S/O: Parents Taking Advantage of Their Kids; Why is it Okay?
What happened to this nation's child labor laws? They were created to protect children from parents who put their children to work in factories and other places where the kids were injured, maimed, and killed by getting caught in machinery or inhaling and being exposed to toxic chemicals.
There's a post where people are celebrating the Department of Labor's decision not to make laws against children under 16 being made to work on their parents' farms. People are making jokes about their kids working in their gardens as if they don't understand just how dangerous farm work is. Farm work involves dangerous chemicals, machines and big animals that can be dangerous when they are annoyed or perceive a threat.
Also, there was a story in the news quite a while back about some parents who had a child who was dying so they gave birth to a second child specifically so they could harvest one of the child's kidneys or bone marrow. I don't believe the public cared for the parents having a child for that purpose.
Why isn't it opportunistic to do this to one's children?
Comparing farm work to housework and weeding and harvesting your garden is absurd, so don't even.
great twist on words. I am impressed. farm kids know that the cows need to be fed rain or shine and watered. they know you can't get behind or your lively hood dies and you go hungry. country people aren't stupid they aren't going to put their kids in harms way. the kids realize it is a lot of work and the parents need help. you just have to understand country rules to understand the way the kids think.
Quoting GLWerth:
So, those of us who live in town are just losers with kids who have no work ethic and who spend their days thinking up ways to put their kids in harm's way?
Wow.
But, it is a first step in getting rid of all child labor laws.
Quoting opinionatedmom:
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way. feeding animals and checking water is not endangering them. NOw no one in their right mind is going to have a child castrate a bull. the adults do this stuff.
My 4 yr old loves to garden he doesn't pull weeds just helps me water and it is not going to hurt him to learn to take care of himself when he is older. and for your info I don't use chemicals I use natural things to control weeds and bugs. shows how nieve you are. I would never let a child under 16 harvest no one in their right mind would. the hours are long and runs weeks straight the kids need their schooling. mine would go to school first and foremost. and may do duties at harvest that doesn't require machinery. They can cook for the harvest guys. which is a lot of cooking. but I would never put them on actual harvest till at least 16
Maybe you should work I'm a dynamite factory.
•_•
Quoting JonJon:No; I've never worked in a dynamite factory, either.
Quoting JoshRachelsMAMA:
Have you ever worked on a farm?
Quoting JonJon:What happened to this nation's child labor laws? They were created to protect children from parents who put their children to work in factories and other places where the kids were injured, maimed, and killed by getting caught in machinery or inhaling and being exposed to toxic chemicals.
There's a post where people are celebrating the Department of Labor's decision not to make laws against children under 16 being made to work on their parents' farms. People are making jokes about their kids working in their gardens as if they don't understand just how dangerous farm work is. Farm work involves dangerous chemicals, machines and big animals that can be dangerous when they are annoyed or perceive a threat.
Also, there was a story in the news quite a while back about some parents who had a child who was dying so they gave birth to a second child specifically so they could harvest one of the child's kidneys or bone marrow. I don't believe the public cared for the parents having a child for that purpose.
Why isn't it opportunisitc to do this to one's children?
Comparing farm work to housework and weeding and harvesting your garden is absurd, so don't even.
My friend's son is 16. He is expected to work on a farm and contribute to his responsibilities. He wanted dogs, but mom couldn't afford them, so she agreed that he could get them so long as he worked and paid for everything his dogs needed or destroyed. He does, and he works harder and better than the person he replaced, and he does it with a smile because he enjoys it. I don't get why people think teens need to be babied. There is power in hard work, and I will expect my kids to work their tails off when they're in their teens. Most teens are not fragile little creatures who would get a sprain from lifting a shovel now and then. As for the machinery, it is only dangerous if you get in the way of it. My almost 6 year old can drive our tractor (on dad's lap because he can't reach the peddals), and a teen is perfectly capable of doing so as well.
And nobody is asking their kids to do something they won't do themselves, or deliberately putting them in harms way. My son has never fallen off the tractor, but he has fallen of the bed and hit his head requiring stitches. Kids will get hurt doing everything under the sun, and teens especially do NOT need to be sheltered from hard work. I'd bet the farmer's kids who work until sundown get into less trouble than city kids who aren't expected to do anything and have too much time on their hands. You've heard the saying "Idle hands are the devil's handiwork" well it is 100% true.
Beyond all of this, it is the parent's right to expect their kids to help out. In the towns and cities, that's cleaning house, cooking, washing the car, mowing the lawn, etc etc etc. Farm work may be harder, but it is no less worthy of being done, and teens have been doing it for centuries. My father in law worked on a milking farm when he was in his teens, and yes, he said it was hard work, but he took pride in the fact that he could do it and some of the kids he went to school with acted like shoveling manure was so hard they couldn't imagine how he could do it.
