The video below captures a little boy – reportedly 4 years old – assisting his father on public service vehicle. There is the expected divide in opinion from various segments of the community, it is a polarized world after all where matters that should be deemed wrong or inappropriate are confused by a people who give priority to grey above black and white.
See the video.
The two main arguments offered to what portrayed in the video, 1. there is benefit to exposing the young boy to the world of business, 2. the environment is not suited, some advocates liken it to child labour.
Here is the opinion of businessman and social commentator Andrew Bynoe which appears in today’s Nation newspaper:
Look at core element of father’s alleged action
THE CORE ELEMENT of the four-year old child allegedly conducting on his father’s passenger van must not be shrouded in the surrounding aspects of his father’s reactionary behaviour to those who wanted to shame him. Here is an entrepreneur who wants to teach his son about the business. This is the core.
My father had cows, goats, sheep and, of course, pigs. At four years old, I was cleaning down pens, milking all except the pigs, feeding them and doing what a lil boy could do. It was around that age that I was despatching in a one-door shop.
According to those devout advocates who cannot distinguish what is child labour, my parents should have been taken to court, prosecuted and locked up. I should have been locked up too, for as babies my son and daughter were taken to AOne Supermarket in their reed baskets from where they watched on. At four years old, they were pushing customer trolleys back to the trolley station.
How holier than thou we have become.
– ANDREW BYNOE
A lowly blogmaster’s opinion about the matter is captured in the old adage, ‘manners maketh man‘.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.