Salk, L. (1990, October). After-school jobs: Are they good for kids? McCall’s, 118, p. 102.

OVERVIEW

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that one third of the 16- and 17-year-olds in America and about 16% of the 14- and 15-year-olds currently hold jobs. Service industries paying minimum-wage salaries hire teenagers to fill their need for workers. In addition, the increase in families with two adults working means there is a big demand for after-school babysitters. The pressure to join the group and buy the kinds of things working teens can afford is growing as is the increase in the numbers of teenagers working and earning their own money.

The impetus for a job should always come from the child, unless the family needs financial help. Teaching responsibility and the value of money to teenagers is important, but it does not necessarily mean that they have to work at an after-school job to learn these lessons. The decision to work should always be reached together. In this way, a discussion of working can develop and can be handled in an open, candid, manner. Adults should ask questions that will give the teenager positive feedback and will also provoke long range thinking. Pose these types of questions: Why do you want a job? How will you handle your studies, extracurricular activities, and social life? What kind of job do you plan to get? What are the hours? This type of thought provoking positive reinforcement aids kids in decision making skills. Parents should also review child labor laws with their children and monitor their progress.

Many teenagers say about their parents, "They want me to be responsible, but they don’t give me the freedom to show them that I am responsible." It is key to note that teenagers sometimes need more freedom than parents allow. Yet it is also important for parents to help their children prepare for potential problems and, in so doing, be supportive. Another aspect to consider from a parental perspective is the importance of setting the ground rules in advance. The end result of the discussion should be an informal agreement between parent and teenager that taking and keeping an after-school job will depend upon the student’s ability to continue to meet academic and family duties. Education is an adolescent’s most important work. Monitoring the progress at the teenager’s work environment with as much as enthusiasm as school or extracurricular activities is also very important. It shows pride and support while allowing the parent to scope the working conditions.

The author believes that, except in cases of financial need, it is important for parents to look at a child’s income as his or her own money. This does not mean that the parent should have no influence over how it is spent or how it affects the child’s life. Responsible understanding of the value of money and its purchasing power can be developed in the teenager. Earning money from work is one way teenagers develop skills that carry them from childhood to a healthy and productive adult life.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What efforts can and should teenagers and parents make when considering employment for teens?
2. Should parents take an active role in their child’s job? If yes, how active or involved should that parent be?
3. What benefits can parents see or achieve from their teen’s work experience? Where can they exert positive influence and help the child grow even more?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Parents need to take a more active role in the decisions involving employment of their teenage children. Parental support of a child’s job helps to build self esteem and enables the teenager to become a more well adjusted individual. Parents should monitor the teenager’s ability to balance schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and the job and should also protect them from on-the-job abuses.
2. Parental involvement helps to bridge the potential gap young people face when shifting from childhood into the adult world. Supporting teenagers’ efforts in developing responsibility and self-discipline will benefit them when they enter the adult labor pool.
3. A young person entering the workforce is just another step in maturing into responsible adults. Those working with kids need to be available and helpful in guiding this process. It is one of the last areas of challenge and nurturing that we may have on a young person.