Occupational Therapy - 2015

6 The Occupational Benefits of Children Farming Ellie Edrissi This paper analyses the positive outcomes of youth responsibilities, routines, autonomy, youth programs and scholarships, cultural identity, educational and life experiences through the occupation of farming during seasonal and/or after school hours. The multidimensional context of children willingly working in the agricultural industry allows positive psychological, economical, and cultural experiences while building a stronger family unity. The occupation of farming allows youth participation with the environment, social skills, inter-generational transfer of skills, and increased confidence for future aspirations as they mature to adulthood. Keywords: child labor, youth early employment, child labor laws, youth programs, psychological aspects of youth employment, agricultural organizations OCCUPATION: A Medium of Inquiry for Students, Faculty & Other Practitioners Advocating for Health through Occupational Studies November 2015, Volume 1, Number 1 Introduction There are negative reactions towards children work- ing in the agricultural industry due to undocumented migrant workers, hazardous use of chemicals and pes- ticides, unpaid employment, environment that affects children’s health, and other negative perspectives asso- ciated with child labor. However, not enough focus has been placed on the positive aspect of child agricultural labor, such as positive participation of children contrib- uting to the family traditions, inter-generational transfer of skills, household livelihood and welfare, social skills, increased confidence and self-esteem, entrepreneurship and independence. Children and family households are very important during the farming season for the agri- cultural industry as well as the family income and sur- vival (Garrett & Schulman, 1989). There is a distinct difference between non-harmful child labor as opposed to harmful child labor environ- ment. Non-harmful child labor is defined as work-re- lated responsibilities that are part-time, does not affect or preclude academic career or attendance, provides in- come to the child, allows for a sense of self and accom- plishment, sense of community, and allows for social skills that will continue to evolve and benefit the child (Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA], 2006; Living History Farm Organization [LHFO], 2014). Seventy-five percent of indigenous populations reside in rural areas and value the occupation of agri- culture for survival of their families and communities. Historically and globally, children have been major fo- cal contributors to agricultural productivity (CIDA, 2006). The agricultural industry recruits 59% of child labor, which means 98 million children under the age of 18 contribute to the productivity (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2014; International Labour Orga- nization [ILO], 2014). In the United States, an estimat- ed 500,000 youth farmers are employed in the agricul- ture industry (National FarmWork Industry [NFWM], 2014). Farm labor is not limited to male adults, but in- cludes children of both genders. Children as young as 12 years of age are permitted to contribute to the agri- cultural industry for a total of 3 hours per day on school days (NFWM, 2014). Work by children in agricultural fields provides children with opportunities to gain life skills, positive youth engagement with environment to develop cultural identity, and educational experience. Methodology An aggregate of literature review on child labor, youth early employment, child labor laws, youth programs, psychological aspects of youth employment, agricul- tural organizations, analysis of video interviews were analyzed for this scholarly reflection paper. This devel- opmental research assesses and analyzes the occupa- tional benefits of farm work by children in the form of the social and economical development of youth tran- sitioning to adulthood through the occupation of farm- ing and gaining life skills and aspirations.