Does your teenager work?

[Allie322]

My kids are USSF certified referees (soccer). It's a lot of responsibility but they handle it pretty well and it has made them look at things a little differently--i.e., let's not blame the ref for everything! They can do as many or as few games as they'd like and the pay is good. The soccer community is a pretty tight circle so they're always around folks they know and they really have fun.

 

[PolyAddict]

School comes first for sure. My DD's go to an all girl Catholic High School with a very demanding schedule. I have considered having my DD14 getting a job next summer(she will be 15 going on 16 by then). My DH and I worked at very young ages and worked through the school year. I just don't think we had the schedules that these kids have. We goofed off alot. They would not be able to get away with that and pass.

 

[golfgal]

In our old town DS13 was going to work at one of the grocery stores when he turned 14. They can only work 10 hours/week and not past 8PM on weeknights. They were very good about working around sports/band schedules, etc. This would have been fine. I think here we will have him wait until next summer before he starts a job--too much change for him now and we will need to see how he adapts to high school life to see if he can handle a job, school and marching band/sports.

 

[jstbcuz]

My mom always had the philosophy that we didnt need a job when we were in school, we had the rest of our lives to work. Now I dont know if it was because she thought we were irresponsible or what. However, our DD 13 has a paper route. In our community we it is called "the Shopper" It is a free paper that is thrown once a week. It comes on Monday and might have an insert or two that needs to be put in, then needs rolled and possibly bagged if the weather is bad. We have 685 papers and it takes about 5 hours to do it all including throwing them. Granted, she has our help as there is no way she could walk or ride her bike to throw them all. It pays anywhere from $85-100 a month. She does share this with her DS 10. But I think it is teaching them a good lesson, and she thinks she has dyed and gone to heaven when she gets the paycheck once a month. This job is much easier than a paper route where you have to collect from the customers and throw the paper everyday. Just another option to check into.

 

[kellyg403]

I think it depends on the kids. All 3 of mine started work at 16...mainly because I would not buy them the 100 nike's without some work involved at home. They would rather get a paycheck and work for somebody else. The older 2 did great. They all work for a grocery chain...the 2 oldest are moving up the chain, going to school etc and have balanced their life. DD18..well she just isn't mature enough to handle the fact that you get what you put into it. So, needless to say she is stuck where she is and constantly looking for something else. They all did well enough in school but 3rd DD I had to speak with the manager a few times about cutting her schedule because of school work. I will say that most of their friends work too, but dd's friends are alot like her, job to job.

Each child is different!

Kelly

 

[vsimeone]

Oh! This is such a pet peeve of mine! For Father's Day, I bought DH this shirt and gave it to him on behalf of DD(18):

Don't know how well you can read it but the jist of it is: Who needs an ATM when you've got Good Old Dad?

I went along with it for awhile. DD was incredibly involved in soccer for MANY years. She honestly didn't have time to breathe many weeks. Sometimes practices and/or games for two different teams on the same day. We traveled over an hour one way for practices twice a week. So she really could not possibly fit a job into her schedule. I was supportive of that.

But NOW... she is starting college next month. The only soccer she is involved in is a private trainer a couple hours per week. She NEEDS to get a job! BUT... she is the apple of DH's eye. She is a daddy's girl through and through! They both say "it's her last summer before all her friends leave for college. She should just have fun." And DH supports all her "fun" by dishing out 20s several times a week.

Ok, my rant is over. Most of DD's friends have jobs and are incredibly responsible. DS turns 15 this week. He's not nearly as involved in sports so I am hoping that he gets a job in the next year so we don't have to finance his "fun" as well!

 

[Amy]

My DS16 just got his first job this summer - bag boy at the local grocery store, making minimum wage. While he's not too thrilled with the job (if he's working until closing time, the baggers have to clean the bathrooms ), he DOES like payday! So far they've been really good about scheduling around summer band practice and driver's ed. Whether he keeps working once school starts.......we'll wait and see what his homework load is like. With any luck, he can work weekends and keep a litte money coming in.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

HogFan- I think that is the case here too. We live in a very nice upper middle class neighborhood (many neighboring families could easily afford to live in the upper class areas of the city) and dd's friends are all pretty well to do (at least their parents are). One girl's family spent April vacation in Ireland staying in a castle and when she got back I said, "So, how was it??" to which she said (in bored blase kinda voice) "Oh, it was okay." Don't appreciate much do they?

