Article aside, I'm pretty sure they call it "work" to differentiate it from "fun".
When I was a kid, they tricked me into thinking work WAS fun, and I still do.
Up north here, kids went to work tobacco when they were prone to trouble. If they remained prone to trouble, it was the army or jail.
I don't think I ever knew anybody for my first 35 years that didn't work on a farm at some time or another. Both men and women. I'm not at all saying that not working a farm makes someone lesser, by any means, but it certainly does make for some good, down-to-earth people.
I can't say I'm for 7 year olds in the tobacco fields, but if it's the family's farm, I'm all for it. I can't see why 12 year-olds can't work the fields. There's a lot of good lessons to be learned there. Good and bad.
