16 Year old daughter doesn’t want to work 😢😕

[HeatherBlack1990]

PLEASE lovely girls ! I need your input 🙏🤝🫂
16 year old daughter has just been offered A CHANCE to come & help out in a busy office to give her something to do in the long Summer months
I know the employers & they are lovely 👍💕
Daughter can’t really be bothered 😕 AND expects ME to book & pay for dance schools and basically fund EVERYTHING all Summer long & BEYOND
It’s not so much the money - it’s that she has very little motivation 😢😞
I had my first job at 11 & worked part-time all through A Levels
Jess shows NO such motivation
ANY / ALL comments gratefully received 🙏🤝💕
Even the negative ones !!!

Until the Bill is law, the voting age in England and for Westminster elections remains 18.

Funny how when it was discussed here lots felt it was absolutely right to give 16 year olds that responsibility, voice if the future etc, but they shouldn't have part time jobs....

Why are people focusing on the money aspect? A part time job at 16 is invaluable for her life skills and CV. Since when is it not normal for a 16 year to have their first job?

Stop funding her habits. She will realise money doesn’t grow on trees and have to earn it. Does sound like you’ve been cushioning her from reality though to get to 16 and now worry.

I agree the addition to the cv is worth so much more than the money - so many young people I know can’t get a pt job as employers all want experience. And there are fewer jobs to go round. My DS had a pt job at 16 and he was thrilled to get it - his manager told him they normally only take 18 year olds as they could work the bar but she employed him because of his enthusiasm (it was related to what he wants to do as a career) plus his significant voluntary experience in a customer role. And the pt role enabled him to get his current jobs as he had stuff to say and actual work examples in the interview. I’d encourage her to take it op - surely there must be stuff she wants but you can’t afford/ don’t want to buy for her?

I wasn't part of that discussion and I think that the voting and marriage minimum ages should be raised to 21.

....groomed by an older man into marrying him at 16

The 'older man' could have been 18.

Doesn't make her an adult fit to be marrying someone.

Working is crap. Let them enjoy life before a 9-5 and doing everything else and kids starts, got many many years after 18 to start being responsible. I’d encourage her studying- so when she does have to get a job, it’s not as bad as the one she doesn’t want to do now.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/son-jet-wash-owner-shot-himself-job-5HjdbSD_2/

Maybe show her this and ask if she’s confident of her future…. Lucky to have the opportunity of work should be her attitude?

I've had some right laughs working in an office....

Working is not all doom and gloom. I've made friends for life during my working years.

Didn't read the article, hey?

"He had to give it [shotgun cert] up however after being diagnosed with autism and ADHD."

Very few autistic people work. We don't know how to fake "normal" well enough to cope in the workplace and struggle to get past the first interview. This lad's autism, rather than his work history, will be why he couldn't get a job.

I couldn't get a job for 18 months after graduating, despite having retail and hospitality work on my CV. Again, I'm autistic, couldn't get past the interviews and really struggled with application letters.

To use an autistic person's suicide to try to beat a teen girl into taking a job she clearly doesn't want is irresponsible and disrespectful to the deceased and his family.

Ah yes @Smoggy1 the old "parents want their kids to focus on their studies and not work". In reality part time work really won't impact studies- kids need to learn time management. This is the problem so many parent think they are helping their children when they are making the problem worse - ae have so many school leavers who are not prepared for the work place because they have been molly coddled at home and have no work experience. How often do we see posts on here - "my child has finished university and doesn't want you get a job, how much money should I give my child at uni each month etc". It's good to be out of your comfort zone a bit - that's part of the problem these days - its not encouraged, kids think they can do their exams, go to uni and walk straight into a job with 0 work experience.

Is the job part time or full time? PT would be good she can learn & earn, then get her own time over the holidays. I’d be mortified working at 16 over the summer holidays &not getting to enjoying myself, but I did have a Saturday job that paid me my going out money. my parents always took the easy option with me to save the peace. I don’t know how much that has motivated me later in life though , hope you find the right balance for you

It's a good opportunity for her, she should take it. It's much harder to get a job now and many of the places that previously hired teenagers for low hour contracts are either long gone as retail has declined or they don't hire anymore as they've cut back on staff. It will help her stand out to get a job when she finishes education. Many employers want experience, and you can't get experience without a job. It's part time and she'll have plenty of time for fun around it. She does need to prepare for the future. My OH hires entry level staff for apprenticeships and it's always the ones who have worked previously who get the roles as it demonstrates work ethic and the ability to work with others and look after customers. It's not just about high grades now.

