Do your kids have part-time jobs?

[MommyThrice]

Many thanks to everyone that replied to my "Ready to give up" post.  Oldest ds would love to have a part-time job.  He had one over the summer and enjoyed the independence.  But I have some questions...

 

1) My biggest concern - how do they balance work and school?  A job over the summer is one thing, but a job during school is quite another.  Do you cut the course load to allow for work?  Ds is having a hard time keeping up with school, so I'm afraid to give him more to do.  But, then again, he's wasting tremendous amounts of time, so maybe he needs more work.

 

2) How do you handle the car situation?  We're considering a "kids' car" for the three teen boys, but we're not there yet.  We live a ways out of town so there is no public transportation.  The closest stores are a good 15 minutes away.  I've been reluctant to drive 15-20 minutes for my kids to work a 4-hour shift so they can spend more money on clothes and music.

 

3) How do you handle the money?  Right now we pay for insurance & gas, but ds pretty much only drives to classes and back and an occasional errand for me.  If he starts driving to earn money, he should probably be paying more of the costs.  We made a deal with him early on that if he received a National Merit Scholarship (worth $100k or more) we would give him $10k for a car.  It looks like he will get that, but we've been holding off until we are sure.  I'm not sure when finalists are announced - soon I would guess - but maybe it's time to move forward with that.  (And, I assure you, next two sons are watching.  Middle son is already starting to prep for PSAT :-)

 

4) Would you consider volunteer work the same as paid work?  Like most home school families, we're usually short on money.  But it might be nice to have ds do volunteer work instead of paid to learn to give to others.  He wants to be an attorney, so he and I would both like for him to work in that field.  There is an attorney that has offered to pay him, but it's a little over an hour away.  I think he could do volunteer work for our public defender's office and I think he would like that.  This is a bit self-serving; one of the scholarships he's applying for is looking for this type of work.  I'm just trying to weigh the pros / cons of each.  

 

I appreciate the feedback.

Tracie

[AK_Mom4]

DS22 had a part-time job in high school.  He went in half with us on an old beater car that he and his dad fixed up and got running.  He worked a couple of afternoons a week and on Saturdays as a life guard, so the job started after his public school classes were done for the day.

 

DD19 inherited the beater car when DS22 went off to college.  She worked 2-3 afternoons a week and weekends.  Since she was home schooled, she could start work earlier than the other kids, so she generally started at noon and got more hours.  She would get up and do her school work, then go to work or music lessons or sports.  It was a busy schedule, but she liked it that way.

 

DS17 has inherited the beater car now that DD19 is off at college.  He worked some this summer, but has had a harder time juggling schoolwork and a job, so is taking a break from working this fall to concentrate on his grades..  He is planning on working starting in January - just a couple evenings a week and weekends.

[Pawz4me]

Our kids have not had jobs, but I just wanted to say regarding #4 -- Several university admissions counselors we've spoken with have really zeroed in on DS's volunteer work, saying it's something they really like seeing.  He has hundreds of hours with our city's youth council.

[Erin]

Buck is 14.  He does what's known in ranching as "day-work."  

Once every week or two, he goes over to our neighbor's 12 miles away (neighbor either picks him up or I deliver) and does a little of this and that.  Some days he's picking up bales, some days he's raking hay, some days he's cowboying, some days he's fencing, etc, etc.  He gets $10hr and saves almost all of it.  He's looking forward to summer when he can work daily.  lol

 

In Kansas, a 14 year old can legally drive on what's called a school/work permit, which means during daylight hours they're allowed to drive to/from school, or to/from work.  He's been driving nearly as long as he can remember, and driving alone here on our place since he was about 11.  But at the moment, the only car he could drive would be our old Metro (a pop can with airbags), so he's still hitching rides.  

Hopefully in the near future, we'll be getting another run-around car for either DH or myself and the kids will get one of the Foci.

 

 

Personally, I don't consider paid work the same as volunteer work.  He's still active in youth group, Awana, Boy Scouts and 4H.  Aside from paid vs. unpaid, civic/volunteer organizations serve an entirely different purpose than a job.

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest started working her Junior year in high school.  She worked at her dance studio so there was no separate driving, just an extension of her time there.  A good chunk of her money went toward paying some of her dance fees since her father was refusing to pay his portion. 

 

We bought her a used car for her Senior year and she began driving herself.  She contributed $150/month toward expenses for the car and her father contributed another $100 for her to be allowed to use it when she was at his house.  She would never be able to afford ALL the costs for the car.  Not here in NJ with our car insurance.  Her car was a 2007 so not very used.  Because she was driving far on very secluded roads alone, we wanted to make sure she had something reliable.

 

She now has the car at college and uses it to get to and from work.  She isn't contributing anything for the car right now because 80% of her paychecks come to us to pay back her room & board.  If she takes a long drive not for work, she is expected to pay for the gas herself.

 

She didn't have any trouble balancing school, work, and activities (dance and cheerleading).  I think it was actually good practice for college where she's having to balance work, school, dance activities and time with friends.  She knows how to prioritize and find the time to get things done.

