Overwork may spoil young kids

Los Angeles, February 26: Children working part-time may adapt to responsibilities soon, but making young kids work too much might turn them into brats, says a new American study.

The study is the first of its kind to have studied effect of overwork on young kids.

On examining the 2004-2006 data of 5,147 fifth-grade children, the study found that those children who worked most on for-pay jobs like babysitting, newspaper distributing, door-door selling etc. were more likely to smoke, drink and quarrel.

“We know [working] can be positive, but the time they spend working is asociated with worse outcomes,” says study author Rajeev Ramchand, an associate behavioral scientist at the Rand Corp.

The study findings suggest that overwork though does not directly cause troubles, it may raise questions on the value of work.

Making the household income factor constant, researchers found that children who were into jobs were two times more likely to have used alcohol and tobacco within past 30 days, compared to other children.

Those children had also higher chance of using marijuana, getting into fights and running away from homes.

Ramchand suggests that parents may not monitor activities of children who are on outdoor works, and this is probably the reason for increased chance of their spoiling.

"Parents need to keep track of what their kids are doing, ask questions about what they do at work, just stay involved," he said.

However, Frederick Zimmerman, an associate professor who studies children at the University of California, Los Angeles, reassures parents, saying that findings should not make parents worry.

"Millions of parents and their school-age children find informal work to be a healthy and productive part of growing up," he said.

The study, though does not provide any final word, is helpful in raising new academic debates on kids and work, says Prof. Zimmerman.