Why Are Children Working in American Tobacco Fields?

[LuvNewcastle]

4. My grandparents all worked in the fields when they were kids.

They raised cotton and various food crops, though, not tobacco. They had to tend to all their animals, too. It was a hard life, but it didn't kill them. Of course, they all lived on family farms. They weren't migrant workers being driven hard by someone who didn't care much about their welfare. Their parents made sure they were well-fed and healthy and went to school.

I hate to see kids having to cut short their childhood to work like that. Their parents should be paid more so that the kids don't have to work, or at least not work so hard. The article says that the owners wouldn't let them wear gloves in the tobacco fields because they were afraid the workers would hurt the plants. That's wrong; they should be required to supply gloves to the workers. Field work is hard enough without having to be sick on top of it.

The government also needs to make sure those kids are in school if they're under 18. It's one thing for them to be working in the summer, but the rest of the year they should be learning. Owners who have underage kids working while school is in session should face hefty fines.