I hate when people see the world in black-and-white colors. There are a lot of shades of grey in between a suburban mall filled with teenage parasites sponging off parental income and blowing it on overpriced Nike sneakers and Gap t-shirts - and a full-metal-jacket style boot camp staffed by sadistic drill sergeants.
Chid work does not have to equal sweatshops (adults work in sweatshops as well) or burger flipping - it can be a valuable experience in self-determination, contributing to the community, learning work skills, structuring one's life, and appreciating the value of work.
I bet that the teenage brats who today roam the mall wasteland are future managers who disparage workers and do not think twice about taking advantage of sweatshop labor overseas - after all they learned to benefit from it at Nike or Gap.
wojtek