Child Labor

Child Labor Laws Child labor laws were made in regards to child labor because minors were treated harshly during child labor. Child labor laws in America have changed throughout the years. Now if child labor laws are disregarded a parent or employer will be fined. Many parents disregarded child labor laws to support their families. Child labor laws were a turning point in history because children were working in dangerous environments, and new standards were made to prevent child labor. Children were working in factories and other dangerous environments. Children started working at the age of eight years old. They were working in factories and other hazardous places. Employers thought that since children were smaller than adults they could do the job better without getting injured. Even though the children were smaller they were still getting injured. The children had been worked so much that while they were doing their jobs they would fall asleep. This led to them sliding under the machines and getting stuck. Also, some children working would use sharp objects and would get cuts. If the children were talking during their work the employers would whip the children. The text says, “Small hands were easily crushed, frail bodies became sleep and slid underneath moving machinery.” (Mofford 8) The text explains that the children’s hands were easily crushed. Also, it explains that the children had weak and sleepy bodies that slid underneath the machines. Children were getting injured in dangerous working environments. After learning about the working environments of the children, new standards were made. The National Child Labor Committee published a “List of Standards” after learning about the environments the children worked in. The standards stated that any child under fourteen years of age is not allowed to work. It also talked about children fourteen or older should not work more than eight hours in a day. Also, it stated that no child should work in a