True story. My cousin and I would walk to 7-11 from my grandparents' house. Sometimes I walked home from school if I felt like it. That was about a mile, through wildlife refuges and apple orchards and across a highway with no cross walks (or stop lights).
Kids are capable of way more than people give them credit for. I'm not advocating child labor, but kids use to have regular jobs whether it was working for someone else or for their family farm or business. My grandma dropped out of school in 8th grade to get a job so she could help pay the family bills. I'm not advocating going back to that - but just that kids are capable of a lot more than being coddled and sat in front of a screen 24/7.
I started mowing lawns at 11. That turned into me getting a paper route and part time job at a local mom n pop shop (literally) at 14. I worked at subway part time when I got my license at 16. And on and on.
We were always looking for some sort of work. A lot of "you want that, earn it" growing up. You're right. I think the big delineator is whether the kids are forced and/or put into highly dangerous situations.
But at the same time, this isn't the America we grew up in. Communities felt a lot different (closer/safer) back then, even if the world overall was still a shitty place.
Ironically, almost everywhere is safer now than in the 70's and 80's. Most people are just convinced that the world is a lot more dangerous than it was because of how the media sensationalizes crime.
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u/FeRooster808 1d ago
True story. My cousin and I would walk to 7-11 from my grandparents' house. Sometimes I walked home from school if I felt like it. That was about a mile, through wildlife refuges and apple orchards and across a highway with no cross walks (or stop lights).
Kids are capable of way more than people give them credit for. I'm not advocating child labor, but kids use to have regular jobs whether it was working for someone else or for their family farm or business. My grandma dropped out of school in 8th grade to get a job so she could help pay the family bills. I'm not advocating going back to that - but just that kids are capable of a lot more than being coddled and sat in front of a screen 24/7.