this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2024
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I was working summer jobs doing farm labour since before I was a teenager (and I'm not that old), so I'm gonna say that it's fine that 13 year olds are working.
I also had to do farm labour (picking fruit) before I was legally allowed to work at 14. I was taken advantage of (financially) that whole summer - underpaid, and occasionally worked an entire day and got stiffed outright. I've never stopped working since then (I'm in my early 50s), aside from a few months of unemployment between jobs that was more stressful than working. I'll likely have to work until I die.
Fuck that shit.
My kids are 18 and 20 and as long as they're in school, it can stay that way. Once you start, you don't stop. I'll let them enjoy it as long as they can.
So right.
So, based on your summertime work, it's okay for kids to work year-round?
I also worked for the Parks and Rec department of the city where I grew up throughout the school year, startinf when I was 14 or 15... So yes?
I worked at a farm around 12-13 saved enough to quit and buy my first computer, it was awesome. Then 13-14 working at a convienence store. I don't see an issue working, you learn the actual value of time and money without ma and pa paying for everything. By very early 20s, I owned my own house, cars, motorcycles etc. Kids going from only school life to full time career have a terrible time adjusting to whar that life change is
You say no issues while ignoring the exploitation angle, which is historical fact. But even if it weren’t, are we so pathetic that our society somehow needs these kids to work instead of being kids? Really? We can’t do any better?
What exploitation angle? I was paid the same minimum wage an adult would get. And as a kid that spent tons of time outdoors with friends, exploring nature, kayaking etc, it really didn't cut into that, as you were done your shift and still had 5-6 hours of daylight to enjoy the summer. If I wasn't working I would have wasted that time warching rerun cartoons, you can only swim so much in the pool so much before your skin prunes. lol
Right. Please research child labor exploitation and you will understand. It’s clearly documented. Just because you were lucky doesn’t mean others were, or will be.
Oh, I know it happens in places, as forced labour, or poor families needing children to work. But I see it as a bonus if your are just a willing participant and paid the equivalent wages. And other countries people have gone into their tradeschool by 16. NA has a delayed entry into real life
If you want to suggest that 16 is a great age to allow people to start work, I don't think you're going to find much resistance. That's true in the United States, and much of the world, as you remarked. But 13 is nowhere close to 16, so that's where you're seeing resistance here.
Another point that I thought it was obvious, but perhaps it isn't, is how easy it is for older coworkers and bosses to manipulate children. Kids don't have the experience, and they don't have the experience or composure necessary to reliably walk away from bad work environments. So then, is there some totally necessary societal function that we desperately need young teenagers to feel? If there's not, why don't we take the risk off of them.
And finally we have to come back to the elephant in the room. In reality, people who propose allowing children to work are doing so because they don't want to pay adults more.
And again I think it's obvious, but maybe it's not so obvious to others, that if the goal is to give kids a variety of experiences then there are plenty of great ways to do so. Sports, music, school, volunteering, extracurriculars, you name it. Structured environments with proper supervision, managed by people who care about the safety of those kids, and aren't going to try to make a buck by mistreating them.
All good points, thanks for presenting them. My kids did the sport and volunteer route too, two of them chose to work after graduating highschool, but the other two chose to start early one at 11 delivering papers and the other at 13. They were both open and would alert us if any exploitation was happening, but I recognize some kids may not have the skills. My one daughter found working very enjoyable, a sense of purpose and earning their own paycheck. Annecdotally it set her ahead in life, at 20 she had saved enough and was able to buy an apartment in metro Vancouver...if you know prices here you can see how that is a huge achievement, she still had time for school, friends, movies and sports. For myself I would find that too busy, but some people enjoy it.