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Not quite as easy as it used to be. Most summer jobs are taken by college kids these days (with unemployment being so high), and the volunteer jobs are also harder to come by. I just had the same problem, and other then putting mine into a couple of camps, it was hang out at home, or over at friends with stay at home moms.
Yes, there was a story on NPR this morning about the teen unemployment rate. Unfortunately, it's not on their website yet. 14 is also a bit young for most jobs, though my oldest had a job as a cashier at the local pool at 14. (That was 15 years ago, when the economy was better.)
OP, why can't your son call a friend or two and arrange some activities? Can they get anywhere by walking, or public transit?
Quote:
Originally Posted by FloridaNative35
What about an online class through your district's virtual school (if you have one)?
My 16-year-old son will be taking one the second half of the summer. I gave him the option of volunteer work, a sport, a PT job, or a class.
I'm also making him spend a few weeks at his grandparents, and he has some basic summer rules: out of bed by 10 am, clean bed or bath or a similar chore every day, do something out of the house at least once a week, etc.
I honestly think the suggestion of an online class is great! I like your other rules, too. What about dog-sitting, house minding, etc for neighbors?
My 15-year-old daughter will be going to sleep-away camp for 2 weeks. She will also go visit her grandma in Florida for a few weeks. She wants to just "hang out" all summer but I told her she has to find something to do or I will find something.
Online class is a good idea. We do not have public transportation in walkable distance out here. Ymca camps are available only until 14.
@steelstress: He's planning to watch basketball & play basketball, he loves the sport. He was not sure on how his day would go since this will be his first time. I want him to do something different other than basketball. He should be fine in the evening, it's just the day.
I come from a long line of serious babysitters that extends even today with my young relatives who have websites touting their services. I babysat so much when I was a kid I had a pretty healthy bank account. My parents both worked, so Monday through Friday I was also responsible for all the light housekeeping and preparing dinner all summer long from the time I was in middle school. My mother would leave me a note on the kitchen counter telling me what I was supposed to prepare for dinner that day. My "shift" was over after dinner. My brother was responsible for cleaning up and I was usually off to a baby sitting assignment.
Just for the record, I have no children of my own today and I believe my decision was inspired by the childcare overkill I experienced as a teen. I think the desire to have kids is strongest in people who have no idea what it entails.
My middle child, who is entering ninth grade, interns as an coaching assistant with the neighborhood swim team and has a regular childcare client. That takes up most weekdays. My oldest, when he was that age, attended camp and helped out around his father's office.
Last edited by randomparent; 05-29-2013 at 07:29 PM..
@steelstress: He's planning to watch basketball & play basketball, he loves the sport. He was not sure on how his day would go since this will be his first time. I want him to do something different other than basketball. He should be fine in the evening, it's just the day.
Huh? His first time? First time for what? First time on his own during the summer?
Why does he need something different from basketball? Nothing's wrong with indulging in one sport. He'll get more exposure to different sports when he goes back to school.
It's so sad to me that parents feel free to plan their high school kids summer lives.
Whatever happened to a kid being able to enjoy THEIR summer: sleeping in, hanging out a the pool or the beach, meeting up with friends, working a part-time job of their choosing . . .why are parents sooooooo involved in their teens lives?
Did all of you helicopter parents have helicopter parents yourselves? Or did you get to enjoy your summers?
Whatever happened to a kid being able to enjoy THEIR summer: sleeping in, hanging out a the pool or the beach, meeting up with friends, working a part-time job of their choosing . . .why are parents sooooooo involved in their teens lives?
Well there was a time when about the worst a kid who was home alone all day could do is smoke cigarettes and maybe get drunk with some friends.
But now there is a very real and daunting possibility that a teenage boy who can do whatever he wants all day long for months will, at best, spend half the day masturbating to pornography on the internet or engaged in various other fruitless, sedentary, and isolating activities. Or at worst he will spend time with friends and someone in the group will introduce them to any number of dangerous narcotics.
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