For children living in impoverished Latin America, the upsetting reality that they must work long, hard hours is accepted as a norm. This burden of working as a child remains an upsetting necessity for many Latin American families. In some cases, it is the only viable option for a source of income for families, yet the institution of child labor prohibits the growth of an economy because an investment needs to be made in the future. If children are working then they often can not get an education and achieve a higher status later in life. Although it will be difficult to totally eradicate child labor in Latin America, there are many efforts that could be made in order to improve working conditions and increase the quality of life in these third world countries. The first step towards improving Latin American countries' issues with child labor is educating children better. Many families resort to this inhumane work because they are left with no other practical options. If money raised towards this cause were channeled towards improving educational systems, there would no longer be a need to invest so much of the future of these third world countries in professions with no room for advancement.