Young people’s employment: protection or participation?

Childhood is socially constructed, and constructions influence perceptions of appropriate work for young people. This article investigates New Zealand parents’ perspectives on young people’s involvement in paid work. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, and the International Labour Organisation C138 Minimum Age Convention, 1973, intended to protect young people, embody constructions of them as vulnerable. We argue that policymakers should consider how these constructions are reflected in legislation and international treaties and take account of research addressing the likely consequences of minimum working age legislation when they decide whether to ratify the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.