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Are you wrestling with the question of whether or not you should encourage, or even force, your teen get a job? A lot of teenagers already have pretty busy schedules, especially if they are in any sort of extracurriculars like sports, music, or clubs. But are they missing out on some valuable life lessons and opportunities by not working?
My daughter recently got into a friendly debate about this subject with some friends and their parents. The main argument against teens having jobs was, “You’re only a kid once…you shouldn’t rush into adulting.” Which, sure, the idea sounds nice. But is that really the right way to prepare teens for adulting? It seems unkind to not provide your child with the opportunity to prepare themselves for the burdens of adult life without the full adult pressures like paying for housing and groceries and insurance. Talk about being thrown to the wolves.
I’m team “Get a Job”, and here are my top reasons why:
1. TEACHES THEM RESPONSIBILITY
Managing their own work schedule, following someone else’s rules, being entrusted with responsibilities that have an impact on someone else’s business and finances are just a few of the ways that your teen will become more responsible by holding down a job.
2. GIVES THEM WORK EXPERIENCE FOR WHEN THEY NEED A NON-STARTER JOB
If your teenager waits until they graduate to work that means they’re entering the workforce as adults with zero work experience on their resume. A lack of experience, no matter how trivial that experience may seem, will likely result in lower wages. My son, for example, started working a minimum wage job at age 14, and by the time he graduated high school, he had been given numerous raises that nearly doubled his wage from when he started. On the other end of the spectrum, my daughter’s friend is looking for her first job at age 17, with graduation and adult responsibilities quickly approaching, but no work experience that might bump her up a tier or two in pay.
3. MAKES THEM APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF A HARD-EARNED DOLLAR
If you want your kids to appreciate how much something costs, have them get a job and then when they’re looking at the latest iPhone, ask them how many hours they’ll have to work to get that upgrade. I promise you they’ll see price tags in a whole new light.
4. KEEPS THEM FROM BEING BORED
If your teenager is in every activity under the sun then being bored is likely not a problem. However, a lot of teenagers have a lot of time to spare, especially in the summertime. Getting out of the house and making some money is a great way to keep them from spending countless hours playing video games or scrolling through social media.
5. GIVES THEM A FINANCIAL HEADSTART
This one has a caveat – it only gives them a financial headstart if they’re good savers. From the time my kids were little, any money they got was split between tithes (10% of total), saving (50% of total) and spending (remainder). We also instill budgeting from the start using these budget binders here. As such, my oldest kids have each saved thousands of dollars by the time they’ve graduated high school. My kids have even had their direct deposit set up to have half of their paychecks automatically go into their savings accounts. It’s become so second-nature that my college graduate still puts half of his paychecks in his savings.
6. GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THEIR SOCIAL SKILLS
Learning how to interact in a professional setting, whether it be with a boss, coworker, or customer, is so valuable for teenagers to learn before they fly the nest. Conflict management, politeness, listening…there are no shortage of communication opportunities for them when they have a job.
7. INSTILLS A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE AND PRIDE
There are so many opportunities for a job to boost a teenager’s confidence. Knowing that they worked hard for their paycheck. Hearing a boss say, “Good job” or “You’re getting a raise.” Having a customer be pleased with good customer service or polite manners. Every positive interaction instills a sense of pride in working hard and doing things well.
There may be a variety of legitimate reasons why you feel your teen shouldn’t have a job. But I would like to encourage you to challenge those reasons and see if there might be even more value in them getting out in the workforce. There are a lot of valuable tools they could take with them into their adult life. Maybe the kind thing to do is give them the opportunity to put those tools in their toolbelt before they actually need them.
