Should Kids be allowed to enter the work field at a young age?

By: Itzel Paulin

As kids are growing up, many people stress that kids should be kids and have the right to experiencing a childhood that feels carefree without any worries. Parents are the ones who are especially fretful of this. Oftentimes, parents feel the need to delay the end of their children's childhood by shielding them of any major responsibilities. For instance, the responsibilities of being employed. Many parents worry that overloading their children with work can be too much for them when they also have school and a social life to manage. While still being in school, school should be their top priority, but once acquiring a job, that can change. Many kids lose sight of school and tend to focus more on their job, drawing away from studies and friends. A job can potentially destroy their future if the kid loses sight of their schooling, hence why some parents do not want such responsibilities for their kids. On the other hand, there are some parents who argue that introducing their kids to the work field at a young age comes with positive outcomes. The parents themselves speak from personal experience too. They claim that when a kid is introduced to such responsibilities at a young age they become better because they learn more about adult responsibilities, and rather than negatively impacting their education it encourages them to continue on with their education. According to those individuals who encourage work at a young age, the kids learn that money can go much faster than it takes to earn it. Before allowing a kid to work at a young age, parents should carefully consider both the possible challenges and the potential benefits it could have for their child.


Perspective #1: Reasons why young kids should be allowed in the workfield


A lot of parents support the idea of their children working at a young age, they see it as a positive attribute, Mortimer explains “Most parents like the idea of their children working, as they think that employment instills a whole array of positive traits, including independence, responsibility, interpersonal skills, and a good work ethic (Phillips & Sandstrom, 1990). Parents believe that the jobs that they themselves held during adolescence helped them to acquire these very same attributes.” Mortimer points out that many teens and young children begin with small jobs such as babysitting, mowing lawns, or helping their neighbor and as they get older they move onto more serious jobs. Teen employment is quite common and many parents view it as an important step towards moving into adulthood. Many parents support their children working because it helps them develop responsibility and independence while also learning important life skills that aren’t always taught at school. A handful of these parents in favor of their children working reflect back onto their own personal experiences of working when they were younger and feel as if those jobs helped them become more responsible adults.

Perspective #2: Reasons as to why young children should not be allowed in the workfield


On the other hand, many officials and parents view the work field as something physically and mentally damaging. The United States Department of Labor notes, “It is an unfortunate fact that children do get injured, even killed, in the workplace. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that 160,000 American children suffer occupational injuries every year—and 54,800 of these injuries are serious enough to warrant emergency room treatment.” With high rates relating to work injuries and even deaths, parents are going to be terrified to send their kids off to a workplace environment where they cannot watch over their children 24/7. These high numbers can also disencourage many individuals when it comes to trusting the workplace environments.Referring to work, Walden University claims, “ It can hurt academic achievement. While the correlation between working and grades is not easy to measure, researchers have learned that students who work upward of 20 hours a week suffer from reduced academic performance.” Others believe that children should not work because it can negatively impact their education and well being. When students focus on work more they tend to have less time for homework, studying, and school activities, resulting in lower grades. It shows that working too many hours can get in the way of a student's academic success. With kids already being tired from work, they have less energy to participate in any extracurricular activities. Because of this, people argue that working at a young age is not good. Education should be their main and only focus.

Points of Agreement


Even with these divided views, they both agree on one thing, jobs serve as a healthy introduction to the real world and responsibilities. The United States Department of Labor explains, “The program is aimed at helping youths to become reoriented and motivated toward education and to prepare them for the world of work.”They explain that the youth employment programs are made to help young people become "reoriented and motivated toward education and to prepare them for the world of work” Similarly, the articles suggest that early job experiences expose youths to the effort required to earn money and support themselves, sometimes even their families. Because part-time jobs show how many hours are needed just to make ends meet, they can motivate you to pursue a higher-paying career through education . In The Benefits and Risks of Adolescent Employment, Mortimer states, “ We find evidence, however, that work experience can promote the healthy development of some young people, especially when it is moderate in intensity and steady in duration…” Both articles agree that early work experience helps young people develop discipline and responsibility. For example, learning habits such as showing up on time can help them maintain employment later on in life. Because of this, moderate work during adolescence can also encourage a more positive attitude towards future employment. Thus, both articles point out that having a job at a young age will be beneficial for their futures.


