Teenagers are less and less likely to meet once-important milestones of independence. Young people are now less likely to have a driver's license, less likely to be sexually active, and less likely to have a job than their parents were. However, some states are enacting reforms that might help with one of these trends. In the face of a severe labor shortage, several states are liberalizing child labor laws, making it easier for teenagers to enter the work force.
But while the recent attempts to liberalize child labor law have been minimal at best, it hasn't kept critics from framing the reforms as inherently exploitative and dangerous—an approach that ignores the numerous benefits to employment among teenagers and the scores of teens who desperately want the responsibility and financial independence a job can bring.
