[simonh]

Not so, context matters. One of the drivers for anti child labour laws was to ensure that children were able to attend the free schooling that had been introduced. The driver was not preventing children from working per se, it was making sure they got an education. For example the long school summer holidays were a pragmatic compromise introduced to allow children to work on farms during harvest time. But if free schooling isn't available, or isn't provided up to the same age level, that motivation goes away.