[1]Although there is evidence that many children want to work, some academics believe the increased pressure of school work holds many of them back. But research at University College London suggests that a part-time job does not have any significant effect on a child's exam results.
The drive for "education, education, education" has gone too far, according to Berry Mayall, professor of childhood studies at the Institute of Education.
"Quite frankly, school doesn't really suit everybody," she says. "Paid work brings in some money of your own. It gives you a taste of a world outside school. And it gives you a sense that you are able to do something other than school work."
Other academics believe the decline in children's work has deeper roots. They argue there may have been a fundamental change in the way children grow up. Jane Humphries, professor of economic history at the University of Oxford, says children had lost a sense of control over their own lives.
"Children today are priceless possessions whose wants and needs are attended to. Because they can obtain pocket money from parents, they can by and large enjoy drifting around in society. You have to actually exercise some responsibility and initiative in order to get a job."
At home in Suffolk, Peggy Cole looks back on her childhood with few regrets. She feels that even though her childhood was hard - she had to work to support her family because her father was ill - in many ways she had more freedom than today's children.
"I've got five grandchildren. The two eldest have been to university and one of the girls is now a solicitor. I'm very proud of what they can do. But they could never skin a rabbit and a lot of people wouldn't know how to make a cake, even. If I go tomorrow, I've had a wonderful life, and they can't take that away."
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