psiluvu
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,217 
Location: Canada's Capital
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Post by psiluvu on Aug 30, 2017 2:08:19 GMT
I'm surprised so many of your kids have jobs! I don't know anyone around here who have teenagers who work. I hope when she is 16 she'll be able to find a part-time job. She does theatre 3 - 6 days a week. So that makes getting a job rough. I give her some work to do from my job but it's not consistent. I think I"ll start with $60 and see how that goes... as many have pointed out it is easier to raise it than lower it. Thanks for your insight. I love all the different view points from the peas. I have to admit when I first ready the OP I was thinking $125.00 holy heck why doesn't the kid have a job. Thinking that that should be an obvious solution. Never crossed my mind that high school kids wouldn't work. DD and I were just talking about a friend of hers who is 18 starting university is having a hard time finding a job because she doesn't have anything on her resume and is no longer eligible for student minimum age. Most high school kids have jobs here even if they are athletes or involved in the arts. I like your idea of starting with a smaller amount and going from there. |
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Aug 30, 2017 2:26:27 GMT
I'm surprised so many of your kids have jobs! I don't know anyone around here who have teenagers who work. I hope when she is 16 she'll be able to find a part-time job. She does theatre 3 - 6 days a week. So that makes getting a job rough. I give her some work to do from my job but it's not consistent. I think I"ll start with $60 and see how that goes... as many have pointed out it is easier to raise it than lower it. Thanks for your insight. I love all the different view points from the peas. I have to admit when I first ready the OP I was thinking $125.00 holy heck why doesn't the kid have a job. Thinking that that should be an obvious solution. Never crossed my mind that high school kids wouldn't work. DD and I were just talking about a friend of hers who is 18 starting university is having a hard time finding a job because she doesn't have anything on her resume and is no longer eligible for student minimum age. Most high school kids have jobs here even if they are athletes or involved in the arts. I like your idea of starting with a smaller amount and going from there. We live in an area with pretty high unemployment. There are not a lot of opportunities for teens to work.. the legal age to work is 16. So while many kids get jobs during the summer here not until they are in upper grades. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 30, 2017 2:31:20 GMT
I would start lower than that. If you give her all that she needs, she will never learn to budget. I would start with $50/month, but I would also put money on her Lunch card for school and not tie that into the budget - probably enough for 10 times per month. If the $50 really isn't enough, you can revisit later, but if you start at $125, you can never go back. We are talking about a HS freshman, so it's not like she is driving and needs gas money. Thanks. I don't even know how the whole lunch thing works she has never been at a school with a cafeteria or a proper gym for that matter. SO new to me! I missed the part where this was supposed to be covering her lunches as well. At our schools the kids have a lunch account. We put money into it monthly but some people do it more or less often. My kids eat school lunch every day. They do have the option for extras and the school has various options for allowing this (or not). We have had problems with them abusing this so right now we have it set up with the lunch account that they can have one extra item on fridays (they can have the "better" school lunch option any day, but a la carts items like cookies or ice cream or more of the entree are only on fridays). I would put the lunch money in the account at school and give her a smaller amount for her spending money. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 30, 2017 2:34:25 GMT
I'm surprised so many of your kids have jobs! I don't know anyone around here who have teenagers who work. I hope when she is 16 she'll be able to find a part-time job. She does theatre 3 - 6 days a week. So that makes getting a job rough. I give her some work to do from my job but it's not consistent. I think I"ll start with $60 and see how that goes... as many have pointed out it is easier to raise it than lower it. Thanks for your insight. I love all the different view points from the peas. I have to admit when I first ready the OP I was thinking $125.00 holy heck why doesn't the kid have a job. Thinking that that should be an obvious solution. Never crossed my mind that high school kids wouldn't work. DD and I were just talking about a friend of hers who is 18 starting university is having a hard time finding a job because she doesn't have anything on her resume and is no longer eligible for student minimum age. Most high school kids have jobs here even if they are athletes or involved in the arts. I like your idea of starting with a smaller amount and going from there. Our area does have a lot of jobs available (most employers are saying that they can't find enough employees) but not a lot of jobs that will hire kids under 16. |
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 30, 2017 3:44:10 GMT
I'm surprised so many of your kids have jobs! I don't know anyone around here who have teenagers who work. I hope when she is 16 she'll be able to find a part-time job. She does theatre 3 - 6 days a week. So that makes getting a job rough. I give her some work to do from my job but it's not consistent. I think I"ll start with $60 and see how that goes... as many have pointed out it is easier to raise it than lower it. Thanks for your insight. I don't remember the specifics, but did remember that your DD does theatre. My DD went to a performing arts HS and there was no way she could have worked. Some theatre kids did, but their parts were small and they were often cut from a scene (especially crowd scenes) if they weren't there when the scene was initially blocked. For us, we decided that she has her entire life to work. She wanted to do theatre and earned her spot in the program. Luckily, we were in a position to make that happen and she didn't need to work for gas money or car payments. Which is why she was always feeding someone or giving them rides home--a sort of pay-it-forward for her. She didn't have to work, but I didn't want her feeling entitled or be a brat about money. |
