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Um yeah. Despite not working weeknights during high school, my own three have never had trouble finding jobs that fit their schedules. The paid internships they now have in college are expected to lead to full time jobs after graduation. Not worried.
Keep coddling your children! Keep worrying about their lack of time spent with friends! Keep worrying about their self-esteem! And then, I suspect, you will start complaining about why they aren't employed when the get their college degree.
I was in high school in the early nineties. I had at least one job from the time I was twelve; most of the time two jobs. I delivered a newspaper route every morning, and worked fast food, grocery store, mall store in the evenings and weekends. 25-30 hours a week was completely normal. I also was involved in after school sports (2 varsity sports every year), as well as clubs which met after hours(forensics and student council). Despite this, I was able to still get great grades and attend a university often ranked in the top 25.
Did this happen because I was a "nerd" who spent all of their time focused on school and work? I don't think so. I spent a LOT of time hanging out with my friends. Probably too much time. There was a lot of "bad behavior" my parents would have frowned upon. But I certainly had the time to do it, as well as everything else.
For all of the parents who feel their children shouldn't get a job in high school (or should only work a few hours); please check out the Work and Employment forum. There are endless threads from people who can't get jobs. They have great grades in high school and college, but no one wants to hire them? Why is that? Because they have no (or very little) real world experience.
My extensive customer service jobs in high school enabled me to snag an "office" job while in college, which enabled be to actually have a decent resume when I looked for a real job.
Employers are looking for experience.
I appreciate your passion, but your story lacks verisimilitude.
I'll leave it up to my child when she's turn 16 and the type of work she wants to do and knows she can handle. If at that time my wife and I are in a financially good situation then we won't force her to work but will enourage her to do so since earning money is what she'll need to do in order to survive once she's done with college.
If the focus needs to be more on school then I'll encourage her to do what I did.. work at a restaurant that was opened Friday-Sunday if you can. That limits work to weekends and she's not working late on school nights and being drained at school during the week.
If your childs school work/performance starts to slip then you have to take control of that. Let her know that it's ok for her to talk to her supervisor and maybe they can work something out so she's working a few less hours.
In my opinion, teens shoud have summer jobs, and work as many hours as they are willing to in the summer. 40 hours a week is a good start.
In the winter, a teens job is to focus on school, learn all they can, engage in extracurricural activities (sports, drama, music, etc). I'm not supportive of teens working during the school year because it interferes with their primary job, which is to learn, educate, and focus on schooling.
It is difficult to find a 40 hr per week job that only operates 3 months a year. Most employers want the kids available some time during the school year as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twins4lynn
Sounds like they want her to work from 24 to (possibly, including weekends as required) up to 30 hours a week. IMO too much for a high school student.
During the school year my son worked irregular hours as a back-up to other lifeguards, so would work a 2 to 4 hour shift every few weeks. My daughter worked as needed on the weekends assisting a vendor at the farmers market (so up to 8 hours a weekend, only as needed). She also did pet care (walking, feeding) when families were away, but no one went away while school was in session (so no conflict).
I agree it sounds like way too much. Studies show that more than 20 hours a week can affect grades. K - 12 - FamilyEducation.com
Quote:
Originally Posted by psurangers11
I'll leave it up to my child when she's turn 16 and the type of work she wants to do and knows she can handle. If at that time my wife and I are in a financially good situation then we won't force her to work but will enourage her to do so since earning money is what she'll need to do in order to survive once she's done with college.
If the focus needs to be more on school then I'll encourage her to do what I did.. work at a restaurant that was opened Friday-Sunday if you can. That limits work to weekends and she's not working late on school nights and being drained at school during the week.
If your childs school work/performance starts to slip then you have to take control of that. Let her know that it's ok for her to talk to her supervisor and maybe they can work something out so she's working a few less hours.
How is the 16 year old going to know what she can handle when she's never done it before? This arrangement sounds like too many hours. Supervisors are generally not sympathetic to kids' needs, they want to fill the hours.
My daughter, age 17, works at the local grocery store as a cashier. During the school year, she works a max. of 15 hours per week. On her application she stated that she can only work on Friday afternoons and weekends during the school year. During summer she can change her availability to include more week days. Her work schedule definitely cuts into her social life, but she decided that she wants to spend her senior studying abroad through the Rotary. We told her she needed to come up with most of the money herself. Plus it gives her a little spending money. Works well for her!
My dd 16 just got her first job! Although we are quite happy for her, we feel she's being scheduled too many hours. They want her to work 4 6-hour shifts, M-Th, from 5-11pm. also, on weekends "as required". IMO, that's way too many hours for a girl in 11th grade. When she hired on they said the schedule was 'negotiable" but it looks like they want to do all the negoaiting. I said ONE night shift during the week, and weekends, either Sat or Sun. Now the manager is refusing to return her calls. The manager is rarely present, and just sends texts with schedules, assuming everyone will accept without comment. .
Please, no one need lecture me about being a "helicopter" parent, letting her make her own decisions, she has to learn to balance work and school, yadda, yadda...she doesn't need to spend all her time after school working. I'm concerned her grades will suffer, and that is a more long-term consequence than pleasing a MCD manager. Grades stay on a permanent record, money....well, there's always more where that came from.
So, just taking a poll of sorts here, about how many hours/week does your teen work while a full-time student?
Seems too long for me. I'd think 3 six hour shifts/ week + as needed weekends would be much better. Doesn't she take the SATs soon? Also, as a senior, she'd have to add applying for college into the mix.
Have you verified that your state does not require a work permit or have standard child labor laws? I ask this because here in California, anyone under the age of 18 must complete and file a work permit which specifies exactly how many hours the teenager can work when school is in session versus when school is not in session. For instance, 16 & 17-year-olds can work 4 hrs per schoolday, 8 hrs per non-schoolday, 48 hrs per week when school is in session. The teens cannot work later than 10:00 pm. The number of hours and spread of hours are lower for the 14 & 15-year-olds.
My younger teen has had a job since she turned 16, now on her second one. She has had to file a work permit for each job. Those who create the schedules know the requirements and must stay within them.
Many, if not all, states do require work permits, but here, it is only for under 16 yr olds. I think perhaps you meant to say 48 hours when school is NOT in session?
Many, if not all, states do require work permits, but here, it is only for under 16 yr olds. I think perhaps you meant to say 48 hours when school is NOT in session?
I think it is a mixed bag with respect to work permits for minors. Florida does not have work permits for minors, although there are restrictions on the number of hours they can work during school times.
My daughter works about 30 hours a week, goes to college full time. She is 19 now but worked around 25 to 30 hours during her last year of high school. She only had a few classes her senior year though. Depends, certain kids handle it fine, some don't, some could never work and go to school regardless. Depends on the kid.
Did her grades fall because of work?
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