In the USA, there is a TV show called 20/20 on ABC. It is a documentary show with various topics each week. This week, the show was on children working at young ages. There was a 9 year-old preacher, 15 year old actress, an 11 year old Matador, and several 8 year old Muay Thai boxers.

 

All in all, the thought behind the show was how young is too young for a child to work. The segment on the boxers in Thailand was extremely interesting to watch. It showed how the parents were using the kids to bring in money for the family. It was interesting to see the slant on the Muay Thai boxers was on the parents pushing the children into the ring but the same slant was not applied as harshly to the other children.

 

The Muay Thai segment was based on a new movie out called, Raised in the Ring. The movie looks very interesting and I wonder if it is shown in Thailand? Has anyone seen it?

 

The segment also dealt with parents pushing the girls at a young age to work in the ring. I have known many bar boys who said the same thing, that their parents wanted them to go to Pattaya or Bangkok to work in a bar to bring home money for the family. This seems to happen often in Thailand and other places around the globe. It was only 100 years ago that the USA enacted Child Labor laws. I venture to say that child protection laws are not the norm in most countries. An education is something that has only been expected for the young in the USA in the last one hundred or so years. I do believe it is the way out of poverty but I also wonder why westerns hold other countries that are not as developed to their own standards.

 

How young is too young to work for the family? How young is too young to be a professional boxer? How young is too young to work in a bar? How young is too young to stop a required education?

 

Actually there is no "too young standard" for instance the Gerber Baby! Parents will do anything to exploit or use their children for the sake of money or fame. Child actors and models are an example as are beauty contests for little girls. Good or Bad? I don't know.

In the US we have kids bashing their heads together in youth football leagues. Not much different than Thai kids boxing each other but ABC did not focus on violence in the USA.

In the US we have kids bashing their heads together in youth football leagues. Not much different than Thai kids boxing each other but ABC did not focus on violence in the USA.

 

Yes, I was one of those pee wee football players when I was 7. I think the only difference was that my family didn't make cash on the games.

 

I see cash given for beauty pagents for little girls and many other activities. I have been trying hard to think of a way cash is made on sports in the US with younger kids and haven't been able to come up with many examples.

Children are used in movies, television, commercials, magazine ads, clothing models, etc. I don't see many people getting upset over those things. When I was a kid there were newspaper routes and school safety patrols.

 

When I was 7 I had a lemonade stand. I had hopes for General Foods buying me out, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Oh well . . .

 

Yes, I was one of those pee wee football players when I was 7. I think the only difference was that my family didn't make cash on the games.

 

I see cash given for beauty pagents for little girls and many other activities. I have been trying hard to think of a way cash is made on sports in the US with younger kids and haven't been able to come up with many examples.

 

The point I was making was that parents exploit their kids not just for cash but for their own self-satisfaction. Parents often get violent during some football and baseball games and assault the players, managers, coaches etc.