[shanvan]

Ds (15/sophomore) was supposed to work only during the past summer, then Dh lost his job.  If Ds stopped working, he would have had to give up his extracurricular --dog agility. He would have been able to stay with 4H, but he and his dog have gone beyond what is taught through 4h.  

 

He kept his job and pays for all of his trials.  Occasionally I also take some gas money.  He does not drive yet, so Dh and I take turns driving him and picking him up.  I absolutely do not mind the driving at all.  I remember my stepfather complaining every weekend b/c he had to drive me to work.  I felt so horrible about it, like I was such a burden.  I'm not going to do that to my kids.  I'm happy they want to work and save money.

 

He works for his 4h leader at her dog kennel cleaning up after dogs, doing health checks, walking dogs, dealing with customers, cleaning the training facility, and odd jobs.  She gives him time off if he is going to an agility trial as long as he asks in advance.  A perk we did not know about is that all of his classes at the attached training facility are free b/c he works there.

 

He works weekends and holidays an various other days if school is not in session.  B/c he has working papers he is not allowed to work during school hours, which is when the kennel needs the help.  

 

 

He handles all of his own money and has several thousand dollars saved already.  He's very careful with it and wouldn't dream of spending it on clothes and music.  He's also careful about how many agility trials he signs up for since he is paying with his own money.  As far as a car goes, I'm not sure what we'll do.  If we can afford it we may help him get a car, or he may have to pay himself if Dh's new job doesn't end up going beyond the year and a half he's contracted for.  Car insurance--Ds will most likely have to handle it himself, depending on how expensive it is.  I paid for my own car, clothes, insurance, and a lot of my own food too, plus worked my way through college.  I don't think I want Ds to have to do quite as much as I did, but I'd like him to make some substantial contribution.

 

Volunteer work-- Ds does plenty of this, though it is not documented.  He often helps neighbors, elderly friends, and several of the local dog clubs.  We aren't aiming at racking up volunteer hours at this point, b/c it doesn't fit with our circumstances.  I am also a little wary of the trend toward teens volunteering so much that they can't have a job.  I'm all for being charitable and teaching compassion and helpfulness, but I'm not thrilled with the idea of creating an unpaid workforce.  I've seen kids being taken advantage of in the name of encouraging volunteerism.

 

[Joyofsixreboot]

All 3 of my olders have worked through high school and college. We do insurance and own the car ( $1000 beater) they do gas and extras like

Movies,clothes,games. If it had effected their school we would have prioritized that. My 15yo will get a job ASAP but many employers want them at least 16.

[mytwomonkeys]

My daughter is only 12. She currently babysits for extra money. She can keep half & the other has to go in the bank. We match her savings, so if she saves $10 -- $20 actually goes in her account. She is expected to pay for some things with friends and $15 a month for her phone. Otherwise, we don't expect her to pay for anything. Her savings will be for when she moves out, so she can have some money to transition.

[littlebug42]

I do not plan to make my daughters get a job during high school.  I feel that their job is to do well with school to enable them to go to college.  However, community service work is required.  DD 12 has already begun this, volunteering for a local historical museum.   I did not work during high school.  My mother told me that she felt my childhood was short enough, I shouldn't have to worry about a job sooner than I needed to.  I went to college and had no trouble juggling every thing I needed to, including a job. 

[LLMom]

Although he is no longer homeschooling, my 11th grade son has a job and goes to a very rigorous private school.  We have a rule  that if he can't keep up in school, he can't work.  But he needs money for college so he really needs to make it work and so far has been fine.  We finally got a car for him; someone gave it to us.  He pays for gas, and we pay for insurance.  I figured if we paid for gas, he would run all over the place and not care.  The insurance is a stable amount. 

[LibraryLover]

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[Jenny in Florida]

My daughter was enrolled in a residential program away from home from ages 12 through 16, when she earned her B.A. So, it was never practical for her to have a part-time job while she was still in school.

 

My son is not yet 16, but puts in a few hours a week as a teaching assistant at his dance school with the understanding that he will eventually transition to teaching classes on his own for pay. He is also in his third year volunteering at the local science museum and has volunteered as junior counselor for day camps at a local theatre for two summers.

 

In terms of driving, his dance school is about 20 miles/30 minutes from our house. He has classes and/or rehearsals and/or assisting responsibilities four or five days a week. And I often drop him off and come back to get him later (making the round trip twice), since he's often there for several hours.

 

Yes, it's something of a challenge to make time for him to do all of this on top of dual enrollment and a couple of online courses and regular choir and dance stuff. However, he really loves and values doing "real" (albeit unpaid) work. So, we do what we need to do to make it possible for him.

[Murphy101]

We drive them where they need to go for now, for multiple financial and practical reasons.

 

They are required to maintain B or better in all classes, in house or out, and meet other obligations (church, family..) Some struggle with this more than others just like adults do. Some take a quarter to find their feet.

