Children at Work and Play. Observations from the Khovsgol Province, Mongolia, the Saloum Delta, Senegal and Mutitjulu, Central Australia

Spending time in traditional non-Western economies helps to reduce reliance on modern perspectives. Based on informal interactions with children as I worked with their parents in Mongolia, Senegal and Australia, I offer some observations on their lives and economic roles. Unlike in Western cultures where adult work is frequently separate, in traditional societies, this tends to include children. Children still play of course, with an emphasis on role playing, but they also work. Parallels between different places include full contribution of children in adult subsistence and a well-developed knowledge of their environment. By around the age of six years, they are active economic contributors, participating in responsible tasks within a flexible approach that allows them to work according to their limitations, often using adult tools. The similar way in which children are treated as an integral part of economic and social structures in different places, in a way that is very different from today’s Western world, is notable.