on global labor mobility, Center for global
development, Washington D.C.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/9781
933286105-Pritchett-let-their-people-
come.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjL2urAraD0AhVOZt4KHUqGA0MQFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1A6ye6Y
mH-PNnXgkAs-eMq
[59] Putnam, F. (2009, July 14). The Impact of Trauma on Child Development.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1755-6988.2006.tb00110.x
[60] Radfar, A. et al., (2018) Challenges and perspective of child labor; national center for biotechnology
information. page, 17-20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198592/
[61] Raisingchildren.net.au. (2019, June 24). Learning: Primary and Secondary School Years.
https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/learning-ideas/learning-school-years
[62] Rogol A. (2020, October 7). Emotional Deprivation in Children: Growth Faltering Reversible
Hypopituitarism. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.596144/full
[63] Rosati et al. (2015). Understanding child labor and youth employment outcomes in the Philippines.
Understanding Children’s Work.UNICEF. Retrieved August 25, 2015from.
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-
mani/documents/publication/wcms_447853.pd
[64] Sarkhedi B. (2020). Importance of having a positive attitude in life. Readers Blog.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/thereality/importance-of-having-positive-attitude-in-life-
24763/
[65] Shafic, N. (2010) An Empirical Illustration of Positive Stigma towards Child Labor: Economic Bulletin.
Volume 30, Issue 1.
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.944.2209&rep=rep1&type=pdf
[66] Soares, R., Kurger, D.,& Barthelon, M. (2012). Household choices of child labor and Schooling, Asimple
model with application in Brazil.Journal of Human Resources, 47(4), 1-31.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss
:v:46:y:2012:i:1:p:1-
31&ved=2ahUKEwjl25LyqqD0AhUOMd4KHeIkAzcQFnoECAMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1v5bRWtq0Xqlo3
lvspf4BKToppr (2021). Childhood essay for Students and children.

265 The Lived Experiences and Challenges Faced by Filipino Child Laborers
Jade Marie Dalmacio et al.
https://www.toppr.com/guides/essays/childhood-essay/
[67] Unicef.org (2021) Child Protection; Child Labor. https://www.unicef.org/protection/child-labor
[68] UNICEF, (2021)., October 8, 2021. https://www.unicef.org/protection/child-labor
[69] What is Child Labor. (2021). International Labor Organization. https://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--
en/index.htm\
[70] Weel and Kidd (2018). Why strengthening primary health care is essential to achieving universal health
coverage. Canadian Medical Association. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov./pmc/articles/PMC59O3888/
[71] Wilson (2020). Benefits of Primary Health Care. News Medical Life Sciences. https://www.news-
medical.net/amp/health/Benifits-of-Primary-Health-Care.aspx