The wage is not the only problem. The problem is, do the workers know what they are supposed to expect in terms of safety? Are their parents able to guide them

The wage is not the only problem. The problem is, do the workers know what they are supposed to expect in terms of safety? Are their parents able to guide them in various ways? I don't have a problem with 13-yo school students working paid internships on software for example, assuming that their parents and schools are in on it on the student's side. What conditions are these child laborers working in and how much of a role do their parents take in tracking what the workplace is like? Financially stressed families seem to sometimes get overburdened with the hustle and in such cases start to miss this stuff. In "Leave it to Beaver" land the boy goes to work for the grocer after a lot of conversation in the home and there's triangular conversation between the grocer, the parents, and the boy as the scenario plays out. This is affluence taking a hand. My immediate brothers and I did not have to work until they were adults. My half brothers, at the behest of their mother, worked as soon as they could, while staying in high school and going on to college, and I think it worked well for them. So, @mbrumlow, I think see how your situation benefited you.