Reproducing Life And Labor: Global processes and working children in Tijuana, Mexico

The issue of child labor continues to challenge thinking on the nature of work, play, schooling and apprenticeship. New wisdom from some contemporary academic writing places children closer to the center of our understanding of consumption, production and reproduction, and at the heart of inequities generated by globalization. Child labor comes in many forms and intersects with local life and global processes in a myriad of ways. The child laborers in this study work as ‘volunteer’ checkout packers in Tijuana supermarkets. By highlighting aspects of their complex daily lives, this article develops new ways of thinking about children's work socially and spatially, while acknowledging the global contexts of this work.