What do you think of child labor?

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I recall Tom Cruise being interviewed and saying that he agrees with child labor. He says that it's good for a child to earn income when he or she is still young, recounting that he himself was also a "child laborer". He adds that he was able to help in the family early in life and helped him when he got older. Hmmm...I never thought someone like Tom Cruise would say this but he did on TV. Setting aside what Tom Cruise have said on TV, like when he jumped up on Oprah's couch, I still think that there are some points to consider in what he said with regard to working as a child. Somehow, I agree with him. If we learn to work early on in life, then we learn the value of hardwork and saving money. Moreover, we grow up in life learning how to manage our finances, even a business and value the dignity of work and labor. However, still there are issues of child abuse to contend with. In my country, child abuse is rampant, wherein the kids get to pay for the "unpayable" debts of the parents or even grandparents, doing hard manual labor not suitable for a child. I guess child labor is okay as long as the job to be done has to be proportional to the capabilities of a child....like baby sitting or household chores for a fee for example. Child labor and child abuse are two different issues though. I guess in terms of child labor, I feel that it's okay as long as it will not be on the lines of child abuse. What do you think?