Part-time work prepares teens for independence
Jul 25Dear Straight Talk: I’m 50 years old, proud father of my first child, a baby daughter. I like your column and have a question for you. I know very few teens today that work. From age 12 to the time I graduated, I had seven jobs: dishwasher, golf caddy, cashier, waiter, etc. These jobs taught me things you don’t learn in school: independence, communicating with adults, budgeting time and money.
Most parents give their teens an excess of high-end material goods and keep them hopping from one sport or enrichment to the next. I think working for money is a step toward independence that is missing today. What do you think the long-term result of teens not working will be? Do you think parents should make teens earn their own money for things like clothes, movies, lunch out, and the costs of driving a car? — G. B., Folsom
Dear G. B.: Yes I do, with odd jobs starting around 12, and part-time employment starting around 16. The social skills, executive skills, and humility that are obtained from working can be gotten nowhere else but “on the job.”
We’re already seeing the results of spoiling kids with too much stuff and not enough work. Designer jeans, sushi dinners, flat screen TVs — aren’t these basic staples? I know 18-year-olds who have never operated a vacuum cleaner. The materialistic bar has been raised so high and the self-esteem movement has inflated “I’m special” to the point that many kids live like mini heirs and heiresses. Narcissism is up 30 percent since 1982 with two-thirds of college students scoring above average on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Of course, it’s the parents who keep jumping when the kids say jump. And of course, this “more, more, more” lifestyle is a house of cards. Household debt in this country is higher than household assets.
There are windows of opportunity when humans are ready for certain developmental steps, and when that developmental step is taken at the optimum age it’s like hitting the sweet spot on a tennis racket. The optimum age for independence is around age 19. Part-time work is what prepares a kid for this step. Not being ready when this window opens is resulting in the “quarter-life crisis” that many young adults are experiencing.
Teens who actively strive for financial independence (whether they need to or not), will be ahead of the game when they step into the adult world. No year-round sport or enrichment program compares to this training.
From Mariah, 15: Some teens need to work, others have the means to wait. Sports and lessons teach discipline and life skills, too, just differently.
From Shelby, 15: Not having a job because you are lazy or want to play video games is different than not having a job because you do summer sports or take classes. There is also a difference between working for pay and working to learn. I don’t feel spoiled because I am interning for my dream job.
From Katie, 14: Every day my parents make a list of chores like housecleaning, mowing, doing dishes, and taking care of our animals. If I don’t do them well and on time, I don’t get paid and can’t see friends that day. I pay for extra clothes, movies, lunch out, or any other social event.
From Mary, 17: My parents are no longer my taxi. I find my own ride. If I want buy something or go somewhere, I pay for it. When I’m working, I pay part of the phone bill.
From Jarrad, 18: Most people these days, kids and adults both, don’t understand money. I’ve earned about $600 per month for the last two years, but a lot of teens get their paycheck and say, “Wow, $600, let’s go get drunk.” Drinking costs about $50 a night, add $15 for buying extravagant food while high, and there’s a significant chunk of change down the drain. Even straight kids don’t know to manage their money. Everyone buys too much frivolous stuff.
