I think it is all good, especially if you aspire to “well-roundedness” for your kid.
It’s great for them to be in a professional, not school situation. You, the parent, have no involvement in this. It is their responsibility to be on time, to learn their duties, to communicate with the public and management about various things. D23 has worked in a deli and now a busy restaurant - she demonstrates how responsible she is every week.
D23 has worked with all sorts of people, some good, some not so great. I get the feeling that it has made her very grateful - she has worked with some kids who don’t have her advantages. It’s widened her friend circle. She’s been pretty good about communicating with her manager about time off for studying or events, but sometimes her schedule is stressful/a alot. That’s probably the only negative.
Also-she gets paid! And it’s very sweet when your kid wants to take you out and treat you with their own money.
It will make the kid realize that they will not get everything handed to them on a silver platter.
Many people have focused on the upside of HS jobs. I don’t disagree.
However, I discouraged my kids from getting HS jobs during the school year as I wanted both to focus on excelling in school work and focused extracurriculars. In ShawSon’s case, he was partially homeschooled and had some health issues and I wanted him to retain his energy. In ShawD’s case, she needed to learn to focus and that was a significant part of her learning need. So no jobs during the year and generally no jobs over the summer during HS.
I don’t think not having jobs hurt either kid in college admissions. ShawSon got into many schools and attended one of the elite LACs over an Ivy. ShawD applied to two schools, got into both, decided to transfer and was admitted immediately to the school she transferred to.
During college, both took jobs. ShawSon asked me at the end of his freshman year what the purpose of grades were in college (he knew the purpose of grades in HS) and had worked very hard to get above a 4.0 GPA in his freshman year (and won at least one award for academic excellence). I explained that for med or law schools (both unlikely) they cared primarily about grades and board scores, for an econ PhD, they would care primarily about the grades in his hard math courses but wouldn’t care if he got a C in poetry, for business schools, I was a bit unsure how grades factored in relative to demonstrating leadership, and if he wanted to be a Rhodes Scholar, he would need to do well in everything and have a couple of professors say he walked on water on his bad days. He was working for his advisor over the summer and lined up a second research job with a psych professor during the fall of his sophomore year.
ShawD kept adding jobs (at one point she had three). We had to help her get out of old jobs before starting new ones.
I don’t think not having a HS job hurt either kid. ShawSon co-founded a tech firm as a senior in college, brought in a more experienced CEO to run the firm, left to attend one of the best schools in the world for an MBA and an MS in Computational and Mathematical Engineering, is now a co-founder of a venture backed tech firm and his net worth (on paper) likely exceeds most CC parents (and he’s been written about in a number of national publications). ShawD started work at age 23 as a Family Nurse Practitioner doing primary care and was the medical director of the clinic she was working at on the West Coast before moving east, where she is now opening up another clinic for the same company.
Another “soft” advantage is that for kids who tend to socialize in a high academic achieving group, it exposes them to same-age peers (or other-age community members) who have different interests, backgrounds, and levels of educational achievement.
I strongly support doing paid work in high school.
The reasons:
-Respect for working with others and following directions even if you don’t want to do something gives a student a preview of real work.
-Respect for the public even if someone isn’t polite or right.
- Spending money. Teaches kids how to manage their money and how much time a $240 pair of jeans actually takes to make.
-Soft skills. Just so many including looking someone in the eye, communicating in a normal tone, being cheerful, so many others.
-Balance. For kids who work multiple jobs or those who work during the school year learning to balance all of ones responsibilities. Extra points in my book for a kid who does a sport and also works.
I don’t think kids should be “building a resume” or using a job to get into college. Not everything is about getting into college. To me the idea of getting a kid an internship or paid job that isn’t a kid job misses the point entirely. YMMV. My oldest had both a kid job and a paid internship last Summer. Learned way more in the kid job. Was the manager this year and earned a lot.
I’d hire someone in a minute who worked from an early age. It tells me something about their work ethic (and possibly about their parent’s work ethic). Most of my kids friends friends work. They are mostly from wealthy families and many attend private high schools that cost over 50K. But the parents still insist the kids get a job.
My kids don’t work during the school year, they both do sports and have a heavy academic load. But the '22 will get a job in college. No idea what yet, but I’m sure it will be helpful.
I think everyone should have to work some low paid, grunt work job at some point. In addition to all of the benefits listed above, it helps you appreciate what people in those jobs have to do for you, as well as appreciate your future professional jobs.
Retail/food service jobs are next to impossible for college bound kids to get here, but both of my boys ref’d soccer starting at age 12. It made good money for hours worked, but they had to work hard and endure a lot. And they gained invaluable skills like conflict resolution, asserting themselves - especially over angry parents and coaches - and having to think quickly on their feet.
I myself cleaned public toilets as a teen - fitness clubs and in hotel fitness areas. Doesn’t get much better than that, lol.
my Daughters did not work doing the school year; only summers. They were/are busy with activities.
my Sons both worked year round. They saved more money, and used it in college for spring break, fraternity dues, etc.
all kids LIKED the social aspect to working during the summers. they were around other students at their jobs and also met new kids. == just one of the many advantages of working!
So many great responses here! Jobs, by their very nature, encourage humility, empathy and fiscal responsibility. Great qualities for a teen to possess.
Also, building confidence cannot be overstated, especially for kids stuck in the past 2.5 years of unprecedented upheaval. Anything that builds their inter-personal skills and give them job experience, leading to future employment opportunities, can help mitigate the developmental disruptions they have undergone.
One other thing, I am always on time. My kids used to laugh about this until they started working. The older one had to open the store and had the keys. So if you are late, it’s a huge issue. They also respected when managers let them go “on time”
If you have a kid who is sleeping til 11, having a Summer job will get them up. Bonus. And doing something productive before noon.
Depends on the job, one of my 19 year olds works at a soccer arena and as a lifeguard where he always asks to work the second shift, he sleeps until 2.
Forgot about ref jobs. S umpired little league when he was 14. Played on the big field than umped on the small field. Pay was $10 and a hot dog per game. He really liked it. Amazing how many parents would argue with a kid umpire. He actually had a coach jawing him about a call for a couple of innings. Just looked at him and said, “Nope, he was out!” That was actually pretty funny to watch.