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Not all work is bad for children. Some social scientists point out that some kinds of work may be completely unobjectionable " unless children are being exploited (Greene pp. 36-38). For instance, a child who delivers newspapers before school might actually benefit from learning how to work, gaining responsibility, and a bit of money. But what if the child is not paid? Then he or she is being exploited, and is involved in child labor. .
From the beginning of civilization, children have worked, usually performing tasks as family members, contributing to the household unit. During the middle ages, from about 476 to the late 1400's parents often believed that they owned their children, and in return they treated them like property. Rich and poor parents alike used their children for economic gain (Greene pp. 47). For example arranged marriages might help increase the status of a rich family, or poor families could choose to apprentice a child. By apprenticing a child, the parents received a cash payment for the child and the child was taken in by his master, however, this sometimes meant that he would have to work extremely long hours or even be subjected to physical abuse. This was a very common practice among families of the middle ages and no one was able to object due to extreme poverty levels. No parent enjoys selling' a child but when it would come down to a choice between selling a child or the entire family starving, apprenticeship was often inevitable. .
Three hundred years after the middle ages ended, in eighteenth century England, new discoveries in science and technology initiated a trend that would change society forever: the industrial revolution. The inventions during the industrial revolution transformed England from a peasant society to an industrial one, and in this new society child labor was used extensively (Greene p. 48-50). As the number of factories in England grew, so did the number of people needed to tend them.