Because I Said So – Dad Edition – Should your teenager get a job

For this week’s Because I Said So, MommaDJane and I are going to discuss: Should you teenager get a job? At what age?

I had a job early on.

When I was younger, I had a job.  Every Saturday night, I would go with my dad to the local hospital and he would fill the newspaper machines and I would go floor to floor and sell newspapers to the nurses.  Any tips I made were mine to keep.  A couple times, I went out on Sunday and stood on the side of the road (with my father nearby) and sold papers.

This taught me a couple of things.  It taught me the value of the dollar (although some would argue I am reckless with my money) and it also taught me how to be smart about business.

With the selling of the newspapers at the nursing station, I learned there were a couple of options.  If the papers got there in time, I could hit all the nursing stations twice because there was a shift change.  If the papers got there a little later then I could hurry and hit as many stations as possible and earn more because there was double the nurses there with the shift change.  I also learned which floors had better tippers, which nurses bought for coupons, which bought for comics, and which just bought because I was cute.

I learned the value of customer service.  With the nurses, who bought for coupons, I would look and see if there were coupons.  If there wasn’t any coupons, I would tell them ahead of time and it was up to them if they wanted the paper anyways.  I usually got a tip just for doing that and some bought the paper because I was honest.  Also when we returned unsold papers, we had to turn in the front section only.  So on weeks when there was coupons, I kept them and brought them for the weeks there wasn’t any.

With the standing on the road, I could earn more per paper.  I got a commission for each paper plus tips.  I learned that it was longer hours and not as many people bought because it is hard to have regulars when you are on the side of the road and your customers may or may not drive up on Sunday.  The nurses had to go to work.  The drivers didn’t have to get up and drive.

All these lessons made me a great employee and later manager.  I think this base is the reason I succeed at any job I am hired for.

Me Generation.

As a manager in retail, I work with a younger generation.  I have heard this generation called the “Me Generation”.  Everything is about me, me , me!  Kalisa over at I’ll Be The One in Heels describes them perfectly.

They came out of the womb and it was an event worthy of videotaping. They were never punished, only gently corrected. Many fear that they will emerge into the workforce completely incapable of dealing with an environment that is not all about them.

I am making very broad paint strokes but most of them have no work ethic.  I think it is because everything has been handed to them.  My daughter will not be one of those kids.  She will be successful and she will be respectful.

The Pros of Your Teenager Getting a job:

• Jobs can teach teenagers work skills they will need their whole lives, such as how to fill out an application, how to interview well, how to work responsibly, and how to get along with co-workers and superiors
• Jobs can help teens feel more confident and independent
• Jobs help teens develop a sense of responsibility
• Students who work 10 to 15 hours a week during the school year earn higher grades than students who don’t work at all
• Jobs help teens learn to manage their money
• Jobs cab help teens explore potential career paths

The Cons of Your Teenager Getting a Job:

• Teens who work more than 13 to 20 hours a week receive lower grades
• Teens who work find it difficult to keep up extracurricular activities and friendships
• Teens who work are more likely to use illegal drugs or alcohol
• Overworked teens sleep and exercise less and spend less time with their families

Pros and cons via More4Kids.info

Will Mine?

That is over 10 years away so my opinion might change but as of this writing, yes.  I will set some ground rules but she will have to do something.  Volunteer at the church, get an internship, or get a job.  I am not saying she will have to earn a living but she will have to learn the value of the dollar and what hard work is.  I enjoy working and will hopefully pass this trait along to her.  In high school, I had a job.  I also volunteered and babysat.  My parents never let me go with out and still don’t.  I always tried to pay for my own way when I could.  In college, I had several jobs.  I had scholarships but any fun money came from the jobs.

School will always come first but work will come before hanging out with friends.  Ideal hands are the devil’s playground.  I have a saying which sums up how I feel about work and earning money.  We work hard in order to play hard.

Let’s head over to MommaDJane to see if she is going to put her kids to work?  Have a topic or question you would like to hear our views on? Have you always wanted to hear both sides of a topic or answers to a question, unbiased? You can submit topics or questions via comments or even anonymously to buckrogers79@gmail.com. We will pick questions at random and blog on one topic per week.

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