As I’ve been traveling around Southeast Asia, one of the common sights seems to be child vendors - kids selling anything from bracelets to postcards to books on the street. Just seeing these kids (often barefoot) is enough to tug at your heartstrings, but to hear the tone that accompanies the ask is enough to drive most people to “help them out”.

Rules for Tourists

I hadn’t thought too much about the children approaching me on the street…all I knew was that I wasn’t particularly interested in what they were selling. But in Sapa, Vietnam, they had several rules for tourists like don’t buy from children and don’t give children candy, among others.

I started to look into this because I have this image of GI’s in Vietnam (and perhaps other travelers before me) passing out pieces of chocolate to the local kids swarming around their legs. Turns out, as tourism has grown, so had this habit that many people had seen in films or other such videos. It had grown to the point that it seems that local children started having more and more dental problems, which probably lead to the suggestion that candy should no longer be handed out. This seemed straightforward enough to me, but why not buy from children?

After all, children in the US often set up such businesses as lemonade stands or go door to door peddling Girl Scout Cookies and chocolate bars. Should I refrain from buying from those children as well?

Lemonade Stands in Middle-Class America

Similar to the romantic views I have of American soldiers passing out chocolate to children abroad, I have a view of kids selling lemonade from a stand. This and similar images are used in films, commercials, and in school-fund fundraisers such as Sally Foster wrapping paper (which has since gone bankrupt), Girl Scout Cookies, and chocolate bars, to name just a few.

It even seems incredibly American because of our ideas about Americans’ “rugged individualism” and entrepreneurial spirit. What is more American than a kid starting his own business selling lemonade?

“It’s a man on the moon and fireflies in June and kids selling lemonade…It’s America”

The idea of kids selling lemonade even makes it into the list of most American things country singer Rodney Atkins can think of in his song “It’s America”.

So, again I’ll ask…what’s the big deal about buying from kids? We do it all the time in the States!

The Problems with Children Selling on the Streets

On researching a bit further, I came to some meaningful answers about why not to buy from children on the streets.

Kids Not in School

Perhaps the biggest problem is that children selling on the streets most often means they aren’t in school. Vacation/travel days blur together for many people, who may not realize this child is trying to sell them a postcard at 10am on a Thursday when they should be in school instead.

In the States, we may not notice what day we’re buying lemonade from a child either…but we assume their parents are supportive and know where they are.

Kids Required to Work by Their Parents

This isn’t to say that children abroad don’t have supportive parents who don’t know where they are. Quite the contrary. Which leads me to the second issue of buying from children - their parents most likely know exactly where they are and are supportive of them selling to you on the streets. They may even encourage (or require) them to go barefoot, wear ratty clothing, whine, etc to help entice a sale.

So, Should I Buy From Kids in the “West”?

If we think back a generation or two or maybe three, families relied heavily on their (often) many children to help manage the house or farm. How many of us grew up helping with chores? Should we tell American parents to stop exploiting their children by making them help around the house? I can’t think anyone would.

Why is the lemonade stand in middle class America acceptable and entrepreneurial but the boy selling bracelets at the beach is neither?

Is it just because they’re poor? After all, that boy who’s selling to me on the beach at 6pm definitely isn’t in school. He’s even told me that it’s his own business to get a little more money on the side, and why shouldn’t I believe him?

It’s really hard, impossible really, to know what’s going on in the lives of others. While I haven’t purchased anything from kids on the street in Asia, it does make me wonder why are we ok with purchasing from children in the west, but not in developing nations? Sure, there are all kinds of negative things that COULD be going on…for example, that homeless guy on the corner may not buy beer but food instead.

When is it our place to decide and when isn’t it?

Is it morally just to withhold what one MAY need because we’re uncertain of what they MAY do/not do with it? Or because we’re uncertain of the reasons behind their actions?

What judgements do we make about the people of a country just because it’s “poor”?

Safe travels and happy surfing!

Josh S =P