Child Labor in the United States

While activists take aim at sweatshops and factories that violate labor laws overseas, there is a growing problem here in the U.S. This issue affects children as young as pre-school age and is common place in our Elementary Schools.

It starts out seeming innocuous with fliers and booklets that are sent home in September. Soon the propaganda is spread in school assemblies. Before parents realize it, their children are brainwashed into becoming door to door salespeople.

Armed with catalogs of gifts, gourmet food, candy, wrapping paper and more, our children are enticed into sales positions by promises of prizes. Fueled by pep rallies and peer pressure, our sweet innocent children take to the streets to beg our neighbors, friends and family members to buy their wares.

We have developed a " Just Say NO!" policy to these fund-raising tactics. We prefer to make an outright donation of money that the school would have received from our sales, had we participated. The last thing I want to do is buy or sell items that I have at my store or have wholesale access to. Why would I want to buy $6 or $8 rolls of wrapping paper that I can get for $2 or $3? We also save the time and stress involved in cornering "victims" into buying things they probably didn't need.

Having three school-age children , we usually get three copies of sales materials. We either return or recycle two sets, keeping one set, which is placed on a table near the front door. It comes in handy when other children ring our bell to sell us items we do not need. We whip out our stack of catalogs to reverse the pitch.

That usually sends folks running!