Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can't get a work permit in California untill you are 15 and a half.
Here is what I want to know:
1. Why would a legitimate business want to hire a 13 year old girl in the first place?
2. Why wouldn't a parent have a problem with that?
3. Why are they going to pay this 13 year old girl way more than minimum wage?
4. Aren't there adults or older teens that could do that job?
What it sounds like to me is a place that wants to "give" the daughter one kind of job but get her working another kind of job alltogether. Recently in our area the Police Department has been warning parents about a scam where a company offers to pay a teen a nice pay check in what would seem to be legitimate work, when it turns out that the job is for child porn. Some of these companies have also delt with trafficing of minors.
As a parent I would want to know everything that goes on with a company that is offering one of my kids a job, especially when the pay sounds so good.
Just one more example of why parents need to vigilant when job offers are "too good to be true".
I think 10 hours a week is a lot of time for a 13 year old to work during the school week. That's two hours a day after school, and that is going to cut into her after-school activities, homework and family time. My son started soccer refereeing when he was 11 -- he worked games on the weekend, not during the week. He probably put in 10-12 hours a weekend during the season -- but only on the weekend, and he would turn down games if he had a school project, etc. that needed to get done.
The "legalities" of doing the work doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother people that kids that age mow yards, babysit, etc., etc. Doing data entry is just another routine boring job, it just happens to be at a desk.
I would allow it, with two caveats: One, if grades drop, job's over. Their MOST important job right now is school. If possible, discuss starting with fewer hours, and working up to 10 a week. Two, all but $10 or $15 a week goes into the bank. A 13 year old doesn't need $100+ a week walking-around money.
And remember -- YOU are the parent. You can always pull the plug if you start seeing behavior you don't like.
My guess is that your son refereed soccer with other kids within the same peer group. To me, it's different when a kid is alone with other adults like that in a job that really belongs to adults.
If possible, discuss starting with fewer hours, and working up to 10 a week. Two, all but $10 or $15 a week goes into the bank. A 13 year old doesn't need $100+ a week walking-around money.
If a company has 10 hours of data entry work they need done now, it's not really practical to have a 13 year old do 3 hours a week and work up to it, because they need 10 hours a week of data entry.
That is the problem with jobs - work needs to get done regardless of other commitments the student may have. Employers aren't sympathetic to social lives, academic lives, and personal lives of students unless there is a specific reason they want to hire students.
That is the difference with mowing lawns and other odd jobs. They tend to be summer jobs, when kids aren't in school and don't have a lot going on, and you have a certain flexibility to add / delete jobs and shift work around your schedule.
Data entry at 10 hours a week is a different animal. At $12/hr, the employer is going to be pretty demanding. Otherwise they'd pay minimum wage.
BY DEFINITION, our laws draw the line ("discriminate" if you will) between behaviors that are acceptable and those that are not; between who may engage in certain acts/behaviors/practices and who may not.
By your logic it would be discriminatory to forbid five-year-old children to drive cars, to vote, to use cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, or to practice medicine or dentistry or law. So, if we follow your logic to its natural conclusion, we should encourage them to do so.
Surely that was not what you meant, was it?
I think that if a 5-year old could pass a driving test without help that they should be allowed to drive, but there's no chance they could because a 5-year old wouldn't even be able to reach the pedals.
If a 5-year old could give me an in-depth explanation of the political parties and issues, then they should be able to vote, but since they can barely read at that age, it's nearly impossible.
If a 5-year old could pass a law exam, then they should be able to be a lawyer, but since they can again barely read at that age, it's nearly impossible.
What I meant was that age should never be a consideration in a task if we claim that discrimination to age is wrong. Only the merits of a person to the task should be the standard on whether or not they can do it.
The question is - why does the fact that this company not follow laws not seem like a huge red flag to you?
I will try really hard to not be snarky, but.... it all comes down to a thing called business ethics. You want your company to act in an ethically responsible and sound manner. Not following laws that are in effect shows you that the place lacks integrity whether or not you personally believe in that law. It shows that they are willing to bend their integrity in this sense.... so what else are they doing?
Well I think that the boss who makes the employee stay until 2 AM when the original deal was 1030 PM is not using business ethics, but the poster with that example said that's normal and acceptable.
So if it's OK to lie about work hours, why is not believing in an arbitrary age restriction considered lacking integrity?
My guess is that your son refereed soccer with other kids within the same peer group. To me, it's different when a kid is alone with other adults like that in a job that really belongs to adults.
Why does a job really "belong" to adults? That sounds so pretentious.
I think 10 hours a week is a lot of time for a 13 year old to work during the school week. That's two hours a day after school, and that is going to cut into her after-school activities, homework and family time. My son started soccer refereeing when he was 11 -- he worked games on the weekend, not during the week. He probably put in 10-12 hours a weekend during the season -- but only on the weekend, and he would turn down games if he had a school project, etc. that needed to get done.
The "legalities" of doing the work doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother people that kids that age mow yards, babysit, etc., etc. Doing data entry is just another routine boring job, it just happens to be at a desk.
I would allow it, with two caveats: One, if grades drop, job's over. Their MOST important job right now is school. If possible, discuss starting with fewer hours, and working up to 10 a week. Two, all but $10 or $15 a week goes into the bank. A 13 year old doesn't need $100+ a week walking-around money.
And remember -- YOU are the parent. You can always pull the plug if you start seeing behavior you don't like.
How much should we allow her grades to drop before pulling the plug?
How come you wouldn't allow her to spend the money however she sees fit though?
Why does a job really "belong" to adults? That sounds so pretentious.
The reason why I feel it belongs to adults has been made clear the entire time. In most offices, it is a very adult-centric environment and I feel in most cases, kids can be very naïve. Heck, if you've ever listened to the questions from 21-22 year olds on this forum, they can also be very naïve about how the workplace functions. If my child were the only one of their peer group in a certain place, I would worry about the reason why she was hired would be so the hiring manager could have easy access to a young impressionable girl who still wants to please adults, in particular her boss who gives her money. It's also naïve for an adult parent to not think it is weird that a company will think a 13 year old is capable of the level of data entry and was the best person for the job. I have hired for that level of position before (part time file clerk data entry) and would tell you that I received 1000's of resumes. Any resume without prior office experience went in the trash with the exception of a 17 year old son of a lady who worked there since the place opened! That is why I believe that the only reason why a hiring manager would hire someone of that age, out of all of their options and without having parents work at the company already, would be pedophilia. I am sorry, but it is what it is and is not pretentious.
I believe tired is correct. Only a thirteen year old would ask why a thirteen year old should not have free reign of their money. So bingo-bango, I believe we have a winner there.
That and you respond to everyone else's reason to not do something, but do not ever stop to think about what SOON2BNSURPRISE said regarding minor trafficking. Any parent of a 13 year old girl should read that and really, really think about what was said. So my belief is that you're not a parent of anyone... and if you are, I really hope to not see your daughter showcased as a missing person on Nancy Grace.....
In my city the school work permit will detail everything from hours to type of work allowed and when...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
