American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
ISSN (Online): 2378-7031
DOI: 10.46568/2378-7031
Rethinking Childhood Protection in the Twenty-First Century
Affiliation
Gil Alterovitz1,2,* and Sophia Yuditskaya3
1Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
2Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA
3Cyber Analytics and Decision Systems Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA
Correspondence to: Gil Alterovitz, Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, USA. E-mail: gil_alterovitz@hms.harvard.edu
Publication Information: May 17, 2026
Citation: Alterovitz G, Yuditskaya S. Rethinking Childhood Protection in the Twenty-First Century. American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol 12, no. 2, 2026, pp. 31-34.
Copyright: © 2026 Alterovitz G, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Globalization has reshaped economic opportunities and social conditions, but its effects on children remain uneven. This communication examines the relationship between economic globalization, poverty, and child labour, with particular attention to the difficulties faced by children in vulnerable households. It considers how economic pressures can increase families’ dependence on children’s earnings and, in turn, limit children’s access to education, safety, and healthy development. The discussion also reviews the role of national and international legal measures in protecting children from exploitation and argues that legislation alone cannot address the economic conditions that sustain child labour. The Indian context is considered in relation to poverty, educational exclusion, and the legal regulation of child employment. The paper argues that effective protection of child rights requires measures that address household poverty, improve access to quality education, strengthen social protection, and provide safer livelihood opportunities for families. A balanced approach is therefore necessary to protect children’s rights while addressing the economic hardships that contribute to their involvement in work.
