Child Labor Laws At A Glance

Child labor laws differ in each country. The United States has some of the strictest child labor laws in the world. In addition to federal standards, there are also state laws which apply to working children. Laws are meant to protect children from work which could cause them harm and preventing them from dropping out of school to work.

However, there are some exceptions to child labor laws in the United States. For example, the age limit for child labor in the United States is fourteen. Even then, there are restrictions on the types of jobs that children may take and the number of hours they may work. However, there are some jobs which children may take before they are fourteen.

Those families that have farms or agriculture jobs for example, may have their children work in those areas. In addition, newspaper routes and some other jobs, may allow the job to be completed by younger children. Laws are in place to prevent child abuse, but exceptions are made for family farms and certain jobs which are not labor intensive, such as newspaper routes.

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