Child Labor Legislation
Wake up, get ready, head to work for 8 hours, come home, and go to bed; this is a typical day of an American adult. How would you feel if you knew the schedule above belonged to a child? Child labor, though regulated has been and is still today a highly discussed topic in child welfare and government agencies. The history of child labor, information we have gained throughout the years, current services assigned to child labor, and a personal analysis will all be discussed below. Child labor is an issue with both positives and negatives that should continue to be studied, discussed, and regulated. Before the 20th century, child labor mirrored socioeconomic class stratification (Rivera and Howard, 2010, p.39). “In the 19th and early 20th centuries,
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New York State actually had a law called the New York State Labor Law of 1886. “The New York City lawyer and philanthropist Elbridge T. Gerry…partnered with the eminent pediatrician Abraham Jacobi…to draft child labor legislation that clearly reflected the knowledge of the toxicity of the working environments and the vulnerability of the young child” (Perera, 2014). A lot of scientific study on the psychological and physical effects of child labor was taken into account when writing the bill, which later became the New York State Labor Law of 1886. According to Perera (2014) “Child labor reform during this period was a critical step in the development of a science-based as well as a value driven movement to protect children's environmental health and well-being that continues …show more content…
Child labor laws sprouted form a need to protect children. Though the aim of child labor laws today is the same, the protection of children 100 years ago was much less a problem of common sense and more a problem of life and death. Children were involved in work that dealt with heavy and dangerous machinery and conditions unfit for a child to play around let alone work in. Nowadays, children under fourteen cannot work for a non-family owned business. Before reform, children as young as four were working to survive and help support their family. Many more studies and research has been done to help the population better understand the effects work has on children, appropriate work environments for children, and ages in which a child is capable to begin
New York State actually had a law called the New York State Labor Law of 1886. “The New York City lawyer and philanthropist Elbridge T. Gerry…partnered with the eminent pediatrician Abraham Jacobi…to draft child labor legislation that clearly reflected the knowledge of the toxicity of the working environments and the vulnerability of the young child” (Perera, 2014). A lot of scientific study on the psychological and physical effects of child labor was taken into account when writing the bill, which later became the New York State Labor Law of 1886. According to Perera (2014) “Child labor reform during this period was a critical step in the development of a science-based as well as a value driven movement to protect children's environmental health and well-being that continues …show more content…
Child labor laws sprouted form a need to protect children. Though the aim of child labor laws today is the same, the protection of children 100 years ago was much less a problem of common sense and more a problem of life and death. Children were involved in work that dealt with heavy and dangerous machinery and conditions unfit for a child to play around let alone work in. Nowadays, children under fourteen cannot work for a non-family owned business. Before reform, children as young as four were working to survive and help support their family. Many more studies and research has been done to help the population better understand the effects work has on children, appropriate work environments for children, and ages in which a child is capable to begin