Child labor is extremely widespread throughout Guatemala. In a country where most people are very poor, children end up having to work to sustain themselves and their families. On average, Guatemalan children contribute 30% of their family's annual income. Parents, who are often desperate for money, force children to get out in the streets and work. Many children work up to 17-hour days. Street vending, shoe shining, washing & watching cars, begging, and performing talents on the streets (torch blowing, juggling, singing) are the most common forms of work. Prostitution and theft are also extremely widespread throughout the street child population.

In Guatemala, poverty seems to have robbed many children of their natural, healthy roles in family and society. Parents often put a lot of pressure on their children to bring back money. In extreme cases, parents threaten and motivate their children with physical abuse. Ann Birch, a freelance journalist based in Costa Rica, reports the story of one Guatemalan girl whose father would brutally beat her when she returned from work with little of no money. This pressure eventually caused the girl to run away from home to live on the streets, where she continued to work to sustain herself. This pattern is all too common in Guatemala, greatly adding to the number of street children in this country. In order to survive, these children must either work or steal. Most children will eventually do both during their time on the streets. Regardless of whether parents are forcing their children to work or children are working to sustain themselves, child labor is a huge problem in this country.