Alex's Answer

Hello and welcome to Ask Alex. Thanks for your question. 

You asked why your school is forcing you into child labour.  

Childline would be concerned to hear that your school is engaging in child labour. This term refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school and is mentally, physically, socially, and morally harmful. If this is what you’re referring to, it’s important to know that this is a form of exploitation and is illegal in Ireland and around the world. While you’re at school, it’s your teacher’s job to make sure you’re safe.  

Sometimes, at school, we can feel under a lot of pressure. It can be difficult to keep on top of every subject and it’s normal to feel stressed or anxious when this happens. It can be helpful to talk about this and share it with someone else. Do you have adults in your life that you feel you could trust? Someone you could talk to openly about how you are feeling and the impact this is having on you. Examples of trusted adults may be someone like a parent/guardian, auntie, uncle, grandparent, older cousin or older sibling. 

If you’d prefer to talk to someone you don’t know, you’re very welcome to reach out to us here at Childline. You can talk or chat to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and our services are free and confidential. You can give us a call on: 1800 66 66 66 or chat to us one-to-one on our webchat on www.childline.ie or by text on 50101. We won’t judge you or tell you what to do. We can look at what options may be available to you together. 

Childline is here for you when you are ready to contact us, you are not alone.   

We hope to hear from you soon. 

Take care,  

Alex