Childhood, work and health: reflections on the official discourse of prohibition of child labor

ABSTRACT This paper presents some results and hypotheses obtained from research on the relationship between childhood, work and health which analyzed the historical process of building the official discourse (laws and policies) of prohibition of child labor, using the procedures of Speech Analysis. The presence of indicative elements of ideological operation was found to support the 'invisibility of child labor' and 'demarcation of work as an inherently harmful activity to health'. It points to the need for studies and research to consider the complexity of the child labor issue and its relationship with public health.