 

We have always had a policy that all money earned should be halved. 50% in savings. The other 50% they can divide into a budget of their own making. Just like adults, how they divided that 50% varies according to their goals, personalities and circumstances. As long as they save the 50%, I rarely say anything about how they spend the other 50%. General household rules always apply tho so I don't care who buys what, if it's a problem or not acceptable in the house, then I have no qualms throwing it away. They know the few house rules and our limits and have never so far bought anything I had to talk to them about.

[creekland]

Our older two (who homeschooled through high school) worked for hubby (a Civil Engineer).  Youngest works at Chick-fil-A.  He's in ps, and that schedule isn't nearly as conducive to helping hubby (need daylight hours), so we allowed him to get a part time job for evenings and weekends.  It's worked out well.

 

Our deal is he gets to keep 25% of the money and 75% goes toward college expenses. He drives himself using an old beater car we own.  We pay gas and insurance as long as he's driving to school, work, or youth groups (all places we'd be taking him to anyway).  When he decides to go on extra trips, he pays for gas.

 

About two weeks ago he happily put the deposit down on the college he plans to attend next fall.  :thumbup1:

 

Schedule-wise, it does mean we don't see him as often as we're used to, but he's happy, he's not spending hours on video games or Facebook, and he's earning some $$.  For the most part his grades are good, and the one that isn't has not been affected by his job - just by his lack of interest in the subject.

 

He also gets to see how much (or little) one earns if one aspires to a fast food career and it's added more focus to his future.

 

The only downside (to us) is seeing him less, but he's ready to fly from the nest, so we're not holding him back.  He was bored here at home - and boredom led to crankiness which led to fights, etc.  He's a MUCH more mature, "fun at home" young man now.  I love that.

[Renee in NC]

My 15yo works for my Dad and others sporadically doing construction/grading type work.  He makes $10 an hour doing this.  In addition, he does mechanic work sporadically, which pays significantly more.  He has no interest in a minimum wage PT job because he can make a lot more doing the other things he does.

 

He doesn't have a drivers' license, so when he does construction work someone picks him up.  For mechanic work he has a shop 3.5 miles down the road.  He generally pays friends to give him rides, but he could walk if necessary.

 

[bettyandbob]

dd16  has kept up her pet sitting business that she started when she was 9. She worked as a lifeguard over the summer. Part time work was not convenient this fall. She has kept up her volunteer job (teaching adaptive aquatics). This is her third year doing this volunteer job. It is a job. She is committed to going. She must let people know when she won't be there. If she just didn't show up a couple of children would not get their lessons and that would be incredibly frustrating for those families. People count on her. 

 

She is taking a WSI certification course in February. Hopefully, she will be hired to teach all levels of swimming at the facility where she has volunteered for a while. 

[Ottakee]

I think that a small part time job can help them learn to manage their time. I notice here at home when I have a full day scheduled I get a lot more done than I do on the days when the calendar is empty....then I just fritter the time away.

 

Things were different then but I worked 20-24 hours or more a week during the school year my junior and senior year. I still kept up with my school work and had time for friends, babysitting, etc. The culture was just different then as most of my friends worked about the same # of hours. We didn't have video games to spend our time on or computers, or texting, etc. We went to school, worked, had some free/friend time, and repeated.

[Kalypso]

My dd17 worked full time as a lifeguard this past summer and has continued working about 12-15 hours per week through the school year. She pays for her gas and little things that come up. We pay for her to have a basic cell phone since I require her to have one when she is driving anywhere. Sometimes the schedule is tight for her, but she has really learned how to schedule her time better. She is a horrible procrastinator.

[Renee in NC]

I think that a small part time job can help them learn to manage their time. I notice here at home when I have a full day scheduled I get a lot more done than I do on the days when the calendar is empty....then I just fritter the time away.

 

Things were different then but I worked 20-24 hours or more a week during the school year my junior and senior year. I still kept up with my school work and had time for friends, babysitting, etc. The culture was just different then as most of my friends worked about the same # of hours. We didn't have video games to spend our time on or computers, or texting, etc. We went to school, worked, had some free/friend time, and repeated.

 

I agree.  My 15yo has other things to keep him occupied, too.  He spends almost no time playing video games, on FB, or texting anymore.  Most of his non-work time is spent on the 65 Mustang he is restoring.

[Venia]

My kids are still little so I cannot speak to how we would juggle cars or money.

 

As as employer though, any combination of work or volunteering and school will put your kids at huge advantage. The time of diplomas and degrees alone being benchmarks to employment is over, even for entry level jobs! This is especially true if that work or volunteering is the field in which they are seeking long term employment. Comparing paid work or volunteering is difficult. The things I look for are the tasks and responsibilities of the experience and how they relate to the position I have open. Shadowing a lawyer and performing clerical duties as a volunteer would absolutely look better to law school or firm than washing cars for minimum wage, etc. However, being able to wash cars for 10-20 hours a week on top of school work looks immensely better than someone who only had to manage school.