To firmly encourage DD to get a PT job?

[Wrongdissection]

DD is 16 in a couple of weeks, I have spent today sitting with her writing a CV and applying online for jobs for her (with her beside me). She isn’t unenthusiastic about the idea but I know if she was left to her own devices she probably wouldn’t bother. I’m not asking her to work all hours and any money she earns will be her own but I feel really strongly that she needs to get out there and get a job and start learning new skills as early as possible.

DH on the other hand says I’m pushing too hard and need to chill out, ‘she’s not even 16 yet’. There might even have been an eye roll.

DH and I have always been employed, both from a young age with PT jobs before we settled in our chosen careers and worked alongside school/uni etc. DD as I say just doesn’t seem to have that drive to work just yet and I really want to encourage it.

Am I being too pushy and need to lay off?

If the family needs their CHILD to work they are really shouldn’t be having children

Would you like to do a full day at work, work from home and do a PT job?

If you're not needing the money from her and you're happy to reasonably support her wants for a bit longer, I'd emphasise the importance of developing a CV for uni/work purposes later and let her decide if she wants to do that through volunteering or paid work. Volunteering might allow her experience in a field she is actually considering long term where it might be harder to find paid work at her age.

Those who do hours and hours of extra curriculum and practise for dance shows etc not see the amount of time spent of them is no different to working kids?

There is a big difference actually.

In my experience (two performing kids plus having run a kids drama school) most kids wind down in Year 11. Those such as my dd who want to make it a career still keep up their classes but don't usually take on any extra commitments around exam time. My son starts Year 11 in September, he will be carrying on with his weekly singing class and taking part in the theatre group November show but he has temporarily dropped one of his dance classes and will not be taking part in any shows in the Spring. Teachers & sports coaches appreciate that year 11 children will have reduced availability in the Spring/summer terms and may have to miss class/practice due to school/exam commitments. They plan accordingly and are sympathetic.

The OP's dd would be taking on a NEW work commitment just as her GCSE's are kicking in.

Would you like to do a full day at work, work from home and do a PT job?

This. A school child will be doing roughly a 6 hour day at school plus coming home and going an hour to 2 hours a night homework. Thats a 40 hour week for a CHILD.

www.gov.uk/child-employment/restrictions-on-child-employment

Restrictions on child employment

There are several restrictions on when and where children are allowed to work.

Children are not allowed to work:

without an employment permit issued by the education department of the local council, if this is required by local bylaws
in places like a factory or industrial site
during school hours
before 7am or after 7pm
for more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it)
for more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour
in most jobs in pubs and betting shops and those prohibited in local bylaws
in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being or education
without having a 2-week break from any work during the school holidays in each calendar year

There are also special rules which only apply during term times and school holiday times.
Term time rules

During term time children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week. This includes:

a maximum of 2 hours on school days and Sundays
a maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds, or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds

School holiday rules

During school holidays 13 to 14-year-olds are only allowed to work a maximum of 25 hours a week. This includes:

a maximum of 5 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday

During school holidays 15 to 16-year-olds can only work a maximum of 35 hours a week. This includes:

a maximum of 8 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday

@comefromaway

Thank you! I’ve learnt something 👍🏻

To all those saying that a teen studying for GCSEs and A levels shouldn't undertake p/t work if they want good grades, I disagree. My own kids did shop work for 4-5 hours every Sunday through A levels - DD1 did amazingly and is now at Cambridge, DD2 gets her results this week. It forced them to be better organised and get their backsides out of bed on a Sunday morning as they knew they would be working in the afternoon. As soon as exams were over, or term ended, they worked as many afternoons as they could. DD2 has picked up a 2nd job in a restaurant and is loving it (well she was until she sliced her hand open on a wine glass and spent Friday night in A&E - she can't now work this week at all as she can't get her hand wet). She took great delight yesterday in treating us all to cake in a local NT place with her tips.

Kids I teach who have p/t jobs are better at interaction with peers and staff and tend to have a better work ethic as they know they have a limited time in which to get school work done. I think one day per weekend is fine as long as they spend a good proportion of the other weekend day studying. The non-examined skills that they pick up are invaluable for the rest of their lives.

Yes, I would agree through A levels mal

The difference for me is that the child will be having some study time built into the school day for independent study.

Year 11 students are in demand for revision classes and Easter school and the like. A typical Year 11 will be finishing school around 4 and then have homework on top. Like a PT job on it and it’s too much.

Ds has worked PT from when he was 16, and now about to start his second year of uni, he’s still in that PT job, however is now a manager. But he is a June baby, so GCSE’s were over when he started work. I would never have allowed him to have a PT job for year 11, and I know our school, states that pupils aren’t to work PT as it’s is too much. Year 12 & 13 is different. I would rethink things if I were you, you either want her to have good GCSE’s or moderate GCSE’s and some pocket money.

FE level and GCSE are quite different kettles of fish.

I think as well, if you do want to encourage her to be doing something alongside her studies, it's worth thinking critically about whether that necessarily has to look like paid work. Would the skills and benefits derived from paid work, volunteering if possible, a hobby or pursuing an interest around a chosen academic subject be of most benefit? What else might be out there?

