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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Rachel Hagan

Boy's dream of going to Disney World crushed as cruel complaints shuts down his lemonade stand

An eight-year-old's dream of going to Disney has been crushed after his money-making lemonade stand was savagely shut down.

Cam and his mother Cristal Johnson were contacted by the Alabama Labor Department over a complaint that the lemonade stand violated child labour laws.

Eight-year-old Cam said he started his lemonade stand as he was desperate to go to Walt Disney World and needed to make money.

After he started his lemonade stand, Cristal encouraged other local children to take up a "one-day apprenticeship" at the stand to learn the value of hard work and money.

The flyer said Cristal and Cam were looking to have two kids join as a "smiler" and "greeter."

"I was trying to teach them exactly what I'm trying to teach my son, just how to handle money, customer service skills," Cristal said on "Fox & Friends First.

"Teach the little boys how to shake hands correctly. And just little things like that. That's all I was trying to accomplish."

She said she was very "shocked and saddened" that anyone found wrong in what she was trying to do as she was just trying to give back to her community.

Cam said he "got sad" after learning what had happened with his lemonade stand.

His mum continued: "The first thing that comes to mind is who could dislike us that much to go that far? And I just have no idea.

"But I'm sure that whoever did it is pretty regretful right about now."

The business “faced no penalties and was not threatened with any penalties,” said Tara Hutchison, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Labor.

She said a child labour inspector gave Johnson a call explaining how the apprenticeship could run afoul of the state’s protections for minors.

The lemonade stand itself was not illegal, Hutchison said: "Those are perfectly legal, and we have no issue with it", but Cam's business eventually turned into a "professional transportation and distribution."

So it would be subject to state labour laws.

She continued: "Kids that age can volunteer for their church or other nonprofit, but a 6-year-old cannot work for a for-profit business."

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