My Daughter The Burger Flipping Penquin thanks to the New York Times for this perma-link!
'As online sites aimed at capturing the attention of the pre-MySpace set proliferate, children ages 8 to 12 seem to be effortlessly making the leap from the real world to the virtual.'
By MICHELLE SLATALLA
Published: May 3, 2007
Drawing by Leslie Lammle
"My 9-year-old daughter, Clementine, is working in the food service industry these days.
As soon as school lets out, she ties on an apron and starts flipping burgers. She must be pretty good at it, too, because the other day she earned $50 just for slapping a few pieces of lettuce onto buns. “Shouldn’t you be wearing a hairnet?” my husband asked her.
Clementine barely glanced up from the computer, where she sat clicking away to “assemble” fast-food orders — virtual meat patties, tomato and bun — as quickly as possible to earn more “cash.” “Dad, pretend I’m not here,” she said. “I can’t talk right now or I won’t make enough to buy a scooter.”