I grew up on a farm with my brothers and there are lots of things we do on the farm that has nothing to do with heavy macinery and my family doesnt use chemicals in our farming so that was never an issue. I believe that thinking that farmers have their small kids out doing things that are way beyond them and preaching about it is also irresponsable. Yes, there is always going to be accidents and situations that may have been avoided, however as a child i was fully capable of bottle feeding a lamb or picking up chicken eggs. THAT is why the law isnt against farmers. I could never imagine a world were working at McD's at 8 yrs old was the same as digging up potatos in my garden or throwing corn to the sheep.
probably cause I grew up around farm kids in a rural community. they have chores to help the parents but the parents would never endanger the kids. the kids can drive big equipment which works to their advantage as an adult. getting a cdl is candy to them they have been doing it since they were 13 is. MOst farm kids get a cdl without ever going to school to get it. they are not just thrown into a vehicle and told to drive they are taught how to do it. and they learn on a farm where the only thing they can hit is a cow. and the cows run. actually they are started on gators most of the time then graduate to a pick up and graduate up from there.
Quoting futureshock:
Quoting opinionatedmom:
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way. feeding animals and checking water is not endangering them. NOw no one in their right mind is going to have a child castrate a bull. the adults do this stuff.
My 4 yr old loves to garden he doesn't pull weeds just helps me water and it is not going to hurt him to learn to take care of himself when he is older. and for your info I don't use chemicals I use natural things to control weeds and bugs. shows how nieve you are. I would never let a child under 16 harvest no one in their right mind would. the hours are long and runs weeks straight the kids need their schooling. mine would go to school first and foremost. and may do duties at harvest that doesn't require machinery. They can cook for the harvest guys. which is a lot of cooking. but I would never put them on actual harvest till at least 16
How do you know this?
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way.
Every day when we get back from dropping my son off at the bus my 2 year old goes into the garage and gets the egg the turken laid that day. She keeps asking when the other chickens are going to start laying eggs so she can get those too :)
Quoting smalltowngal:
Quoting krysstizzle:
I understand exactly what farm work is like, I grew up in a farming family. Context is important when discussing these issues. Nobody is pulling their children out of school to work all day in the fields. I feel like you don't quite understand exactly what it's like doing this kind of work as a kid (please, correct me if i'm wrong). Because honestly, it's not bad. Stacking hay is not that difficult. Feeding animals is not that difficult.Around here, migrant workers sometimes will. You see a lot of their children working in the fields during harvest time and when I first read about this law, I thought of them. That being said, my 5 year old already collects eggs and I'm sure she'll be doing more work around here as she gets older.
You may be forgetting that little kids LOVE to copy mom and dad. Both of my kids started trying to sweep and vacuum at around 18 months. My 2 year old gets the chicken eggs and helps me load and unload the dishwasher, my 5 year old (6 in 2 weeks yay!) helps daddy mow with the tractor, feeds and waters the horse (from outside the fence). They feed the cats and dogs together. Not once did I ever ask my kids to do any of these things... they watched us do it and decided to start trying to do it themselves. They enjoy it. When kids start helping at a very early age, it is not a burden to them as they get older. They learn responsibility at a very early age. And kids who are just starting to walk aren't doing anything more than collecting eggs, so I would think that's a bit of an exaggeration. Kids thrive on being trusted with responsibilities.
Quoting JonJon:
I've had a lot of jobs doing all kinds of things starting when I was 15 and that included fast food and supermarkets; I was never injured on the job.
There's a difference between teenager who goes out and gets a job at McD's or stocking shelves in the grocer's of his own free will to earn some money for himself and a parent starting a kid working on the farm from the time the kid can walk to "earn his keep." The kids who go out to get work aren't thinking they are at risk of losing a limb but parents who know the risks associated with operating and working around farm machinery expect their children to face such risks and are putting production or output ahead of their children's safety.
Quoting katzmeow726:
And? At 16, a good friend of mine was severely burned working at McDonalds. Not once was she injured working for her parents on their farm. And yes, she worked with machinery.
My husband had a coworker in high school that was injured while stocking shelves at Winn Dixie. Another that was hit by a car while moving carts.
And yet not one of my friends who did farm work for their families (and I had about 15 friends that did) was ever seriously injured while working farm chores.If you ask me, Winn Dixie and McDonalds are much more dangeous, in my personal experience
Quoting JonJon:
Quoting krysstizzle:
I understand exactly what farm work is like, I grew up in a farming family. Context is important when discussing these issues. Nobody is pulling their children out of school to work all day in the fields. I feel like you don't quite understand exactly what it's like doing this kind of work as a kid (please, correct me if i'm wrong). Because honestly, it's not bad. Stacking hay is not that difficult. Feeding animals is not that difficult.See what MrsSophie'smom wrote: stacking hay and feeding animals is one thing; working around threshers, wood chippers, harvesters, any machine hair or clothing can get caught in, pesticides and other chemicals, something else.