One of the teens I work with, everytime I chat with her, I like her parents more and more. They are obviously well to do. They live in a big log cabin on a pond, and own two houses with it. They are closing on a beach cottage next week. The girl was just telling about all the trips and vacations they took when she was younger, and that her mom just plans a vacation and her dad just gives her the money and tells her to have fun. Yet, the next conversation will be how she hasn't gotten a pair of shirts in uniform color yet, because she hasn't found any in her price range. So, she doesn't have to work to ease any burden her family ,ay have financially, but she is working, and paying for her own things. When you know a family is well off, it is a breath of fresh air when they have their kids still earn what they want.

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

My 13 year old son started delivering a local free paper (311 copies) to a couple of streets nearby with leaflets enclosed. Gets paid on average £20 a week which equates to about $35. He started on his 13th birthday, so we'll never forget that in a hurry. Gets a lot of help as it has to be done on a Wednesday (their rules) but he's now expected to pay for his mobile phone, computer games and sport clothes he wants. We still, of course, buy his school clothes, shoes, equipment. So if he wants it he buys it, if he needs it we buy it!

 

[Goofy22]

My niece lives with me and she turned 16 in December and came to live with me in the end of March and had a job by June! She works at a Pet store she loves it she only works 3 days a week maybe 4! But it teaches her responsibility! When she tells me she would like new sneakers or something I say ok where is youre money she will say no I want you to buy them! I say no that is why you work to buy youre own things! Then she says well I really don't need them so this is a good tatic of finding out if she really needs something because if she don't she'll cave! when it comes to coming out of her pocket! I also made her open up a savings account and she has to put a percentage of her check in there every pay depending on how much the check is! It works well! But it was awful hard to find a place to employ a 16 yr old! I remember working when I was 13! Now around here they can't even get a job at MC Donald's wiping tables or sweeping! It's crazy! Local grocery stores use to hire at 14 yrs to bag now it's 16! And she applied and they never called her! So at least the pet store she is at she is happy!

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

My DD14, babysits all the time for the neighbors.

 

[Dory's Twin]

DS 15 works only in the summer...school comes first during the year....he works as a lifeguard at a local outdoor pool...it's open Memorial Day to Labor Day! He thinks its perfect because all of his friends go up to swim etc...altho cleaning the locker rooms and such can get pretty gross!

Also pays pretty well...starting at $7.50/hr and each summer you get $1/hr raise due to your increased experience. He will be getting his Water Instructor Certificate this winter so that he can teach swim lessons...have to be 16 by the last day of class....that will get him another raise!

He saves 80% of his paycheck and spends 20%....the only rule we have on his spending money is that it has to be legal!!!!

Working sure has taught him a lot....how to handle money, how fast it disappears, how hard it is to go day in and day out....he seems to respect me and DH more now.....

 

[Cyndiu]

My DD (17) works at Walgreen's Pharmacy as a clerk at the makeup counter, at an Auto Dealership cleaning the office on Saturday mornings, a regular job babysitting at the Community House during an Autism Parents Support group meeting every other Wednesday night and she runs the clock all winter for the various hockey leagues that play at her high school rink. Between all that and keeping her grades up, I feel lucky when she has dinner with us!

My DS (14) mows lawns for several regular customers every weekend as well.

 

[Saphire]

Local grocery stores use to hire at 14 yrs to bag now it's 16!

There has been a real shift going on. My 16 year old DD would have loved to work at Bath and Body, Starbucks or Barnes and Noble...but you must be 18! In fact, we found that to be true for most other jobs she looked into as well. What happened? Why did they raise the age to 18? If anyone knows, I would like to hear. It doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[disney4us2002]

Yes and no. Mine is 16 1/2 and applied at several places, pizza chain, grocery store, movie theatre but we only want him to work during the summer because he takes AP classes, is not a greatly motivated student anyway, and because he is involved in theater. It seems most places won't hire only summer help and I don't want him to lie and say he'll continue after summer because he won't.

So, our compromise is that he is being paid to look after the house and younger brothers during the summer. He isn't a babysitter because the sibs are 10 and 13 but they fight a lot so he's there to make sure they don't get out of hand and he also vaccuums once per week, keeps the kitchen tidy, and assists the sibs with lunch (10 yr old would not eat anything but junk all day if not watched). For this we pay him $75 per week. If I sent the 10 to dc, it would cost me $100 so it works for both of us. Also, he can take the sibs out to Blockbuster, McDonald's, skating or the movies so they aren't bored to death. He cannot take them swimming however because he isn't 18 and that's the pool reg. So far, so good.

