Kids at Work

“[A] groundbreaking book uncovers the . . . indispensable role that children play as co-contributors to the household economy of our most vulnerable families.” —Zulema Valdez, author of Entrepreneurs and the Search for the American Dream

Street food markets have become wildly popular in Los Angeles—and behind the scenes, Latinx children have been instrumental in making these small informal businesses grow. In Kids at Work, Emir Estrada shines a light on the surprising labor of these young workers, providing the first ethnography on the participation of Latinx children in street vending.

Drawing on dozens of interviews with children and their undocumented parents, as well as three years spent on the streets shadowing families at work, Estrada brings attention to the unique set of hardships Latinx youth experience in this occupation. She also highlights how these hardships can serve to cement family bonds, develop empathy towards parents, encourage hard work, and support children—and their parents—in their efforts to make a living together in the United States. Kids at Work provides a compassionate, up-close portrait of Latinx children, detailing the complexities and nuances of family relations when children help generate income for the household as they peddle the streets of LA alongside their immigrant parents.

“In the children’s own voices, we learn about their economic contributions, their lives, and aspirations, but also from them about immigrant entrepreneurship, the complex dynamics in immigrant families, and childhood in general.” —Cecilia Menjívar, co-author of Immigrant Families

“Written clearly and accessibly, this book offers an essential framework from which to critically examine Latinx childhood, family, labor, immigration, and community.” —Choice

Winner, Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award, given by the Children and Youth Section of the American Sociological Association