Hi - My son is a 16yo HS Freshman and I’d like to get him out of the house this summer working or taking a non-academic class (read: off his phone!). Any ideas? He’s generally responsible, good social skills, but pretty weak working memory.
Grocery store bagger is a good first job. Local food banks always need volunteer help sorting and distributing food.
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His school counselor or the school career specialist should have community resources for employers with summer jobs in your area. Some have training programs specifically to support teens with all kinds of strengths. Our county has a youth internship/summer job program that is available to all. Grocery stores are usually happy to hire teens as well.
Help him figure out his interests - I knew my son did not want to be outside doing conservation work, but would be happy with data entry and IT networking inside, so he focused on applying for those roles with the county program.
How about busing at a restaurant. Places around here are hiring for the summer…now.
Waterparks and movie theaters seem to need ticket takers…
We found out DD was great at working with young kids because her main hyper focus is Marvel movies, etc. She taught swim lessons and worked as a camp counselor; she was able to incorporate her fandoms into the lessons and games. Later she did coding or IT work. Sometimes it helps to find jobs where their hyper fixations, quirks and uniqueness are assets.
If you’re looking for non-work things, DD also went to a couple week long “academic” summer camps at a couple university. They were always about a topic she was interested in like robotics or Forensics. We used it as part of her transition plan; it was a safe way to experience college living in short spurts. They stayed in the dorms and ate in the dining halls. It also really helped get her used to sleeping in a dorm with someone else.
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