My kids (teens, 16 and 14) are not thinking about working yet, and I don't push

The oldest has just done gcse's, he's level headed but still it was a busy and stressful year. Then he did NCS for 4 weeks, which was amazing and an eye opener to him (it included fund raising for, and volunteering in a care home)

Now he can relax, as far as I am concerned until College starts. Then we'll see how much work that is, before even thinking about a job

Youngest does lots of stuff with cadets, including local community volunteering.

I think it's good for kids to get out in the real world a bit, but also think it is not necessary to push them into work, unless (!) They want I phones and designer gear and "stuff"

Mine are happy with old phones and "normal" clothes

Oldest has started going to gigs, and is starting to find it increasingly hard to ask me for money (he saves up, but asks for train money) and if that motivates him to start looking for a job, fine

But it has to come from him. Not me

YANBU at all, but a lot of people on here will tell you that you are.

The non-examined skills that they pick up are invaluable for the rest of their lives

I agree, life isn’t all about exam success.

We need motivators, critical thinkers, comedians, empathy, social skills, sadly lacking in a lot of students.

It's easy to get part time jobs in some areas. Lots of our local shops and cafes want part time workers. We live in a fairly affluent town though.

I used to love working at that age. I used to babysit and have a Saturday job. I enjoyed the money and I liked having something to do. It was a bit different to my kids though as I did a lot less schoolwork they did so I had a lot more free time.

My DD looked hard for a job at 16 but wasn’t successful until nearly 17 but had held that job for 2 years now. She’s really impressed me working 8 hrs on a Sat or Sun and more in school hols.
Great for her confidence.
DD15 has just got a casual waitress job a few hrs on a Saturday. Both wanted to work without encouragement but we absolutely endorsed their enthusiasm. dD1 has saved thousands for uni plus festivals and travelling.

She was a paper girl for a year on £10 per week.

DD is bored in the holidays. A week of down time was enough. We are away for a week , she’s done all her holiday homework . She got an interview at a local cafe and started . Loves it.

Mine both got work aged 15.
DD1 stopped work in her final school year to concentrate on exams.
DD2 juggled work with school with her manager very understanding about exams and time off for study.
I have also heard of many university leavers struggling to get a job if they have had no previous experience.

Am I being too pushy and need to lay off

No. It's good for kids to earn their own money, and also to learn to work for a living.

My ds did a lifeguard course earlier in the summer and he is now doing the odd shift. He doesn't pick up as many shifts as I was hoping he would (too lazy to do an 8 hour shift so waits for the 4 hours ones to be offered) but he is at least doing a bit.

I had a Saturday job throughout my sixth form, 4 hours a week is not a distraction from school (you can obviously do more in the holidays if you can pick up the hours. DS' preferred sixth form suggests no more than 8 hours a week max during term time).

Both my DS's started earning money in their early teens (13/14).
(Come to think of it I did paper rounds before school from about 12 but that was in the last century )
DS1 is now studying music and earns enough while there (and during the holidays) to ensure he doesn't need a maintenance loan.
Perfectly reasonable for a 16 year old to get some part time work.

it wasn’t the norm to have a PT job in school

It was in my school and I had a Saturday job in Woolworths from I was 15. You could only work 4 hours so I did Saturday afternoons but occasionally did extra hours on a Sunday - as it was a holiday area it could open in the summer (this was before the Sunday trading laws we have now). Once I was 16 I could work a full day and did some extra hours in the holidays. In sixth form I worked in a local library for 4 hours on a Saturday morning, with the odd extra day in the holidays but not much.

Forgot to say there were about 10 of us from my school working there in our local Woolworths on a Saturday.

All DDs friends have jobs as well. Either shop work or service or chip shops paper delivery

I work in a secondary school and tbh none of the kids have jobs.

Unless it is a boarding school, how could you possibly know that ??

All of @IAskTooManyQuestions have kindly copied out, is talking about children up to 16 yrs of age. Once you are 16, different regulations apply. In truth, at 15, you could still work several hours at the weekend and be within the law. However, OP's dd will be 16 early in September.

The non-examined skills that they pick up are invaluable for the rest of their lives

I agree with this ^
When both my older 2 dc started university, they couldn't believe how many of their new peers were really unworldly, and, quite frankly, immature.
(Not saying that means you have to work in your GCSE year, btw, just totally agreeing with this statement )

@CherryPavlova
thank you for the links. Yes, I am - at best - cynical, as many posters on here say "research shows" without anything other than hearsay to back it up.

Interesting though, that in the study I've read (only one where you don't have to accept cookies), she says it is a small sample , and also, in her summary, says:
"This finding adds to the existing literature that has identified a similar relationship in UK studies (Dustmann and Van Soest, 2007) and other European studies (Beffy et al., 2010), but it contradicts studies from the US (D’Amico, 1984; Stinebrickner and Stinebrickner, 2003; Rothstein, 2007)."

As is the way with many studies - matching research can be found to argue the other side, so often.

However, thank you for linking.