<p>student chiming in!</p>
<p>it totally depends on your kid. if yours is the one who is going to spend her free time joining clubs, going to lectures, meeting with profs... making her sacrifice something for $20 a week might not make sense. if hes going to spend his four free hours every day playing a video game... yeah, make him get a job.</p>
<p>my parents understand that im very busy. i commute to penn state twice a week for a graduate mathematics seminar and an econometrics colloquim. im president of a club on campus, am taking the equivilant of 20 credits in addition to working on two honors theses and spending hours per day of additional mathematics readings (this board is keeping sane right now)... you get the idea. it just doesnt make sense for me to give something up so i can have $5 to chip in for pizza.</p>
<p>ive done the $6.25 an hour thing. it just hurts me to see some of my friends have to drop out of club x or stay in and study every friday night for a minimum wage job. and it hurts them even more... its just not healthy. so if your kid is going to keep busy, consider a stipend (i had about $200 in non-gas, after-book expenses this semester).</p>