Is Child Labor BAD????? Lessons in parenting.
150 years ago in the cities of the United States there were kids working in the streets and the factories to help earn money enough for food and keep for their families.
Instead, in 21st Century America, the usual monetary concerns are if the parents will be buying their kids a new iPhone or the newest PlayStation....or Both. Times have changed, ......and for the better.
BUT HAS ALL THE PROGRESS BEEN POSITIVE??
I spent an hour tonight when I got home from work giving my 3 boys a lesson in snow removal, fair market value and hard work. It snowed about 6-8 inches in the last 12 hours and school is canceled tomorrow.
So I asked my boys if they want to earn some money.
They said "yes".
The oldest is less than 14 years old....so some people may frown on letting these guys go to work tomorrow morning. But I still believe hard work and earning money and saving up are skills all kids ought to learn.
Anyway....this post is gonna be shorter than I planned. It is almost midnight already and we are planning to wake up at 5:30AM to see if it has stopped snowing. If it has, by 6:15 we plan to be outside getting started.
The boys are going to start by clearing the sidewalk up our one block street. If anyone asks them to clear the front steps and driveway then they can earn some money!
What are your thoughts?
I know the homesteaders out there teach their children to join in and help with the chores. Nothing like 19th century stuff, but on a real farm....everyone helps out.
Please chime in with your thoughts, experiences and even ridicule...just back it up with a clear justification.
I want to hear it all!!
Thanks and wish us luck!
Peace!
I love it. It's important for kids to learn how to make their own money. Perhaps while they are shoveling snow, they will be thinking "there has to be a better way." Hard work tends to get ideas flowing: Exercise is good, community service is good, making extra $$ is good.
Obviously, forced child labor is a horrible thing!
But kids working to earn some pocket money? Every kid should do that. By the time they are 12-15 years old they should have mown a few lawns or shoveled a bunch of snow or something. IT is good for their character and future understanding of hard work and money!
Child labor that happens when an under age is employed to do jobs in an unsafe/adult environment - that is bad. However, in some countries like ours, some families just have to send their kids to do a man's work. On the other hand, when we ask our kids to do chores, we are only teaching them how to be responsible.
Hard work never killed nobody. Double negative or not, tis' the truth. Having your children work along side you and reap a tangible benefit for themselves and the family will tie the bonds of love for a lifetime. Keep it up and seek out more opportunities to involve them in family enterprises.
I don't think children should have to work to put food in their bellies or to keep a roof over their head. But I do think children should work along side their parents when possible.
My husband works outside the home, and I have always pretty much always ran some type of home based business, while property managing (though I retired from the property management and sold my rentals) My kids has always worked beside us when we have had work. They know how to do basic maintenance, and even when they were small they could still paint the bottom part of the walls.
I believe in teaching children work ethic while young, and allowing them to earn money for that work. But also allowing them the freedom to take more breaks and to go play.
Exactly!!
Thank you for taking the time to reply!! It is good to hear from those that share a similar philosophy!
Peace
My youngest daughter took a construction class in school and one of the skills she learned was roofing, so that following summer she replaced three roofs for her grandmother's rental properties to earn the money for her first car.
Hmmmm..... I want to do this now!
But I'm afraid of heights..... I can try it... But oooooh... Get chills thinking about it!
We didn’t have snow to clear but at 14 I was already mowing the lawns and doing garden clean up for 4 elderly people on our street and now that I think about it not for money just to help them out
Maybe that’s why I am not rich I guess lol
But I see no issue with the boys out clearing snow it’s a good experience for them
Yes, it is bad. However, I can also say it depends on their family status. Like here in the Philippines a lot of kids are working because they need to support themselves to survive, mostly they are the ones living in the slums. They are the ones whose parents are sick or their parents left them with their other siblings and they are the ones responsible for their family at a young age. I know the government is doing everything to alleviate this but the number is to high.
For them, it's NO WORK NO FOOD sad but true. We cannot ask them to stop cause their family will suffer. Who should we blame for this?
Thank you for sharing this @em3 ! Resteemed!
Like you say....it is bad, but for their families it is good.
Hopefully in the Philippines their jobs are not to dangerous or harmful.
I am so thankful that for our kids this is their choice, not their need. Thanks be to God!
Some of them have dangerous jobs and it's sad that they have to suffer at a young age.
The best thing we can give them is our prayers.
God bless you always @em3 !
That is terrible. We are so thankful to live in a healthy (rich) country!!!!
We are thankful to our parents for taking good care of us. Maybe one day we can help them kids.
Great and thoughtful post @em3! My son who is 16 now started to shovel snow for extra money around the neighborhood with his cousin where I live. He also helps fix bicycles and customizes skateboards for extra cash. The chores he does at home, I do not pay him for because it is something he has to do anyway. Upvoted and Resteemed!
Snow doesn't even have to exist. They can pull trash cans out and pull trash cans in for neighbors and charge them extra for wiping down the container, they can walk dogs, they can babysit... Cheers to self sufficient children!
I'm in California, I felt a little left out with all the shoveling snow talk🎊🎄🍾
I'm in California, I felt a little left out with all the shoveling snow talk🎊🎄🍾
Good for you! Work can be fun! I have some great memories of shoveling snow as a kid. And even if it gets tedious after the first block, there's nothing wrong with that either. I'd rather my kids learn to work well first under my supervision as a "good boss" than have their first experience possibly be with a "bad boss." Enjoy your snow day ;) And the cash it brings!
NO if not forced