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Certain sports make it almost impossible to have a job. My son's practices were 4 hours a day, year round. Summer jobs are the hardest to obtain because employers want someone who will stick around during the school year. My son quit sports to work. I think it was a mistake. Work isolates children from their peers and force them into working with some rather low life adults who do drugs. The ideal situation is a job where a teen can still maintain a social life with people the same age.
OK...but the OP didn't advocate that - that is something that each family obviously has to weigh - I know plenty of kids who manage to do all these things but if yours can't or it's something that just doesn't work out for your family then that's obviously your decision. My only point was - the OP was just saying that it is valuable experience for kids to have some kind of employement experience prior to going off to college or whatever their path is.
Not all adults who hold jobs (at any level) are low lifes who do drugs.
And even so, sometimes seeing adults who have made poor decisions, is the best way to get a kid to see what happens to those kinds of people.
Where did the OP say kids had to abandon sports or activities? Or that it was to make a "couple of dollars"? Or that it couldn't be a summer job?....The point he was making was that working builds character - being an employee with firm responsibilities and expectations is valuable experience....no matter what your child's career path is.
ETA - Having had several friends attend the Naval Academy - they all worked at some point and they now expect their kids to work to.
I do think working builds character, but the other things are far more important than working a meaningless job at age 14. Some sports make working nearly impossible. My son has football practice 3 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week. He also coaches. I am not sure how he would fit a job into his schedule. He did work this summer.
I'm not that picky about what they do...until they drive though, it has to be something I can get them to or they can get themselves to. Since his dad and I both work and we don't have a 3rd car - that can be an issue.
Very true - this can be an issue for parents before the child turns 16 and can drive themselves....it was a real pain last winter because we always had to be "on call" - if there weren't enough kids in ski school that day, then would send some of the workers home early. We never were for sure when we had to pick him up.
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Originally Posted by bobsmith
There are places that will hire your kid at 14 or 15. I'd say 12 or 13 is best, but that might not be feasible.
I'm not aware of any places, at least around here, that would hire at 12, 13 or 14. I know you have to be at least 15 to bag groceries.
Jobs right now are HARD to get for teens. They are competing against adults unfortunately. My son didn't have many options this past summer being 15. He applied for whatever he could, but didn't get anything - and that's having had job experience already. He's lucky that his winter job is available without having to reapply. If he hadn't gotten his foot in the door last year I think he'd be out of luck.
I do think it's great for kids to have a job. It has been for my son. But all kids are different and it might not be the best situation for all.
Unless one parent is a "stay-at-home", how does a young teen get to and from a job, while both parents are working themselves? Most kids live in the suburbs, mass transit is in short supply. I couldn't allow my daughter to get a job until she got her license, because there would have been no one to take her to an from her job. Remember, retailers and the like generally do not offer set schedules.
Yes, that is the challenge! Our son had applied for jobs within walking/biking distance for the summer.
His winter job is really just a weekend job and some days during the week during school breaks. We would drive him over to the RTD stop in Boulder and he would take the bus up the mountain. That alone was a pain. I'm so glad he can now drive himself.
My BIL went to the Air Force Academy and worked every day after and before school (starting in elementary school...probably even before that!) on the family farm.
I also think work is important for kids, even if its just a summer job, its still valuable.
My BIL went to the Air Force Academy and worked every day after and before school (starting in elementary school...probably even before that!) on the family farm.
I also think work is important for kids, even if its just a summer job, its still valuable.
I don't disagree that work is important, just that it isn't, as the OP suggests, THE MOST IMPORTANT thing a teen can do.
I think it's great if teens can work in the summer. It was really hard for younger teens to get jobs this summer. My son was lucky and was offered a job at his wrestling coach's company. Ironically, he wouldn't have gotten that job if he wasn't a football player/wrestler because that is where he met the business owners (one is a football coach, the other a wrestling coach).
If we had a family farm we would certainly put the kids to work, but we don't. It is a logistical nightmare for a young (non driving) teen to to manage school, intensive sports/activities, and a job.
This comes from personal experiance as well as observing dozens of people I've worked with in the past few years.
There is one thing that may just be the crucial deciding factor between your child growing up to being successful, confident, and world-wise; and becoming a confused, underachieving burnout.
I will impart this on your now: Make sure your teenage child gets a JOB!!!
