[DrScump]

  we would hear stories about kids in the US leaving their homes at 15 and trying to figure things out

I think that's a pre-WW2 concept at best. With the advent of child labor laws, a child has restraints on numbers of hours and time of day, especially during the school year.

When I was 16, we needed school-issued Work Permits to work at all and were limited to 4 hour shifts on "school nights" with a 10PM limit.