Points of Disagreement


The sources have opposing views when it comes to deciding whether youth employment is beneficial or harmful for children. Mortimer suggests that many parents view early work as positive, explaining that employment at a young age can build “indepence, responsibility, interpersonal skills, and good work ethnic.” From this perspective, having a job teaches children valuable lessons. When entering any job your life is going to completely shift, this means managing time better and perhaps having to stop doing things unemployment was letting you do due to the amount of free time. This way, kids will also learn that sometimes sacrifices will have to be made. In contrast, the Department of Labor warns about the risks associated with youth employment, they note that, “160,000 American children suffer occupational injuries every year,” highlighting the physical dangers of the workplace. These high amounts of injuries are completely preventable if there was just one law that would ban kids from working at an early age. Similarly, Walden University states that students who work more than 20 hours per week “suffer from reduced academic performance.” If kids are not being hurt physically they are being hurt academically. Both are a bad thing. While one side believes early employment builds responsibility and independence, the other argues that it can harm children's safety and academic success.


Strengths and Weaknesses of Source #1


Throughout Mortimer's article, she sites many articles that back up the claim of children working, but she also includes the risks. While she includes reasons for both, most of her article is filled with reasons as to why children working is good, Mortimer even says, “ Parents should counsel their children to avoid hazardous workplaces. Though serious injuries in the workplace are relatively rare events, they do happen.” This can seem like a neutral response to the question should children be able to work, but it is not. It is just a warning, but because it is a warning it does not discourage anything, it does the opposite. If you keep an eye out for trouble, all should be good. Though, when providing reasons as to how and why children starting work at a young age is good, she even goes as far as to adding studies in her writing. When Mortimer said, “The Youth Development Study also found variability in the quality of adolescent employment.” The article later on explains that the studies prove that those who are employed at a younger age thrive more in the future, and when it comes to Studies, they make a big impact on a reader who is trying to pick a side. Studies tend to make one feel as if they can rely on the positive side of a study since the studies were performed on real people. While source #1 failed to fully stay neutral, it did provide solid evidence.


Strengths and Weakness of Source #2


Source #2 was a government page, which instantly makes it reliable, they are responsible for regulating workplace and safety laws afterall. Because it comes from an official government website, whatever they release to the public is accurate. It mentions age limits and what limitations come with what age if any, along with the amount of hours minors can work and mentions reasons as to why there are even many child labor laws to begin with using statistics from workplace injuries and even deaths from all of the United States. Weaknesses of this source are that other than injuries, they do not mention how working can affect a child's education and do not say whether a child being employed is good or bad. It just stays neutral for the most part.


Strengths and weakness of source #3


To start off, source #3 is a source by a university which is often looked over a bunch of times by experts before being published. This source is very blunt and contains reasons as to why school and work do not line up, and if there is anything that argues otherwise they are not afraid to mention it. They do not only argue for one side of the issue. For instance, it explains that having a job can help teenagers learn important skills such as budgeting, time management, and understanding the value of money. At the same time, it also discusses the possible downsides, including the fact that students who work more than 20 hours a week may experience lower academic performance but it also mentions that it can teach the relation between earnings and education to a kid. A weakness to this is that the article is very short and it could have been longer with more depth explanations!





Compromise


Working at a young age is believed to strengthen a child's life is so many helpful ways that they would not be able to strengthen otherwise, a job teaches a young child of the importance of working hard, discipline, and getting an education in order to not be stuck at a minimum wage for the rest of their lives. It opens up a new world for them. On the other hand, the United States Department of Labor considers it potentially physically and mentally harmful for a child to work, while Walden University supports their claims, explaining that being vulnerable in a bad job is harmful and can lead to negative views.


After reading into both arguments, I believe that working at a young age should be allowed and encouraged. Many children are shielded from the real world of hard work, the quicker they realize that, the quicker they begin looking at things differently, they will enter their adulthood more easily.                 

Works Cited

Mortimer JT. “The Benefits and Risks of Adolescent Employment.” Prev Res. 2010 Jan 1

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2936460/


“ Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations”United States Department of Labor, 2016 December

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/43-child-labor-non-agriculture


“Should Students Hold Jobs While in High School?” Walden University. 2026 Feb 4

https://www.waldenu.edu/online-doctoral-programs/doctor-of-education/resource/pros-and-cons-of-working-a-job-in-high-school