Should Teens Take After-School Jobs? Things Parents Should Know

Pros of afterschool jobs for teens

• Ability to handle stress

At first, handling a job can be difficult for a teen. This is a good thing since venturing into a new environment involves some stress. The skills acquired in this first experience will come in handy in the future. Your kid will also have some experience in dealing with the emotional stress that work brings along.

• Time management

Teenagers are always partying and hanging out with peers. When your teen realizes that she has to miss a hangout or party it is a clue that she is planning her priorities in the right way. Learning this skill at an early age enables them to adapt fast in the work environment in the future.

• People Interaction skills

Your teen gets to learn how to deal with an unsatisfied customer which is a skill that she can apply in her daily life. Jobs like customer service help teens come out of their shell of interacting with only their classmates or neighbors.

• Improving on weaknesses

After school jobs have helped teens work on their personal weaknesses. If you think that your kid is rebellious in school you can just let him try out a job in a fast-food restaurant. Here, he can learn from his mistakes and realize that he is the problem and needs to work on himself. Such experiences help kids mature emotionally and mentally and as a result, assist in making sound judgments.

• Learning from their own mistakes

Messing at work helps your kid understand that actions have consequences. A part-time job can really help your child learn this fact and teach him or her how to take responsibility and dealing with failure.

Cons of part time after school jobs

• Interferes with study time

Working for long hours would greatly impact the grade of your child in school work. Less effort in school work is a culprit of this.

• Block other potential opportunities

A part-time job can hinder your child from participating in other important activities like drama, volunteering or joining a sports team.

• Suspectible to stress

Working for long hours could make your teen feel stressed out. The main objective of having a job is to let your child earn her own money and acquire important life skills. But if she cannot have enough time to spend it having fun, then there is no point in working.

• Be engaged in substance abuse

Extra money in the pockets can make kids make poor choices. They are at risk of engaging in alcohol and substance abuse. The added responsibility can make them stressed and make poor decisions while trying to cope with the stressful situations.

• Have a negative impression of employment

The employer or supervisor might be disorganized and this would create a negative impression on the kid. Some employees can be hard to work with or even bully around your child making it hard for them to cope with the role allocated to them in the work environment. As a consequence, your kid might end up disliking the work or even the whole idea of employment.

What can you do if your kids insist to take an after-school job?

After you learn about the pros and cons of after school jobs for teens, you may already have a decision. However, teens have their own thoughts and sometimes they kids might insist on getting an afterschool job. As a parent, you might not be ready for that and it might come as a surprise. However, you should not worry because this is an opportunity for your child to learn some important life skills. AHere are some of the tips for you to provide guide and protection for your teens.

Plan together with your child

Plan on how the week will be and the daily activities involved. Ensure that he allocates time for doing schoolwork, hanging out with friends and attending to the needs of the newly acquired job

Know when to let them stand on their own

Let them take their own responsibility in the workplace. Your role as a parent is coaching your kid. Prepare them before and after but do not step into the field with them. This means not stepping in to save them if they make a mess or are having a hard time making decisions. Failure is an important experience that leads to maturity.

Opt for summer employment

Just in case you are sitting on the fence in making this decision you can allow your teen to get a summer job. Working in the summer will not interfere with school and will keep your child busy. If he performs the work well then you can allow him to work during school days.

Use FamiSafe to keep them safe

FamiSafe is an application that ensures your kid remains safe at work. This application is your last option if you have ran out of options and feel that your child is not safe both online and offline. All you need to do is download and install it on your mobile and your teenagers’ mobile and register for free. Then you can start a 3-day trial to experience its efficiency. With FamiSafe you get to enjoy the following features:

App blocker

You get to block applications via age range. Some application are not suitable for teenagers. They may have adult content not suitable for their consumption. You can also block applications or websites that are prone to hackers who can access your child’s information and use it in criminal activities.

Location tracking

This feature enables you to track the location of your child in real-time using geofences and alert you when they are in an insecure location.

Detecting inappropriate photos

Get to detect nude photos from porn sites and galleries. This helps you notice porn addiction tendencies or online sexual harassment. You can monitor your kid’s album and check out risky photos downloaded from social media or other websites.

Monitor suspicious text messages

Get to detect inappropriate text messages on social media. Key in keywords that you want detected from your kid’s phone and get instant alerts. You can also connect to your kid’s social media accounts and track the search history, sent or received text messages and a red flag will be raised when cyberbullying or pornographic activities are detected.

In conclusion, many children would want a part-time after school job to earn extra cash for personal use. This is a clear indication of maturity and very normal behavior. Your kid will not be a kid forever and she would want to navigate this life with little monitoring or support from their parents. It is, however, important to come up with ways of addressing them about the potential dangers awaiting them in the real world. As a parent, you should look for ways of keeping your kid safe without making them feel monitored or having a bitter exchange of words due to some disagreements that could have been solved in a less noisy way. You can install the FamiSafe app with the consent of your child having explained to them that their safety is your first priority. For younger kids negotiation is not a guarantee and you can install this app to ensure that they stay safe online and offline.