The State Department of Labor closes the lemonade stand for 8-year-olds | washingtonengager.com

There’s nothing sweeter than seeing a little kid embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and open their own lemonade stand. It is the perfect example of the American spirit.

But unfortunately, the local government quickly shut down a poor boy’s little lemonade stand.

An ambitious eight-year-old boy from Alabama had a dream to visit Disney World, so he came up with a brilliant idea: open a lemonade stand to help finance his trip. However, his and his mother’s plans took an unexpected turn when they received a surprising call.

Cam and his mother, Cristal Johnson, were contacted by the Alabama Department of Labor in connection with a complaint filed against their lemonade stand, alleging a violation of child labor laws.

From New York Post:

After Cam started his lemonade stand, his mother Cristal posted a flyer encouraging other children to do an “apprenticeship for a day” at the stand to learn the value of hard work and money.

The flyer said that Cristal and Cam were looking to have two children together as “smile” and “health.”

“I was trying to teach them exactly what I’m trying to teach my son, how to manage money. Customer service skills. Teach little kids how to shake hands properly. And little things like that. That’s all I was trying to do achieve,” Cristal said.

Cristal received a call from the state Department of Labor after a complaint was filed against the grandstand for violating child labor laws.

Cam said he was “sad” after learning of the push over his lemonade stand.
The Alabama mom said that while she doesn’t know who reported her flyer or her son’s lemonade stand, she’s trying to stay positive.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is who could possibly dislike us so much for making it this far? And I have no idea. But I’m sure whoever did is pretty sorry right now.”

“Thank you,” said Cristal, in a message to whom he complained. “Because of this person, it had the opposite effect of what they were trying to do. It pushed us even faster in our endeavor. So I bear no ill will. I thank them and hope they have some remorse for what they did what they did.”

I’m sure the person who complained was a local “Karen” who just can’t stand to see other people happy.

However, it’s great to see Cam and his mom handling it with grace and staying positive.