Teenagers and working jobs etc.

Let them dip their toes into working life as a teen... Low hours occasional work or whatever, but they're likely to be spending the next 50 years+ of their lives working, let them enjoy having no responsibilities whilst it lasts.

100% agree!
I started to get worried about what my kids are going to do, as they don't appear to be interested in anything. But like you say, working life is long, and people do change their views on what they would like to do for a living.
We are obsessed in this country with passing exams, and cramming young people into further education.
 
Expecting children to work at 15/16/17 is justwrong. They are children. Let them enjoy that time. If they are at university and want additional money then they'll get a job but that's up to them, don't force them. I'm mean, what gives YOU that right?
 
My lad now 23 started part-time at 14 in the local fruit shop... left school did an apprenticeship in engineering ( workshop based ) left there to start a different apprenticeship for a large bottling machine supplier as an engineer, he will soon be earning 50k + and will be looking at buying his first house next year.

I was similar, worked from 14... we know lots of people who's kids expect all the time.

We are also foster carers and the older kids seem to be set up for a fail with all the allowances they get handed from the authorities.. we however make it so they earn the allowance not just expected it, when they leave us they need to understand the need to work and earn as they wont be with us as long as our own birth child.
 
Expecting children to work at 15/16/17 is justwrong. They are children. Let them enjoy that time. If they are at university and want additional money then they'll get a job but that's up to them, don't force them. I'm mean, what gives YOU that right?
So how do these "children" ( young adults) expect to get money?
 
My lad is 17 and has just finished his 6th year at high school (Scotland). He has a place at university, but has deferred for a year as he wants to take a break from education before embarking on his degree. Up until 6 months ago he was quite happy to lie on his bed, but after discovering clothes and beer - and the sudden realisation his mother and I are not going to pay for either - has now got a job as a kitchen porter at a local restaurant, for about 20 hours a week.

We're not taking any digs money from him, but anything we currently pay for, Netflix, Spotify etc. will now be his responsibility. He also needed a new mobile recently and wanted a phone which cost more than I was prepared to pay - he is now paying the difference.

IMO they need to show a bit of work ethic and some fiscal responsibility!
 
I was with a customer this morning, he told me a tale about how he asked his dad if he could have a raised pigeon coup.

Apparently, his dad just dropped the timber off one day and told him to build it.
So he did. He was only mid-teens at the time.
He had 2 jobs, early milk round and late paper round.....
 
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I was with a customer this morning, he told me a tale about how he asked his dad if he could have a raised pigeon coup.

Apparently his dad just dropped the timber off one day and told him to build it.
So he did. He was only mid teens at the time.
He 2 jobs, early milk round and late paper round.....
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We have a family friend who is the oldest of 6 kids. The parents have separated, so they are supporting 2 households on a couple of fairly low salaries, so money is tight.

She deferred her uni place last year as doing a Musical Theatre degree online is just about impossible. She's spent the year working 3 jobs, starting her day with a paper round, working all day at a printers as office admin and then waitressing in the evenings. She's saving half the money for uni and the rest has gone in the family pot.

An incredibly motivated and family centric young woman and a credit to her parents!
 
I think like all things in life, there's a balance to be had. We spend a long time working and I don't think children have to dive in to this too early. On the other hand, if they want some of life's luxuries then they need to learn that it's not just given to them and they need to earn it.
 
To some extent, it depends on the child - my oldest two have both worked at McDoanlds during A levels/college, and then full time (one to get money behind for University, one because it's a job until she finds what she wants to do). For both of them it has done wonders for their confidence, and they've done well (promotions)

Our youngest is a different kettle of fish - she isn't typical in her thought processes, so I don't think she is ready for a job yet, even at 16.

The other thing to bear in mind is that a lot of the jobs that teens used to do have gone, either through employment law, older people doing them, or the demand being reduced
 
Around here there's plenty of waitressing, pot washing, dog walking and even some retail available for teens.

We encouraged both of ours to do some saturday work, as it helps with learning to get along with others who may be older than you, teaches you about customer service and a little bit of financial independence. They both did waitressing and youngest was a Games Mistress for an escape room for a year as well.

Don't dismiss things like gaming and online "influencing" My youngest daughter makes $100 a week from her Twitch streams and has over 3 million views of her videos. She streams about 3 times a week and usually averages a few thousand viewers. She gets money in terms of direct payment from Twitch, along with subs and tips from viewers for her to do or say silly things on the stream. It's safe, moderated by some of her trusted friends and she's has zero trolling or other issues. She has a separate online identity for her streaming to her personal social media and even a couple of years down the line, still really enjoys the interaction with people around the world.
 
Around here there's plenty of waitressing, pot washing, dog walking and even some retail available for teens.

We encouraged both of ours to do some saturday work, as it helps with learning to get along with others who may be older than you, teaches you about customer service and a little bit of financial independence. They both did waitressing and youngest was a Games Mistress for an escape room for a year as well.

Don't dismiss things like gaming and online "influencing" My youngest daughter makes $100 a week from her Twitch streams and has over 3 million views of her videos. She streams about 3 times a week and usually averages a few thousand viewers. She gets money in terms of direct payment from Twitch, along with subs and tips from viewers for her to do or say silly things on the stream. It's safe, moderated by some of her trusted friends and she's has zero trolling or other issues. She has a separate online identity for her streaming to her personal social media and even a couple of years down the line, still really enjoys the interaction with people around the world.
Indeed, people automatically assume work as retail or service industries or something.
 
I left school at 16, wasn't into it anymore despite getting good GCSEs, didn't believe the tripe that was peddled by teachers that to be successful you HAVE to go to University, I mean they had Sir John Madejski as a guest speaker who told a room full of teenagers he left school barely able to read and write and is a multi-millionaire.

I went to work instead, full-time at 16 in for a wholesaler making £5.90 p/h with all the overtime I could ask for. I got to go on secondment at 17 and spent several months living in hotels claiming expenses and travelling along the south of England, meanwhile the friends I had at school were still dossing bout getting high drinking and doing A levels in music they'd never go on to use.

Both my parents left school at 14-15 to work full time and support their parents and grew up in poverty, struggling to eat poverty. I and my sister never got everything we wanted but we had everything we needed growing up and going to work I was able to afford the things I did want (Gaming, Nice clothes, Watches, Coins) all that good stuff.

My daughter is 7 and gets a flat rate of pocket money from me per week and the option is there for her to earn more doing chores when she is with me. I do try and teach her the value of saving it and all that good stuff. I think it's good to instil that level of familiarisation with money so when she is out-earning her own wage it won't be a novelty to her.
 
My kids have a job getting out of bed in the morning...
 
Youngest daughter was a little drunk in the pub at the weekend and asked if they had any work going.

She starts tomorrow! Hopefully sober...
 
I've been trying to get my youngest interested in coding. She likes Lego, so I bought the Lego Mindstorms Robot Inventor kit. I absolutely love it, but disappointingly she doesn't share my enthusiasm.
Oh well it'll not go to waste, as I'm looking forward to playing with it when she loses interest completely :)
 

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