As an Iowa kid, I detasseled corn every summer from when I was 12 to 16. 10 hour days, 5 or 6 days a week, in the Iowa heat and humidity. Not saying every ag job for kids is like mine or José Velásquez Castellano's, but it's not that cruel. I'm not sure if I was supplementing my family's income or not, but I sure was paying for things that other more well-off kids had their parents pay for. I'm not arguing for "child labor" but if you grew up in an agricultural community none of this seems that shocking.