At 16 I worked in a factory for the entire summer to make money to go to sixth form. I'm actually baffled by people saying she shouldn't. What???

Good lord, what are we doing to kids these days. This is teaching them nothing. I left school at 16, got a job in a solicitors in Lincolns Inn. I spent a lot of my time in the Royal Courts of Justice. Loved the job. Back then we were taught work ethics and respect. Sounds like this one has neither.

Because she apparently wants to do a dance camp instead.
If dance is important to her and she wants to make a potential career out of it then to me personally that's more important.
But the OP just keeps giving one sentence answers and not actually answering anything so 🤷

You haven’t said what your DD wants to do now after her GCSEs - presumably 6th form or college for A Levels? Or she may be wanting to do a vocational course or looking for FT work. I think the answer to this would then influence whether working in an office now would be a good career move for her.

I’m all for teenagers working part time from 16. Often the graduates who land jobs after graduating are the ones who have some work experience on their CV’s. I know someone who worked part-time in retail as a teenager (16+) and then landed a much better job in the same company following graduation.

For those people mollycoddling their older teens - see how you feel when they bounce back after university with no real job prospects or motivation and still relying on the bank of Mum and Dad….

No job no treats/extra fun it's that simple

My 13 year old is desperate to be able to find a job as she likes to spend money and her pocket money doesn’t cover what she wants to spend. I do pay for lots of extra curricular though. But she’s a late August birthday and very aware she will not be able to get a job as easily after GCSEs as her friends. It’s not easy round here anyway. She’s even talked about babysitting but I know no one who uses babysitters these days.

My 16 year old doesn’t work. She’s another August birthday so is actually 6th form. She struggles with her health though and I’ve not pushed it for her as she’s struggled just to get to school some weeks. She’s not a spender though but does have extra curricular activities as well - not as many as youngest. Her health has just started to improve so I’ll be encouraging her to maybe start looking but more for the experience. Her friend left school during first year of sixth form as she wanted to get an apprenticeship but then didn’t get on the one she wanted. This was back in February. She’s now 17 and has been looking for a job but has really struggled to find anything so far.

I really can't be bothered to read all the snowflakes answers on here.

I remember the school leaving age being raised from 16 to 17 and then to 18. That's right. In this century kids used to leave school and start full time jobs. They earned money and became responsible people. They didn't spend all summer dancing.

I had various 'pocket money' jobs from about the age of 14. From the age of 16 I worked part-time, all through my A levels. We all did. It was expected of us. We enjoyed it, we used to discuss our part time jobs. It gave us an insight into the real world.

I used to teach A level. My students were simply lusting after a part-time job, it was the holy grail. I also taught kids from Vocational subjects. Many of the older ones had part-time jobs, in pubs and supermarkets. They absolutely loved it. They loved having their own money. I remember 2 music btec students who were actually in a band and had regular gigs. They were earning as much as in a full time job.

Now for the harsh but true stuff. The only ones who didn't want or have a part-time job were wasters. They didn't want to do any work in college either. They had no work ethic.

Let's get even more harsh but true. Many jobs are disappearing. Shop work is difficult to get. Pubs are closing down. Employment laws make it arduous for employers to employ young people, especially part-time. The economy is struggling, we are heading for recession. Youth unmployment is at an all time high. The chances of your daughter becoming the next Darcy Bussell or Shirley ballas are about 3%.

If an employer has 2 job applications, both with exactly the same qualifications, but one has previous work experience and good references, he will take that one. However, it seems that your daughter is just aiming for a lifetime on benefits.

Correction: after reading more posts. There's lots of sensible parents who want their kids to have a good work ethic and do well in life.

There's quite a few snowflakes though.

@HarshbutTrue2 the school leaving age is still 16.

@HarshbutTrue2 from gov.uk website.
I don't under why so many 16 year olds (and their parents) are still being being lied too about this.