Children's perspectives on their economic activity—Diversity, motivations and parental awareness

This research investigates how children from an affluent city in the UK exercise agency to construct their economic worlds. A survey (n = 484) showed that children (ages 10 to 14 years) conduct a range of monetary and non-monetary activities. A second study (n = 83) with diaries, self-documentation, and parental questionnaires, showed that children's economic activity involves individual and social motivations, occurs in formal and informal contexts, and is often self-regulated. Parents acknowledge children's monetary activities and neglect non-monetary activities. The results suggest that children's agency unfolds in diverse economic activities shaped by contextual factors and interactions with peers and parents, thereby supporting a relational view of children's agency.