Is Your Child too Young to Get a Job?

By the time your child is 12 or 13 they are already asking you if they can get their first job. They see a lot of things that they want and have figured out that in order to get what they want they are going to have to work for it. Most kids usually start off with something simple like a paper route. But is this too young for your child to start working? What about school. I know that a lot of parents say that you can work as long as you keep up your school work. However, if you think about it how did you feel about starting work so young. I know that when you are 12 or 13 you really don’t think about the long term affects of work. You are usually too focused on the paycheck. But by the time you turn 22 you are tired of working. School is really hard enough by itself, but when you add work to that it can really wear a young teenager down.

Personally, as I look back to when I first started working which was at about 14, part time, I sometimes wish I had waited and just been happy with the allowance that I got. Of course there are many kids whose parents can’t afford an allowance or can barely afford to pay for the everyday necessities. So if your child does decide to work does this mean that you should take half of their paycheck? Some parents use their kid’s income to help support the family. This is definitely a bad idea. As your child grows older, and sees that all of their hard work is getting them nowhere, they may begin to resent working, or even you. If your child really wants to get a job make sure it’s because they really want to not because you are forcing them too.

A few job ideas for young children can be seasonal jobs such as shoveling snow, or raking leaves. This is something that both girls and boys can do. I did and made a nice amount of money in the process. Winter time is the best time for a young teenager to make some money. The majority of adults today does not have the time or energy to shovel out their driveways or sidewalks, and would be happy to pay someone to do it. Before your children go out and start asking the neighbors if they can rake or shovel for them here are a few things you may want to go over with them before they start.

1. Go over how much they should ask to be paid. (Of course this would depend on the size of the yard.)
2. Make sure they are polite and respectful.
3. They should do a thorough job! ( A good worker often gets repeat business)
4. Be neat and professional!
5. Use your own supplies! (You should have your own rake, or shovel never ask to use theirs)

These are just a few tips and suggestions that you can give your children. It will also help to prepare them for other jobs when they get older. They can even be creative and make up business cards on the computer that they can give to the neighbors. You do not have to put your phone number on them; you can use an email address instead. Of course they are still young so you would want to monitor this, so that your children are not being taken advantage of. Whatever job your child decides to take for their first job it should be a part time job that will not completely exhaust them. It should also not consume all of their time. Even though they may be eager to start making tons of money, you should still set up some boundaries. Such as how many hours they can work, and on what days. Young teenagers should still have most of their weekend to enjoy themselves.