An unfair economic burden is being placed on some of Bermuda's children, according to children's advocate Sheelagh Cooper.

But Government says that if young children are being relied on to bring home the bacon, the situation should be reported and the helping services will step in.

Asked her reaction to the most recent statistics on child labour in Bermuda, Ms Cooper who heads up the Coalition for the Protection of Children, said the Island had a difficult problem to grapple with.

The latest census, released Friday, reveals that 370 of Bermuda's children between the ages of 12 and 15 do part time work in addition to going to school. And at least 49 of them work more than 20 hours a week.

“The numbers are not as concerning to me as are the long hours that children are spending at these jobs,” she said.

“The long hours that are spent by many of these children can easily be counterproductive to their school work. Children packing groceries late into the evenings on school nights for example should probably be looked at from a human rights perspective.”

But some families depended on the after school earnings of their young children, she noted.

“For many of these families the amount that the children bring home is a significant portion of the family income. I know of at least two cases where the child is actually the major breadwinner - in both cases their single mothers have only part-time employment. This makes it very difficult but, nevertheless it is not fair to these children to place this level of economic burden on them.”

Last month alone the Coalition organised the delivery of 1,400 breakfasts to children who come regularly to school without having had breakfast.

“At one point there were 38 (primary aged) children who arrived without breakfast,” she said. “It's easy to see why children at that age may be motivated to help out... I think it needs to be addressed in a broader systemic way and not to penalise the families.”

She added: “It has not escaped my attention that 79 percent of these (young, working) children are non-white. I am also concerned that only one-in-ten black children are looked after in their own home by parents or grandparents.”

Labour statistics on Bermuda's 12 to 15 year olds were gathered by the Census Office for the first time when the count took place in the summer of 2000.

The census reveals that the median income of one parent Bermudian households was $56,551 overall but considerably higher ($65,666) for single fathers than for single mothers who earned a median income of $55,740.

Non Bermudian single mothers fared even worse with a median income of $49,749, as compared to their male counterparts who earned $89,999, a little higher than the median ($88,622) for the extended Bermudian family household which includes relatives other than the immediate nuclear family and is more likely to have multiple income earners. The overall median income for the non Bermudian single parent population worked out at $53,374. Thirty seven percent of all 2,685 one parent households in Bermuda are classified as poor or near poor, as compared to eight percent of two parent households and 61 percent of the Island's 7,010 one person households.

Eighty eight percent of all single parent households are headed by women.

Under the terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Governments are obliged to protect children from engaging in work that may interfere with their education and to set standards such as hours of work and minimum working age.

The Convention has been signed by every country in the world except the US and Somalia.

While a minimum working age is not specified under Bermuda's laws, the most recent legislation on children requires parents to support unmarried children under 18 unless they have “withdrawn from parental control” which can be done at age 16.

Parents are also obliged to support their children who are over 18 but in full time study or is otherwise unable to support themselves.

Health Minister Nelson Bascome, who is responsible for laws regarding children, said that if anyone is aware of a child of primary school age working to provide the lion's share of a family's income, they should report the situation to the Child and Family Services department to ensure that the family gets adequate assistance.

“There are a number of things that kick in when we find a child in that situation.”