Quoting opinionatedmom:probably cause I grew up around farm kids in a rural community. they have chores to help the parents but the parents would never endanger the kids. the kids can drive big equipment which works to their advantage as an adult. getting a cdl is candy to them they have been doing it since they were 13 is. MOst farm kids get a cdl without ever going to school to get it. they are not just thrown into a vehicle and told to drive they are taught how to do it. and they learn on a farm where the only thing they can hit is a cow. and the cows run. actually they are started on gators most of the time then graduate to a pick up and graduate up from there.
Quoting futureshock:
Quoting opinionatedmom:
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way. feeding animals and checking water is not endangering them. NOw no one in their right mind is going to have a child castrate a bull. the adults do this stuff.
My 4 yr old loves to garden he doesn't pull weeds just helps me water and it is not going to hurt him to learn to take care of himself when he is older. and for your info I don't use chemicals I use natural things to control weeds and bugs. shows how nieve you are. I would never let a child under 16 harvest no one in their right mind would. the hours are long and runs weeks straight the kids need their schooling. mine would go to school first and foremost. and may do duties at harvest that doesn't require machinery. They can cook for the harvest guys. which is a lot of cooking. but I would never put them on actual harvest till at least 16
How do you know this?
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way.
But that is a very small segment of the farming population. There are thousands of people you don't know, how do you know they will ALL keep their children safe?
I'm sure my husband did more than most kids his age as a youngin. He grew up on a farm and he was 6 feet tall before his 13th birthday. His dad openly admits now that he expected too much of him at a young age. He's the only son and he was expected to help with ALL the farmwork -- splitting wood, driving tractor, roping cattle, butchering, etc. I have several pictures of him as a kid doing farm work. There's one of him -- maybe 8-9 years old, if that -- running a log splitter. He did chores before he went to school and did chores when he got home. Fortunately, he's never been hurt on the farm. The worst that came from it all was a bitter attitude towards farm-work. He's a hard-working man and I know that comes from his strict raising, but he despises that lifestyle now. He's still a hard-working country boy, but you won't find him taking over his family farm anytime soon. He's pretty vocal about it to me, but he's never said a word to anyone else. He's not against making children work -- he's against making 10 year-olds work from sun-up to sun-down with their "break" being school. It's quite unfortunate. I actually like that lifestyle and I could easily be a farmer's wife, but he doesn't want any part of it. His words have always been, "my parents ruined me." I believe that to be true.
On another note, I JUST noticed this on my mother-in-law's Facebook. Interesting that she posts something as I'm reading this post. It says, "Raising kids on a farm is the best way to go. Fresh air, fresh garden veggies, strong bones, strong work ethic, grass-fed beef, woods to roam, close to nature and God." and then she posted a photo that read, "Children on farms aren't working as free labor to help their parents to make a living. They're part of America's families working together to make a life." I actually agree with all of that; however, I think she's completely oblivious to what they actually put their son through. Ironic, to say the least.
NOw you are just looking for drama. country people have different rules. if we see a parent putting a kid in harms way we step in. either we take it up with the parent or teach the kid to do it correctly or both. depends on the age of the child and the chore that is being done. I never knew anyone who let a kid under 16 do harvest.
Quoting futureshock:
Quoting opinionatedmom:
probably cause I grew up around farm kids in a rural community. they have chores to help the parents but the parents would never endanger the kids. the kids can drive big equipment which works to their advantage as an adult. getting a cdl is candy to them they have been doing it since they were 13 is. MOst farm kids get a cdl without ever going to school to get it. they are not just thrown into a vehicle and told to drive they are taught how to do it. and they learn on a farm where the only thing they can hit is a cow. and the cows run. actually they are started on gators most of the time then graduate to a pick up and graduate up from there.
Quoting futureshock:
Quoting opinionatedmom:
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way. feeding animals and checking water is not endangering them. NOw no one in their right mind is going to have a child castrate a bull. the adults do this stuff.
My 4 yr old loves to garden he doesn't pull weeds just helps me water and it is not going to hurt him to learn to take care of himself when he is older. and for your info I don't use chemicals I use natural things to control weeds and bugs. shows how nieve you are. I would never let a child under 16 harvest no one in their right mind would. the hours are long and runs weeks straight the kids need their schooling. mine would go to school first and foremost. and may do duties at harvest that doesn't require machinery. They can cook for the harvest guys. which is a lot of cooking. but I would never put them on actual harvest till at least 16
How do you know this?
well at least farm kids have work ethics and parents are not going to put them in harms way.
But that is a very small segment of the farming population. There are thousands of people you don't know, how do you know they will ALL keep their children safe?
Do you find this to be a waste of money?
- JonJon
on Apr. 27, 2012 at 9:28 PM