Until we can demonstrate that we have strong enough labor protections that employers don’t prey on these kids (and they absolutely do already because the kids d

Until we can demonstrate that we have strong enough labor protections that employers don’t prey on these kids (and they absolutely do already because the kids don’t know any better), I’m in favor of banning anyone under 18. Part of it is the indoctrination — service jobs like that are often dehumanizing, and making kids do that work just teaches them to accept that kind of treatment. There is about to be a fundamental reckoning over the structure of our society and how we learn to function with less service sector labor overall while serving an aging population that requires more services. It’s going to be a labor-driven job market for quite a while, and employing kids is just a tactic to take advantage of their naïveté.