This study develops a mathematical model to replicate the empirical findings of child-labour and differential levels of human-capital acquisition for different income groups. The study explores income groups with different levels of financial access and human-capital investment options and examines a two-generation, seventy periods’ life-cycle problem of an altruistic parent valuing the human-capital of his offspring and facing competing challenges of his consumption needs during working life and retirement. The problem is solved using dynamic programming where life-cycle profiles are generated using simulations. This study contributes by integrating the empirical literature on child-labour with the literature on intergenerational set-up and risk.