jobs for a 14yr old??

[Kjs]

difficult child wants to get a job. He has friends (girls) who work at fast food places at age 14. He is bugging me non stop. (in between his fears of dying and headaches and etc)

Now, this freshman year has taken a toll on any activities. Hours of homework not just for a grade, for a credit. (wouldn't be hours if he actually DID it daily instead of waiting until the night before or the day after it is due)

He also is a baseball fanatic. When baseball season starts he will be at practice most nights and 3 or more games a week. He seems to think he can get a job and what....just go when he feels like it?

I think it would be good for him to see his own money and how to spend his own money. (maybe think twice about spending so much)

But I have so many negatives about this. Number 1, school. Number 2-headaches.

Do or did anyone have a job so young?

 

[Jena]

hi,

I had a job at a young age, yet i wasnt' able to work anywhere like fast food or anything until i was 15 that was the law. so at 14 i did alot of babysitting stuff, that's how i made my money. 15 was mcdonalds and sears stock room......

fun, fun i think jobs are good for them, if they have the time. so he'd be able to work at fast food there??

 

[mstang67chic]

I had a job at that age but mine was summer only. Actually that how I did it all through high school. Part of that is because we lived way out in the country and my car wasn't the most reliable thing in the world. If you can get him through this school year, that may be something for him to look at. Maybe he could work the concession stand at a local pool or something along that line. My job was detassling corn (hey.....I live in Indiana! LOL) and I did it for four summers. After my first, I was a crew leader so for three years I got to walk behind everyone else, check their work and get them going when they were slacking off. Hmmm..........maybe that was an indicator of things to come? I'm not sure if they hire kids to do that anymore....someone told me that the company I worked for now hires migrant workers but I don't know how true that is.

But, sitting here brainstorming....maybe he could mow lawns in the summer or shovel in the winter for the others on your street. If he's having that much difficulty with his homework and also wants to play basketball, it sounds like a "regular" job would be a bit much for him, even with the benefits of making his own money. Would an afternoon paper route be an option?

 

[meowbunny]

Maybe you could work a deal? He can work as long as he keeps up on his homework. It might be the impetus he needs. Works for some kids.

I'd let him give it a try. The worst that is going to happen is he will quit or get fired when baseball season comes. Being fired at 14 really doesn't hurt your job resume.

I know I worked in the school office from about age 12 and then got a work-study job at 15 working for the local department of public works. I somehow managed to skip the fast food hell.

 

[Kjs]

LOL....there is no afternoon papers. More like 5am.
there is a lot of restrictions on 14 yr olds.
easy child worked at Six Flags Amusement park at age 15 - hated it.

difficult child only does what difficult child wants. Only when difficult child feels like it. Always. Like school. As much as I hound him, yell at him, give him incentives..it doesn't matter. he will only do it when he feels like doing it. Then when he DOES do it he doesn't turn it in. I just don't get it. So, a job may be a wake-up call. But I can just picture it.

told to do something and in an instant have a complete 180 mood swing. His mouth would start going and he would be done. Then I would hear the "I don't care" and all there fault stuff.

We seem to be walking on egg shells. An employer will not.

 

[Hound dog]

You could set a goal for a summer job. Or maybe help him find something he that will permit him to only work only weekends.

My kids weren't allowed until 16. (although they'd do odd jobs around the neighborhood, no formal job though) Mostly because before then, you run the risk of being the sole manager of his time.......instead of him learning to do it for himself.

Mine at to maintain at least a B average in order to keep their jobs.

 

[meowbunny]

Honestly, I would have sworn my kid would never survive a job. She didn't last long at Mickey D's but did a great job in the retail world and she had to do some pretty nasty stuff and put up with some pretty nasty customers. Now, she's a server and has a serious love/hate relationship going with the job. Even so, she's been there over a year now. She also does some work for me. She's discovered that when she's working for me, she has to work to get paid and I am a hard taskmaster. I once told her to do something and she looked at me and said, "Who do you think you are, my boss?" I didn't say a word, just looked at her. You could see the lightbulb going off. It was so funny.

I would say a job is a learning curve for our kids. They rarely succeed the first few times they work because they do feel they are entitled and they're really not prepared for the reality of a job. Even so, they do learn and they do frequently get the message that they have a choice -- survive on an allowance as a teen or inhale deeply and do what is required from the boss. Surprisingly, the boss choice frequently wins.