The problem is the poor quality of working conditions (which is also the adult problem) and not whether children should work. Please get out of the box of the fast-food industry and neo-liberal sweatshops. Work can mean many different things - such as working for the community or the environemnt, learning job skills etc. It can also be organized and designed by public authorities with the goal of facilitating participation and making it an educational experience.
When I was in Hs, I could not graduate without working a certain number of hours for what was called "voluntary work brigades" - but hey autres temps, autres moeurs - this was during the times when 'socialism' and it spractices ware not a laughing stock in NYT or NPR.
wojtek