RE: Very Important....c'mon now wavver - be real. Is everyone supposed to lock themselves in the closet in case the sky falls? What values are we teaching kids or anyone else for that matter, by telling them that the world is full of crooks - so don't participate in life?
Do you want them to lay around inside and become useless, inexperienced slugs with no living skills? What they learn, or don't learn in those early, formative years about people, work ethics, and the personal satisfaction and financial rewards and freedom gained by their labor - will go with them for the rest of their lives.
Statistics can be massaged to produced any desired result. I'd like to see the stats that show the other side of the coin. Show me how many get hurt, maimed, or killed from doing all the other stuff they do in life when they're NOT working.
Hey - life itself is a risk. You can die crossing the street or getting out of the bathtub, or climbing a tree.
Much of the menial, laborious type work that is done by some summer students is stuff that normally would never be done. It's CREATED just to gainfully employ them to provide cash for education etc.
I always had summer jobs, and the last person I'd want to work for is my Dad or any relative. Never did.