Before Their Time: The World of Child Labor

by David L. Parker

Physician and photographer David L. Parker takes us beyond the headlines and into the textile factories, stone quarries, and garbage dumps where children are forced—by unscrupulous adults or by lack of any other economic opportunity—into the desperate cycle of child labor. His haunting and sensitive portrayal of these children preserves their dignity and humanity while exposing their often tragic circumstances.


The hazards of harsh working conditions are visited exponentially on still-growing bodies and minds, whether they are cleaning elephant stables in India, picking cotton in Turkey, or extracting gold from Nicaraguan mines. Mercury used in mining causes brain damage; stone dust destroys young lungs; circus contortions cause serious muscular harm. But even beyond the disastrous physical consequences of child labor, simply having to work means that children are deprived of the education, nurturing, and socialization that are the necessary foundations of lasting health, development, and progress.


Dr. Parker's riveting portraits of children continues in the brave documentary tradition of Lewis Hine, Milton Rogovin, and Sebastiao Salgado, who have contributed to the legal and humanitarian advances of previous generations. We can only hope, as Hine said in the early twentieth century, that one day soon heartbreaking images like these will simply be "records of the past." Until then, Before Their Time is an essential call to action.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2007

Reviews

[Emilie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Their Time is a nonfiction work by David Parker composed of photographs of underage laborers. The opening pages contain a foreword from Senator Tom Harkin followed by an introduction to the work by the author and sections covering the types of child labor. These images expose twenty-first century labor and working conditions endured by children around the world. According to Parker, “320 million children under the age of 16 toil under hazardous conditions.” Children enter workforces within farming, bricklaying, garbage picking, prostitution, force military service, etc. In the classroom, this could be used as introduction to a unit followed by a book of young adult fiction like Sold and then even a literary novel. The juxtaposition of words and black and white photographs, I think, would effectively allow students to recognize the inhumane conditions children face around the world rather than just doing an overview by lecture.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking photos of children performing difficult, dangerous, and soul-searing jobs all over the world, from brickmaking to mining, begging to prostitution. The text was less compelling than the photographs - I wanted the individual stories of the children depicted rather than generalizations and stats. But those pictures, especially all those sad eyes and tiny, strained bodies, will stay with me.

[Tina Garza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not completely done with this book but so far it has been very interesting, heart wrenching and shocking at times.