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Post by mom2jnk on Aug 30, 2017 3:47:04 GMT
I love all the different view points from the peas. I have to admit when I first ready the OP I was thinking $125.00 holy heck why doesn't the kid have a job. Thinking that that should be an obvious solution. Never crossed my mind that high school kids wouldn't work. DD and I were just talking about a friend of hers who is 18 starting university is having a hard time finding a job because she doesn't have anything on her resume and is no longer eligible for student minimum age. Most high school kids have jobs here even if they are athletes or involved in the arts. I like your idea of starting with a smaller amount and going from there. We live in an area with pretty high unemployment. There are not a lot of opportunities for teens to work.. the legal age to work is 16. So while many kids get jobs during the summer here not until they are in upper grades. We don't give our kids an allowance. They have always been responsible for earning their spending money. DDalmost17 and a high school junior has not ever had a "real job," but has earned money by babysitting kids in our neighborhood, pet sitting/dog walking, watering/bringing in mail for neighbors on vacation, mucking out stalls at the barn she rides at, giving beginning piano lessons to little ones, being a counselor at horse camp for little kids, etc. DS18, HS senior, has mowed tons of lawns, detasseled corn, walked soybeans, split firewood, raked leaves, pet sitting, helped with landscape projects, and spread lots and lots of mulch. So, no "real part time jobs" but they found opportunities while participating in music, sports, and other extracurriculars. Sometimes you just have to get creative in finding work, but the experience is good for them. They have both learned very valuable money management lessons by spending their own hard earned money.
I agree with the others that have encouraged you to start with a much lower allowance amount. Many more life lessons will come from trying to balance that small amount  .
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PaperAngel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,365
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Aug 30, 2017 5:00:09 GMT
...I don't even know how the whole lunch thing works she has never been at a school with a cafeteria or a proper gym for that matter. SO new to me! Given this information, combined with your recent posts about testing/accommodations/friends, I suggest waiting until after this school year (ie summer 2018) to start the allowance. This would give her an opportunity to navigate/transition to high school - new campus, routine, academic rigor, classmates, social situations, etc. Simultaneously learning to manage money may prove overwhelming & lead to frustration, self-doubt, etc. A summer start allows her more time to focus on personal finance & develop positive budgeting habits that she could employ during the following school year & feel more successful. Delaying also enables you to track her spending this year, so your amount of allowance & expectations are reasonable & the lesson effective. Best wishes to your daughter for a great school year! ETA: Beware there may be transaction fees applied to online payments to school lunch accounts. |
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Post by darkangel090260 on Aug 30, 2017 6:23:07 GMT
Wow. My kids would think most of you are God's. No allowance, by 13 doing some type of work. When I was 15 I had my own place and adult bills.
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,057
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Post by AllieC on Aug 30, 2017 8:04:43 GMT
Interesting reading about teens who work/don't work. It is very uncommon for teens here not to work. In most states they can start working at 15 and most kids get jobs then. I also live in an area of high unemployment but I've never known a teen that couldn't get a job. I know the job market is very different here with how wages etc work so it is another thing that is very different from country to country.
Most work in supermarkets, retail stores, fast food restaurants etc and are used to having teens so work around sporting commitments and the like. My daughter worked for 10 hours a week as soon as she turned 15 and then found it quite easy to get a nearly full time restaurant job when she took a gap year. She knows of only a couple of friends who didn't work while at high school and now they have gone away to university they can't get a job because they have no experience.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 18:33:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2017 11:14:24 GMT
My daughter has worked since she was 13 years old. So has always earned over $50 per week. In the last year, she saved up $12000 to help pay for her study abroad. Most high schoolers in New Zealand work. As parents we believe it allows them to learn time management and the value of a dollar. My DD is highly incentivised to not be a minimum wage earning adult after her experience of working in a pizza shop and stacking boxes in a warehouse. So, I've never given her any pocket money/allowance. Before she got her job, we paid for everything. I asked around a few ladies in my office, but all the teens work and don't get any allowance. Parents pay for necessary things such as school uniform and bus passes and kids pay for things like going to the movies or buying a car. This. In the Netherlands, kids start working at around 13 (even if it's just newspaper rounds. A newspaper round is an hour or two a week -that doesn't interfere with school). I pay for my 18 year olds health insurance. I pay for his school books and uniform and sometimes I help with big purchases (shoes, coats). For everything else, he pays by waiting tables on friday evening and saturday. |
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Post by melanell on Aug 30, 2017 12:04:26 GMT
When I was young, a kid could get a newspaper route after school, but now, almost all of the local papers are now delivered only in the morning or in the case of weeklies, by mail, removing it as an after school job option.
Papers & babysitting were pretty much it for younger teens unless they lived on/near a farm and could do something there.
