How does the child labor of the 1800s affect american society today?

Child labor is not an easy issue to resolve; while it seems noble to immediately withdraw investments and cooperation with firms and factories that employ child labor it may do more harm than good. Many of these children are from very poor families and work to pay for their family and/or their education. Depriving them of this income has led to some children seeking different, lower paid work, and even prostitution in some cases. Other ways with schemes to help children would likely be needed so that this labor can be phased out. The same has been suggested by the International Labor Organization (ILO), at a meeting in Mexico City in 1999, who also pointed out that child labor affects over 250 million children, 30 percent of which are in Latin America. A gradual phase out is said to be a more preferable solution.