Eleven-year-old Nicholas Capron's mother thinks it's good for him to put in a few mandatory hours a week in the family's new and used children's goods business -- not to mention being a help to her. But he didn't start ringing up sales or wiping down high chairs on her say-so alone. The Kinnewick (Wash.) boy got the blessing of the state's child-labor regulators first.

Why did his mom, Gretchen H. Capron, bother? Because, in many cases, it's illegal for a child as young as Nicholas to be employed -- even if the employer happens to be mom. But Washington State law carves out an exception for employers who seek and receive special permission from the state Superior Court. And often it is small-business owners who take the trouble to apply for the court order, so their children can work for them legally. "When you own a business, you don't want anything to happen to the business because of some little technicality," says Capron, who owns the Once Upon a Child shop with her husband. "It's good to keep the books straight and to be honest, even when you are hiring your own child."

Capron's words are sound advice for small-business owners. Many are eager to get the kids to lend a helping hand to the family enterprise. In fact, it's a tradition in some families, such as those from countries where children are expected to pitch in.

IN A JAM OVER JUNIOR? Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are unaware of child-labor laws or think the requirements don't matter. But they do. Regulators in three state labor departments contacted for this article, including Wisconsin, New York, and Washington, all reported that they had handled child-labor violation cases in which the offending employer was the employee's own parent or close relative.

Washington State regulators were called in several years ago when an eight-year-old boy, whose parents owned a landscaping business, assisted them on the job. Not only was he underage but he was mowing the lawn -- in violation of strict state rules prohibiting those under 16 from operating power-driven machinery, says Elaine Fischer, who investigates labor law violations for Washington's Labor & Industries Dept.

For Richard J. Polsinello, director of labor standards for the New York State Labor Dept., the most recent case occurred about three months ago, when regulators received a complaint about a 10-year-old working behind the counter of an Albany-area pizza shop. It turned out that the child was the owner's nephew. But blood does not matter when it comes to the law. In New York State, most occupations -- newspaper delivery is one exception -- are off-limits to anyone under age 14.

Polsinello says the aim of the department is compliance rather than penalty paying. Typically, parents -- and uncles and aunts and grandparents -- are given a swift education in child-labor rules. And those who still circumvent the regulations face the same sanctions as other violators of child-labor laws in New York State: potentially thousands of dollars in fines.

How do regulators find out when mom or dad is taking liberties with child-labor laws? Usually it isn't junior who squeals to the authorities. Instead, it's anyone in the small-business owner's entourage. Robert S. Anderson, acting director of the Workforce Development Dept. in Wisconsin, says over the years he has checked out complaints from disgruntled employees, school officials, competitors, and even the business owner's ex-spouse.

THE PARENT TRAP. Unfortunately, even the best-intentioned parent may have trouble sorting though the laws. There are no simple answers to what the law requires of parents who want to employ their children. It is true that mom and dad are exempted from many federal child-labor laws, but there are numerous exceptions. No one under 18, for example, can operate power-driven bakery equipment like dough mixers.

To make matters more complicated, each state has its own child-labor laws and some are more stringent than their federal counterparts. For many businesses where federal and state jurisdiction overlap, the stricter law prevails as a rule.

This means that in states such as New York and Washington -- which do not for the most part bend the rules for parents and also happen to have some of the toughest child-labor rules in the nation -- children are likely to be able to work restricted hours and will have to get a work permit through school.

The best way to navigate the legal thicket is to research the regulations thoroughly before putting a child to work. Child advocates advise small-business owners to call their state labor departments for information on the regulations. Often, departments provide pamphlets written for the layperson, and some post their rules on the Web.

When business owners complain about the red tape, regulators say that they have to remind them why the laws are there to begin with. "Sometimes, we hear: 'What do you mean my kid can't work for me?'" says Polsinello. "We explain the laws are meant to protect the health and well-being of minors, and that parent employers are guided by the same laws as everybody else." After all, things may have changed since child labor laws were first written, some as early as the late 1800s. But it was -- and still is -- considered character building for children to contribute to their keep.

By Pamela Mendels in New York

To: LAW