Older teens definitely work, but new high school students are only 13 or 14 years old, and opportunities at local businesses for those ages are not available yet.
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psiluvu
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,217
Location: Canada's Capital
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Post by psiluvu on Aug 30, 2017 12:52:25 GMT
Continuing on the work tangent, as mentioned before most kids work here. My ds who is 14 has been umping baseball for two years, In the winter he timekeeps for hockey. This summer he volunteered at a summer camp and was offered a paying position for next summer when he is 15. He also plays competitive baseball, football and house league hockey. He has shovelled snow for years for neighbors.
DD (17) who is currently unemployed as she is leaving for school on Sunday has also timept for hockey, worked in a bowling alley where she started as a pin girl at 15 and then moved up to assistant manager at 17. She has been a summer camp counsellor for the past 5 years (3 paid, 2 volunteer). She has also played high level competitive hockey.
For the kids that don't work what do they put on scholarship applications? DD has been the lucky recipient of several scholarships and bursaries and most applications want a resume and an explanation of how working, athletics/arts and academics have impacted your life.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 30, 2017 13:12:08 GMT
Continuing on the work tangent, as mentioned before most kids work here. My ds who is 14 has been umping baseball for two years, In the winter he timekeeps for hockey. This summer he volunteered at a summer camp and was offered a paying position for next summer when he is 15. He also plays competitive baseball, football and house league hockey. He has shovelled snow for years for neighbors. DD (17) who is currently unemployed as she is leaving for school on Sunday has also timept for hockey, worked in a bowling alley where she started as a pin girl at 15 and then moved up to assistant manager at 17. She has been a summer camp counsellor for the past 5 years (3 paid, 2 volunteer). She has also played high level competitive hockey. For the kids that don't work what do they put on scholarship applications? DD has been the lucky recipient of several scholarships and bursaries and most applications want a resume and an explanation of how working, athletics/arts and academics have impacted your life. I'm sure there are some peas who have older kids who do not work, although what I have seen people talking about on this thread are kids who are high school freshman, so I would guess most don't work yet but will. I started babysitting when I was in 7th grade. I detasseled corn when I was 14 and 15 and started working at a fast food restaurant when I was 14. I got a full time job at a packing plant at the end of my senior year (when I turned 18). Since we have lived in MN, I've always been told by others that most places won't hire until the kids are 16. But DS just told me last night that a friend of his is working at the grocery store (friend is either 14 or 15). I don't think DS needs to get a job at this point, but I do think he will start getting a feel for what is available in the next year. He is in sports so time after school is limited right now. We also live in a town that is considered to be a "bedroom community" with not a lot of businesses for the size. So the amount of opportunities for him that he could bike to are small. |
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Aug 30, 2017 13:43:28 GMT
Continuing on the work tangent, as mentioned before most kids work here. My ds who is 14 has been umping baseball for two years, In the winter he timekeeps for hockey. This summer he volunteered at a summer camp and was offered a paying position for next summer when he is 15. He also plays competitive baseball, football and house league hockey. He has shovelled snow for years for neighbors. DD (17) who is currently unemployed as she is leaving for school on Sunday has also timept for hockey, worked in a bowling alley where she started as a pin girl at 15 and then moved up to assistant manager at 17. She has been a summer camp counsellor for the past 5 years (3 paid, 2 volunteer). She has also played high level competitive hockey. For the kids that don't work what do they put on scholarship applications? DD has been the lucky recipient of several scholarships and bursaries and most applications want a resume and an explanation of how working, athletics/arts and academics have impacted your life. I assume as my daughter gets older she will get a job. Right now she does a lot of volunteering. She "interns" at theatre camp in the summer and when she is with her Dad she volunteers at the Montessori school she attended. She has also stage managed shows for younger kids. She went to a middle school with no theatre program, so she and a friend raised $500 to put on a show they paid for the rights, produced, directed, cast, did props and set designs, costumes etc for the show, hired a hall to put it on and made a $200 profit. (which went to the school's arts program not to them! I guess there are some kids out there who do nothing. My kid isn't one of them. Theatre doesn't have the same paid opportunities that it seems like sports do. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 30, 2017 14:03:38 GMT
I would think unless you live out in the middle of nowhere, there would always be some kind of opportunity for a kid that age if they really looked and put themselves out there. Babysitting, lawn mowing, snow shoveling, yard work, garden cleanup, pet sitting, dog walking etc. I can't tell you how many posts popped up this summer on our local nextdoor group for kids seeking work doing these very things right in our neighborhood, and pretty much all of them got replies. There were also quite a few posts from people seeking teenage occasional help for this kind of stuff. For those with limited tradional opportunities, I'd suggest looking to see if your neighborhood has a nextdoor group you can join and see what people are asking for help with and have the kid go from there. ETA: LOL, my DD's 8 yo friend down the block got a job picking up dog poop in his neighbor's yard! He earns $2 for the front and $2 for the back yard every day that he does it. His mom said he's banked quite a bit of money over the summer from doing this!  |
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