Safety for Children Who Sell

Some of the children beg. “C’mon, buy this candy,” they plead as they work a neighborhood far from home. “Just one flower,” they whine, out alone at night, stationed with their roses near a freeway ramp. Often they are left alone to hustle whatever it may be with no one to turn to in case of trouble. And for what? Often a pittance--perhaps a commission of 20 cents on the dollar.

Finally something is being done to provide protection. New state regulations proposed by the labor commissioner, C. Robert Simpson Jr., would prohibit all children under 10 from selling for profit. That would protect the youngest. Those old enough to sell would be required to work in pairs on the same street, because there is safety in numbers. An adult supervisor for every 10 children would be required, with responsibility to check on the children at 15-minute intervals so that they would not be easy prey to criminals.

Another regulation under consideration would bar children altogether from selling on public streets--an obviously dangerous enterprise. Others would prohibit such dangerous activities as setting targets at firing ranges and working near dangerous moving machinery and explosives.

These proposed state regulations would help fill the vacuum left by the absence of strong federal protections. But there are also encouraging signs of action at the federal level. The U.S. Department of Labor is involved in a court case in North Carolina that could result in a national prohibition of the use of children younger than 14 in door-to-door sales for profit. A legal victory in that case could force compliance with federal wage-and-hour laws not now applied to sales activities.

The current federal and state regulations allow crew leaders of sales organizations to gather youngsters in one neighborhood, drop them off far away from their homes for the day and pay them next to nothing. The new rules would not apply to charitable solicitations, including the sale of cookies and chocolate bars to raise money for the Girl Scouts, school programs and other nonprofit activities. Children engaged in those programs are less likely to encounter trouble, because they work in familiar neighborhoods, usually with family and friends, with organizations that usually recognize the need for careful supervision.

Sales experiences need not be eliminated altogether. These jobs are often the first for young people, according to the owner of one firm that uses children to sell candy door to door. He may also be correct when he argues that the selling teaches work skills and increases self-esteem. That is true only if youngsters succeed and think that they have been treated fairly.

Safety is the critical issue. At a public hearing in Los Angeles, authorities representing the Police Department and the city attorney urged stronger rules--a ban on sales by anyone younger than 16 and an adult supervisor for every four children. Simpson should keep those proposals in mind as he draws up the regulations. He has promised action by June. The state should wait no longer.