To be shocked at how many teenagers do absolutely NOTHING on the weekends

[MrRected]

I reckon teenagers should be put to work - whether it be sport or actual work (waiting tables/supermarket checkout etc).

I think that letting them do absolutely nothing, doesn't help them in the long term and am surprised at how many people I know who think it's entirely normal for their little darling to hide in their bedroom for days on end.

Puberty can be exhausting, tasking some downtime to get through it seems sensible, whilst they don't have major responsibilities.
Though most teens I know have busy weekends with homework, socialising, activities and jobs.

Now that shops can hire apprentices at cut price wages they've less need for teens in education. Though I know a few who work in cafés.

My DD works really hard through the week, at school and with homework. It's heavy going and she has set herself targets that will take a lot of work to achieve. I am more than happy with her having a rest at weekends... I do too after a packed week.

Omg I bloody wish. 2 here who do 10-15 hours of sport a week which means I work FT and provide a taxi service. Saturdays involves a 2 hour round trip and 2 hours of training and Sunday both have matches usually in different places. I'd love them to do nothing every now and again.

My DD1 is 15 and does sweet FA all weekend. If she's feeling really dynamic she'll meet a friend in town to grab a Subway and a coffee and bimble around the shops.

I don't give a shiny shite that she's virtually horizontal all weekend - she's out of the house 0715-1730 5 days a week, does drama club 2 nights a week and is studying for 10 GCSEs.

As long as she helps me with a few chores around the house without grumbling and keeps her room clean I'm not bothered if she wants to slob out in her room.

She's got YEARS ahead of her to work, I'm not planning on pushing her out to find a job just yet; I'd rather she kept up to date with her coursework and reading. And given that she spends alternate weekends at her Dad's she can't commit to a job anyway.

Really OP?

Because DS plays of a local team whiuch trains on Saturdays and plays every Sunday. And let me tell you every pich is full of boys playing matches!

Yep, Saturday = football, Sunday = rugby.

My daughter is studying to go to uni this year, she gets up at 6am, gets home at 5pm, has homework most nights, and exams in a few weeks time.
She is entitled to do what she wants at the weekend, she does not need to be doing anything to justify her existence to the likes of you.

How dull does someone's life have to be for them to actually care how other people choose to spend their weekends?!

I find it a bit sad that so many are happy to let their teens pretty much live in their room.

I'm not talking work but there's so much more they could be encouraged to do with their time.

My DCs don't do much at the weekend precisely because they do so much during the week.

Homework, Cubs, Guides, Ju-Jitsu, piano lessons, and more, means they are effectively working full time for 5 days, so I feel they have the right to a couple of days off, same as adults.

They help around the house during the weekend, so are not skimping there, and locally, jobs for 13 year olds are virtually non-existent.

My DCs are not lazy, they are well-balanced individuals who are polite and so willing to help others.

they have brain issues. all the stuff in there is re-forming due to puberty and its after effects. they have to lie down and think about the world. they have to vegetate. you can send them to work if you like, but internally, they'll be vegetating. and how useful is that to an employer?

Don't really know what the OP is basing their comments on. Does the OP have teenagers? For starters, teenagers are going through a major growth spurt and need sleep in a way adults don't. Plenty of teenagers work - mine deliver newspapers seven days a week and the supermarket my eldest works in would grind to a halt without the sixth formers that keep it running over the weekend. This together with plenty of sporting and musical activities and they still manage to shut themselves in their rooms, do bugger all and generally relax.

Well dd1is 16 and works each Saturday. She also babysits for neighbours regularly. Goes out with friends, does stuff with us, homework etc

but if you asked her what she's done over the weekend. "Nothing much" would be the answer.. so Grandparents are under the impression we never do anything, ever. To the extent they have rung me up with concern.

What you think teens do, from what they describe, and what they actually do....very different things.

My 17 yr old has been looking/applying for jobs for over a year and has had no luck at all.

Please tell me where all these weekend jobs for teens are.

I'd like my DCs to get jobs, to encourage a work ethic and money management but they are too young ATM.

Given that their brains and bodies are growing so much I almost encourage them to slob around at weekends and get as much sleep as possible. I remember my Mum always waking us up at about 9am declaring that we were "wasting a lovely day!" but I have never seen a lie in as a waste of a day!

We do try to do things as a family though.

And I would like to nominate Only1Scoop for quote of the year for She would come martyring by with the Hoover.

martyr marytr martyr....whoosh whoosh whoosh...
yes i can see it now

OP,
My 16 year old is doing a/s levels and working her socks off revising as is my 14 year old GCSE son. My DDs school has actively discouraged too much paid work as this means they do not study! And this is a normal state school. I think you need to know all your facts first before launching in with an attack on teens.

Our state sixth form suggests no more than eight hours a week paid work.

Amberleaf
Dd got a job in a local cafe, has left to work in a National Trust tea room. Local Next always has 6th formers in it.

Did take her a while to get her first job though.

I lived in a tourist town. Fantastic for weekend/ holiday jobs.

Where are you making up getting your informations from ?

Who are all these teens that do nothing?
Not my experience at all.

impty
He got through to the second stage of the recruitment process with next, but no further than that.

We live in London, lots of businesses, but also lots of people to work for them.

With adults with work histories applying for even the most menial of part time work, teens who have never worked have a really hard time getting a start.

When I was his age, I was working full time and had several saturday/part time jobs under my belt.

Someone we know works somewhere and if/when a vacancy comes up, he is guaranteed an interview, hopefully that will come up soon.

you haven't got any teens then, and besides that where are the jobs going to spring from. there aren't any for young adults/graduates never mind stroppy teenagers

OP, have you got teenagers or had them in the last 5-8 years?

Plus unless you live in or within hailing distance of a town, any job for a teenager would involve mum/dad driving there and back to take them, and then there and back again to fetch them. Great use of my weekend.

Off to pick up DD from her supermarket Saturday job shortly. I did get a discount on my weekly shop there this morning though when I dropped her off.