 

[cats mom]

There has been a real shift going on. My 16 year old DD would have loved to work at Bath and Body, Starbucks or Barnes and Noble...but you must be 18! In fact, we found that to be true for most other jobs she looked into as well. What happened? Why did they raise the age to 18? If anyone knows, I would like to hear. It doesn't make any sense to me.

We have friends who own a business and just the other day she told me that they have decided to only hire 18 and older as well.

She said one of the big things that played into it for them was that kids who were still in high school were always asking for time off for school related things. They hated to say no becuase they feel that education comes first too (she is a school teacher in addition to their family business) but too many times they later found out they were being played. ie: attending the big football game just does not fit the bill as something necessary to school success.
They had issues with younger kids having transportation problems and being very inflexible with schedules too.
She said that training the younger ones who have never worked before can also be really time intensive and as a whole the older kids, even if it's their first job, are just able to handle the whole experience better without quite so much hand holding.

Don't know if any of that has anything to do with why the larger chains are making the change... just info from the perspective of one small business owner.

 

[Molly Meow]

There has been a real shift going on. My 16 year old DD would have loved to work at Bath and Body, Starbucks or Barnes and Noble...but you must be 18! In fact, we found that to be true for most other jobs she looked into as well. What happened? Why did they raise the age to 18? If anyone knows, I would like to hear. It doesn't make any sense to me.

I work at Blockbuster, and we don't hire under 18. The reason is, the law states you must be 18 to work alone. We're a small store, and get left alone often.

I think if you're under 18 and want a job, the best places to apply are ones where there are always multiple people working. However, the Wal-Mart here won't hire under 18 either.

Another problem is the unemployment rate. The mentality seems to be, "Why hire a teenager when there are so many adults looking for work?"

 

[christineann]

My son is now 21 and has been working since 7th grade - running the scoreboard and doing stats at basketball league games, sweeping floors at a local business, washing cars, working concessions at the county park, delivering furniture for an interior designer (in his truck), working security as a police department cadet, and working at an auto parts store. Since he started college he has tutored other students through the university, been a residence hall counselor, started a car audio business, and now is a manager of a Subway (part time during the school year, full time this summer). He was a B student at a very difficult high school and has a 3.4 in college. He has always been able to find a job that he enjoys (except that brief job as a bus boy!).

My daughter is 18 and works as a tour guide in a museum and 10 hr/week babysitter and also shadows a neuroradiologist and neurosurgeon at a local hospital. She has done these jobs for several years in addition to playing varsity and AAU basketball 50 weeks a year. She will do work study when she goes to college (honors/physics) in August. She has jobs that she enjoys, too.

Yup, I'm proud as I can be of both these kids, especially since we have always been a bit "financially challenged". While their classmates slept in, watched TV and went to the beach during the summers, they worked. It paid off, though.......their college applications made very good impressions. College admissions reps from several schools told us during college visits that they want to see a kid who takes on responsibility, beginning in early high school. An admissions rep told us that his college turned down a kid with a 1550 SAT and great grades because the young man had never had a job. Colleges want someone who will contribute something to the school community, and having a job is a good indicator. My point is that they can find jobs, usually beginning with mowing lawns or babysitting while they are young - anything!

 

[cats mom]

OK got carried away with the above reply and forgot to answer the OP's question.

DD #1 was recruited for her job and started working at age 15

DD #2 just started training and will basically take over her older sisters' job in the fall.

DD #1 will be moving away to attend college
DD #2 is 15

They work at a sports center that has classes in gymnastics, dance, cheer, plyometrics, and martial arts.

My girls were both competitive gymnasts, have dance experience and both made their HS cheer squad... so the job is perfect (they just can't fill in for the martial arts coaches)

In a way they're very lucky since neither had to go out and submit applications and go through the whole interview process, but they also missed out on gaining that experience, which is valuable.

I'll end up needing to drive DD #2 to and from work for about 2-3 months before she gets her DL (about the same amount of time I did with DD #1)
That's the only part I have not liked.

They get paid very well, keep in shape on the job, and work with some really fun kids.

It's been great for DD #1 and I hope it will go as well for DD #2.

 

[simba928]

I am 16. I got hired before my 16th birthday, but didn't start until I believe 3 days after my birthday. I work at an ice cream shop. I have a couple friends that work at the local drive-in. Most of my friends (including me)are in band, though, so its kind of hard getting a job when the employers know that there are 3 weeks in the summer when we can't work at all and then there are games on fridays and festivals on saturday, which makes when we can work limited. They would rather hire people that didn't have so much going on.