The study, a follow-up to one in 2003, brought together the experiences of nine parents, seven of whom were supportive of their children getting paid work.
Study author Dr Ruth Gasson, of the College of Education, said the majority of parents in the study believed having a paid job - even one with poor conditions - was beneficial for their children.
Among the benefits they identified were that having a job helped their children develop a ''strong work ethic'', taught them about money and kept them out of mischief.
''There's a real value in kids knowing that everything they do has a cost,'' one parent said.
However, the study also uncovered poor working conditions, with children paid as little as $4 an hour, and Dr Gasson felt the Government should do something to address the problem.
The issues the Government should look at included the amount children were paid, making sure children had a contract and controlling the number of hours they were able to work.
The idea of a ''kids' union'' was also something worth looking at, she said.
Bayfield High School year 10 pupil Lewis Anderson (14), who does a paper run, said he enjoyed having an after-school job and the money that came with it.
He was ''very happy'' with the amount he was paid and a job meant he would know ''what the deal is'' when he got work later in life.
He had used the money from the paper run to buy an iPod and was now saving towards a ''long-term'' goal of buying a car.