I'm not just talking about babysitting here. I mean an actual job they have to put on a uniform, clock in, etc. Something like working in Retail, waitressing or working in a kitchen, anything that involves good solid hard work. Interacting with customers and other employees, while managing the tasks of their job and following the orders of a boss who does not see your kid as special (as a parent would), but merely one of many employees. (This is important)
The amount of experience, people skills, world-wariness a teenager gets from a real job is invaluable, and will help them immensely after they are done school. This will help them in college immensely, and even more when they go to get a "professional" job because they will understand the working world. If they don't want to go the college route, they can become assistant managers at age 18 if they are good workers, and contrary to popular belief retail managers (expecially GMs) make good money.
I think the earlier the better. There are places that will hire your kid at 14 or 15. I'd say 12 or 13 is best, but that might not be feasible. 16 is okay, but 17 is late and 18 is WAY too late. Anything after 18 and you might as well forget about it.
So do yourselves and your child a favor and push them to get a job before the age of sixteen (or right after their 16th birthday at the very latest). Not only will it help them make a better future, but it will also help you as they will have some money and therefore use less of yours, plus they will be much less likely to be living at home in their 20s because they will much more likely have their life together.
Thank you for reading, I hope you consider what I've had to say.
I agree. However, it didn't take much of a push. My daughter always wanted a job since she was little because she wanted money. When she was in her young teens she worked at a stable shoveling fertilizer and taking care of the horses. When she was 15, she got a job in a local pizza place, which she hated, but about two months later a new Dunkin Donuts opened and she worked there through most of high school. She didn't like that much, either, but she stuck it out because she got a paycheck every week and she likes shopping for clothes. Now she's in college and part of her tuition is being paid through work study.
You are absolutely right--kids who have jobs learn so much beyond just how to make coffee or punch a cash register, and they will come out ahead in the end.
OK...but the OP didn't advocate that - that is something that each family obviously has to weigh - I know plenty of kids who manage to do all these things but if yours can't or it's something that just doesn't work out for your family then that's obviously your decision.
Again, it depends on the sport. With practice scheduled from 4:00pm until 8:00pm every weekday and games are on the weekends, there is absolutely no way any minor could have time for a job during the school year. None of my son's team mates had jobs. As a matter of fact, the rules prohibited athletes from missing practice to work.
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Originally Posted by maciesmom
My only point was - the OP was just saying that it is valuable experience for kids to have some kind of employement experience prior to going off to college or whatever their path is.
I completely agree, but it's important that the work environment is appropriate for teenagers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maciesmom
Not all adults who hold jobs (at any level) are low lifes who do drugs.
There's a large percentage of them holding low level jobs where I live. I guess that's because our unemployment rates aren't very bad here. Who knows the reason. It's just a fact.
Most of my son's adult coworkers did drugs AT WORK. One of his bosses was a coke head. Many of his coworkers were smoking marijuania in the back of the building during breaks like people smoke cigarettes. Some were under the influence of pills at work. As result, he got another job at a different place. It was the same there too.
Thankfully, my son has a head on his shoulders. He quit working and joined his sports team again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maciesmom
And even so, sometimes seeing adults who have made poor decisions, is the best way to get a kid to see what happens to those kinds of people.
It would be irresponsible to ignore the fact that not all teenagers would fare as well as my son did under the influences I described.
Some kids might not even come home and tell their parents what's happening at work.
I don't think it's the "most" important thing a parent can do, but I agree that having a job is usually a very good experience, assuming it's either limited hours during the school year or takes place during the summer. It's unfortunate, though, that it's tougher for teens to find jobs these days, at least it is in many areas.
I've worked in low-wage jobs (as a teenager, and as a temporary measure between other jobs) and never had any problems with coworkers who did drugs. If anything, most of my adult coworkers were among the most responsible people I've ever worked with; some of my better paid and better educated colleagues from other jobs could have taken some much-needed lessons in responsibility and work ethics from them. Maybe it varies by town and/or specific industry. And if they do come across some bad apples, that's a good learning experience in itself (not an ideal one, admittedly!); I doubt that most kids envision life as an adult consisting of drug addiction and low-wage work. It's a pretty good incentive to work hard for something better, and an introduction to real world problems. Not that I'd want my kid (or myself) to work under those conditions, but I think in general that's probably a pretty unusual scenario.
I got my first job at age 16 so that I could help pay for summer camp. It was a great experience, and I do think that in most cases a job is an extremely valuable learning experience that goes well beyond the basics of whatever you do on the job itself.
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