Mom, Dad ... I'm off to work

By Rachna Buxani, Counselling Services Coordinator, GEMS group of schools

Children are a whole lot smarter today than when I was a child. Television, computers and the Internet have allowed our kids to access information we never dreamed of when we were kids. Our kids’ ability to handle complex information and their desire to be independent and well equipped for the future sometimes makes them want to take up part-time jobs.

Jessica and Amit were repeatedly in my office before the summer holidays trying to find out how they could get a job over the summer.  Both had different reasons for why they wanted to join the work force.  For Jessica it was more about passing her time productively for the two heated months, while Amit was trying to earn some dough so as to not be dependent on his parents for every little need.

Encouraging your children to hold part-time jobs can be both helpful and hurtful to them. Every child comes to a stage when he or she reaches 15, 16, or 17-years of age and wants to get a job.  They see it as a way to make extra cash, get out of the house, interact with others their age, and feel grown up because they have a job.

Real life experience

As parents, your considerations about your kids taking on part-time jobs should include how much money they'll make, what they'll learn from the experience, and the real-life situations they'll be entering. Since they'll have more income than they have had before, you can give them less money when they go out with friends. In fact, they can now pay for many of their field trips and Saturday outings with friends. You can use their desire to enter the work force as an opportunity to further their monetary and budgeting education. You may want to help them come up with a budget and encourage them to open a savings and checking accounts if they don't have those already.

Working also helps teach your children other essential qualities like tolerance, empathy, patience and working in a team. These traits will help your children go a long way in their life and also in the careers they choose. Holding jobs and gaining experience can also help your teens have an edge when they are applying to universities abroad.

Studies remain top priority

One very important matter that you need to be cautious about and help your children understand is that despite having this newfound income and excitement their homework and studies are the top priority. You still have to make sure they're doing their homework in a timely and daily fashion. Make sure your teen understands that if grades begin to decline, he or she will be expected to cut work hours.  

A good rule of thumb is to require that your children work less than 20 hours a week at their job. Any more than this and it starts interfering with their schoolwork, typically. That set number of hours each week helps them earn plenty of extra income and gain a sense of independence and achievement. If possible, part-time work should be limited to weekends.  

You need to help your children understand is that while they are making a considerably larger amount of money than they were previously, the amount they're bringing in still is not enough to support themselves on. You'll need to instill in them the idea that in order to achieve financial freedom and support themselves–and a family when they eventually have one–they'll need to work more hard, study hard, and earn significantly more money.

For many teenagers, holding a part-time job is an important rite of passage into adulthood. It teaches students about the working world, life skills and how to manage money. Through this teenagers understand what it takes to become a successful adult in today's society and see how the world really works.  As long as it doesn’t interfere with their education part time jobs can actually help in the all round development of your teen!!  

Photo courtesy: 4girls.gov

Rachna Buxani, with an M.Ed in School Counseling from Suffolk University in Boston and a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Child and Youth from Eastern Connecticut State University, USA has specialised in Middle and High School Counseling. Rachna's expertise is in assessment and management of problems related to adolescence. She writes regularly on parenting issues on womenone.or, and answers to readers' queries related to it.

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