when should teenagers get a job?

[driedapricots]

my sister is at her wits end as she is trying to encourage her 16 year old dd to get a job over the summer to fund her 'social life' (phones etc) she's still obviously 'keeping' her in terms of food etc. her daughter is refusing... but then again my sister doesn't (and never has) worked and so i guess she is not exactly a good role model
i think it's entirely reasonable and in fact a necessity of good parenting to encourage teenager to work at this age but then i don't have teenagers yet. should we not be encouraging financial independence and understanding at this stage and even earlier..? i always had a job from 16. or are things different these days?!

I'd encourage them to find something asap. I did a paper round from 13 (and from that point on got no pocket money) then McDonalds when I was 16. I'm glad my mum encouraged me to work for my money (though I did go through a period of being envious of friends receiving a £40+ per month allowance (excluding clothes). Agree with cat64, if no jobs around, some kind of voluntary work. I also volunteered at a playcentre for SN children (started doing it for Bronze DofE award then continued until I went to uni because I loved it and found it really rewarding)

I expect my 16 yo DS to get a job. He has other ideas, involving time-consuming arse sitting and partying.

The fact he has no money doesn't seem to spur him on. I think it's too late for this summer - all the uni students will be home now.

We give him £25 per month, of which £17 goes straight onto a smart phone contract.

My DD, 14, does a small amount of part time work in my parents business and I think it's really good for her. She has very expensive hobbies - skating and advanced ballet - and it's getting to the point where I just can't finance it - we're not that well off. So her next ballet exam - £80 - she is paying for herself, and she is saving up for new ice skates which will be around £400 . I feel a bit mean but we just do not have the means to pay for such expensive items, and I don't think it hurts her to realise this.

She gets a £25 allowance a month. This started in Year 7 and I have made it quite clear from the off that it stops at the end of August of Year 11. After that, if she wants money, she must get a part time job.

I might be different if money was no object, but money is extremely tight and I think 16 is old enough to be starting to pull your weight financially, if only for the luxuries.

ASAP

I was very impressed today in my local Waitrose. I saw a boy/young man in the local boys school uniform chatting to members of staff. I realised he was chatting about Waitrose stuff then realised I recognised him as as Waitrose employee. Obviously does weekends/evenings and hopefully for him will soon be a fully signed up "Partner".

my ds1 is almost 19 and has just left college. He was a volunteer in Oxfam for a while which i hope will help his job prospects now hes on the buroo

My Daughter is 14 and she has a Saturday job in a music shop from 10 - 2. she earns £20 for that and I make her pay her own monthly phone bill.

Why should I pay it? We managed as kids without them.

I encouraged her to get a job by saying if she wants a contract phone with unlimmited texts she will have to go get a job and she went out and asked in all the local shops and left her well prepared CV with a few. Only waited a few weeks till she got the job. She wants to do some babysitting work now to fund her busy social life.

I'd deffo say teenagers should get some part-time work. It helps prepare them for adulthood. Having to get themselves to work on time and how to budget.

Then again, I think my teens (spending all my time on studying with very little money to spend) was a better preparation for the path I then followed (university+PhD= many more years of studying with very little money to spend). Some of my friends just couldn't cope with the pennilessness of the university years.

So it might depend on the child. If they are going into an artistic or literary career, maybe it is more important to learn to work hard without instant remuneration and learn to do one's social life on the cheap.

Thinking of dd with ambitions to be a writer: perhaps the best skill I can teach her is the ability to reuse a teabag 6 times

DD is 14 - I don't want her to have a job yet. I think it is very difficult for a 14 year old to get a job around here anyway, other than paperround (not having her do that in city centre). She can look for a job when she is 16.

Different when I was a kid - grew up in a seaside town and had a job from 10 - sticking up skittles in a pub in the winter, and working in a sandwich bar in the summer.

I never benefitted from having any extra money as I had to give it to my gran for keep. But I do remember resenting working whilst my friends were down the beach.

So i don't really care if dd gets a job or not to be honest. She will probably spend her entire adult life working - she can enjoy her teen years.

My 13 yo DD started a little Saturday job the day after her Birthday. She cleans and does little jobs like posting/copying/filing etc. aswel in our family office. She will pick up the phone,answer in the correct way and take any messages etc. She really enjoys it and even came away from her birthday camping weekend for 2 hrs to go and do her job.She loves the responsibility and the fact it gives her an extra £10.= a week in her pocket to do with as she pleases. On top op that she has a £10.= a month contract phone payed for by us and £5.= per week pocket money.
She has a debit account at the HSBC which comes with a debit card so she can't over spend and doesn't have to carry cash all the time.

I think it is a vital life skill to know the value of money and to be able to manage your own budget/finances.