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How to help your teen keep a job, during High School and beyond

Member
By motherNN
User-Submitted Article
(2 Ratings)
love your teen
love your teen
Thanks to my parents, who raised me to volunteer, have a job and never bought me a car because they wanted me to learn the value of money! Many thanks!!

Teens get a lot out of working those first jobs. Having some responsiblity and earning their own money for spending at the mall, or future education is one of the best ways to prepare your teen for the adult world.
Parents can help their teens keep a job. Read on:

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • a teenager
  • alarm clocks
  • community networking
  • healthy breakfast food
  1. Step 1
    those teen years
     
    those teen years

    Explain to your teen at an early age, around 13 years, that he/she is expected to do more than household chores. Household chores will continue but soon they won't get paid any allowance to do them. Tell them about good volunteer work and paying jobs for teens near you.

  2. Step 2
    strong community
     
    strong community

    Use your friends and contacts in the community.

    You can get the ball rolling by chatting with people you see every day. They may be looking for a teen to work for them or know someone who is. Think locally when job hunting. Save on driving a teenager around. Teens can bike or walk if they have a paper route. Farms need a variety of help throughout the year.

  3. Step 3
    teens like to work outside
     
    teens like to work outside

    Breakfast routine is important. Have an alarm clock for your teen, as well as yourself. Teach your teen to set the alarm clock so that they can use it by themselves. Learning to be prompt, all by themselves, will always be useful to them as adults.

    I liked to get up and cook my teen a good breakfast on Saturday mornings at 4:30AM before he left for his job, across the street at our local butcher shop. We parents do lots of kind things for our kids when they are really little, but the teen years are the most memorable for THEM!

  4. Step 4
    library
     
    library

    Volunteer work is a great way to build ethics and good references in the future job market he/she will be entering. Have your age 13 & 14 year old teens volunteer at your local library & nursing home, or ask around at schools, churches and parks.

    Raking leaves for neighbors, shoveling snow, weeding gardens, watering for neighbors away on a trip, etc. are great places to start and kids enjoy being outside.

  5. Step 5
    empty pockets
     
    empty pockets

    Teens must earn their own spending money. Reduce your teen's spending money once they are of job age @ 15. I suggest cutting off automatic, weekly allowance for extras at 16. Empty pockets are a great movitator!

    Donald Trump's daughter was given a paid college education if her grades were good, but nothing else. If she had to work, our teens can too.

  6. Step 6
    first car
     
    first car

    Don't buy your teen a car.
    Parents are already providing: clothing, food, shelter, transportation, health & dental care, and school suppiles...and that's the short list.

    A car should be earned by it's driver. It cuts down on the young drivers' speeding tickets and fender benders too because your teen has worked very hard to get that car.

Tips & Warnings
  • Insisting they have a job is one of the greatest things you can do for your teen. It teaches them: responsibility, the value of money and the satisfaction of a job well done.
  • Don't buy a teen a car.

Comments  

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on 3/25/2009 What excellent suggestions -- i printed it for my son -- chcek out my articles about looking for jobs -- http://www.ehow.com/how_4835237_job-internship-high-school-students.html -- maybe it would help as a pre-your article article.

Flag This Comment

on 10/8/2008 very wise suggestions

Flag This Comment

on 10/8/2008 What a super article on raising teens to be responsible working adults ! Sounds like you were raised "right" !

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