Child work in indigenous American cultures

Child work covers the application of physical and mental contributions by children towards achieving a personal or communal goal. As a form of prosocial behavior, children's work is often a vital contribution towards community productivity and typically involves non-exploitative motivations for children's engagement in work activities. Activities can range from domestic household chores to participation in family and community endeavors. Inge Bolin notes that children's work can blur the boundaries between learning, play, and work in a form of productive interaction between children and adults. Such activities do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Children's work is a valued means of learning and child-rearing in many Indigenous American communities. It is seen as eagerly contributing in a collaborative and flexible environment, aimed at the children learning consideration, responsibility, and skills with the guidance and support of adults. Indigenous American children are motivated to participate in the community because of cultural values, for example, everyone does something to participate, and wanting to be an equal member of society. The children do not see it as working, but as helping, because they feel responsible for what happens within their communities. As demonstrated by a Mexican Nahua community, children are encouraged to begin child work at the age of two for about 6 to 7 hours a day. They do not need to be convinced to help, but want to be involved in the activity. Child work can be household help, taking care of family members, or helping in community endeavors.

Indigenous American children learn functional life skills through real-time observation of adults and interactive participation of these learned skills within the community. Active contributions to family and community work directly affects children's cognitive maturity by allowing children agency over their own development. This maturity at a younger age allows children to perform, potentially, higher-skilled tasks. For example, younger children have shown initiative by helping strangers to make them feel like a part of the community. Children do this by offering to help strangers or by treating them like family. This maturity comes from the community fully incorporating children at a young age and allowing them to participate in everyday tasks. The community trusts their children and treats them as equals, so the children want to engage in the community as much as they can. For example, parents trust their children to translate and negotiate bills with people, when the parents cannot speak the language.

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