Hannah Lapp

About the author: Hannah Lapp is a writer and farmer living in western New York.

Hard work benefits children because it enables them to experience joy through discovery and achievement. As with sports activities, hard work tests children's strength and endurance; it increases their sense of self-worth by allowing them to face difficult challenges and take responsibility for their actions. Children should be exposed to the character-building benefits of hard labor while they are young and receptive.

As a child growing up on a family-run dairy farm, I learned what the "hard" means in hard work before I turned 10. But my early experiences on the job also taught me the joy of achievement, and a rich array of lessons and skills that would prove invaluable to me in later life. That's why the term "child labor" doesn't automatically...