AIBU to think our 18 year olds should work instead of wasting away weekends?

Tread carefully op they sounds like engaged active youngsters what you think is wasting away is not because you think it is !

I thought you were going to say they spend all the time gaming !

I think it depends really. Adults get the weekend off work so I think if their Monday to Friday is stressful they deserve rest too. Equally, I think if they can get work at this age it gets them ahead of the curve for jobs while at / after uni or education ends. However I think their weekend sounds like a blast… and why shouldn’t they have fun?

They're not exactly spending the weekend in bed rotting on their phones are they? Let them have a bit of fun, life will get serious for them soon enough.

I think it would do them good to be employed ASAP for their CVs. It’s much harder for the kids at uni who have never worked than those who had a PT job during their A Levels.

Well good luck to them finding a job. My dd18 has tried looking for a part time job whilst studying for over a year and has had no luck whatsoever, endless applications and nothing.

It’s very demoralising so I just let her live her life and she does whatever she wants every weekend.

And yet you’re still seething

I think as well - looking back at the original question - they’re not wasting away the weekend. They’re doing their hobby. Just because it’s not your choice doesn’t mean they’re wasting their weekend. Just another thought really

Do you work 7 days a week? I don't. I do fuck all and enjoy my weekends.

And yes IB is much harder than A levels.

I didn't work until I left uni at 25. My parents prioritised education. It meant I got to focus on school, get excellent grades and internships, and got a great career. I'm forever thankful to them.

I would bet that the boys are the OP’s step kids

It's too late for them to get a job. Exams start in a couple of months. Wait until they have finished and then insist. They can also work in the summer holidays when they are students.

They are doing things though? My kids and partner look forward to F1 and I love that they spend that quality time together. A party is a normal thing for teens to do as is going to the pub. Weekend naps - especially after a party - are delicious.

There has ben a few articles in the press with ref of how hard it is to get a Saturday job. It sounds as though they will be busy studying in the weeks to come. I say cut them some slack and I hope they enjoy time with their friends.

I'm probably a bit of a softie but I say leave them to it.

They work hard, you don't need them to work for financial reasons, part-time jobs are simply not available the way they used to be, they don't cause trouble, they're good kids.

The world is a dumpster fire and it's not getting better any time soon. If their worst crime is spending one weekend of leisure time doing something that you personally don't enjoy then I think you should ease off them and thank your lucky stars!

My dc is doing the IB and it’s horrific and pressured. They’ve probably only just finalised their ee , ias and orals and this weekend is their downtime before exam season. You are being really unreasonable because they’re doing something that you don’t enjoy.

OMG they're teenagers, let them have a weekend off to do nothing and have fun with their friends.

IB is a huge commitment. Everyone needs to take a break from time to time. I wish them all the best in their exams.

Resting and socialising isn’t a waste of time. Regardless of whether they ‘should’ also be working and from what age (and I don’t think there are hard and fast rules), it’s positively beneficial to regularly spend a few days off from work and study. For everyone.

I’m firmly in the camp of believing they have decades of work to come. As long as they aren’t slothing about for months at a time I don’t see what there is to be irritated about.

Not really, my son doesn't have a job and he's in Year 13. I'm happy for him to chill a bit at the weekends as that's what I do for at least some of the time. It's also good if he does some revision, which I think is more important than a job right now.

They've had A full weekend. Presumeably they don't do this every weekend? As long as they're up to date with their work and getting decent feedback then I don't see the harm. They'll have far less time to do all this in a weekend once they have full time jobs so why not let them enjoy it now?

@FloofBunny I don’t think anyone would suggest suddenly finding a job 6 weeks before their exams. But they should work over the summer.

The sound happy, relaxed, sociable, fond of their siblings - what a wonderful weekend (possibly life) they are having. Everyone needs to relax sometimes. Providing they are working hard at the academic stuff during the week, weekends off will be good for them. But I wouldn't give them loads of spending money. If they want money to spend on socialising, they should earn some of it.

I presume you took loads of work home this Friday to make sure your weekend was not wasted?
Rest is very important for proper functioning of body and brain. Life experiences such as hobbies and socialising are extremely important for development. Yes, a job is nice. However, when I was doing my masters, I had a very intense two years. I would not be able to handle a job but had time for other enjoyable things including keeping fit and socialising. I wouldn't survive my masters without proper work-life balance.

Well I personally wouldn't 'work' 7 days a week so I wouldn't expect it of my year 13.
I actually think it's important to socialise and have down time when studying and I'm surprised you begrudge your teens a weekend of fun.

Where are the jobs for teens with no experience? Almost impossible.

Working? No. Doing some revision? Yes.