Teens to adulthood

As the parent of a teenager, we have many decisions to make every day, ranging from approving their clothes and hairstyles to boyfriends and girlfriends. If your child wants a part-time job, however, the decision is easy - let him/her take it.
Part-time jobs are great for teenagers as they teach them responsibility, the value of hard work, and money management skills that they will learn nowhere else but the real world.
My son came back from his semester break last November. From past experienced, I encouraged him to start looking for a part-time job rather that wasting time in front of the TV or computer. I strongly believed that by exposing teenagers to the working world slowly and when they are ready, it will enable us parent, to step out of the way and letting the adult world teach him/her these skills.
Whether it's mowing grass or washing cars for the neighbours, selling merchandises or clearing plates and cutleries in a restaurant, a job is where your teen learns a variety of real life lessons. Learning these lessons will be an experience to them now and when they grow up - learning to handle people of various back grounds and emotional needs.
The important element of doing well at a job is showing up. If your teenager can manage that, consistently and on time, they are ahead of the game. They'll also practise this skill as they works on the tasks required by the job - to do them consistently and accurately. Most part-time jobs also require repetitive tasks or manual labour - neither of which is a lot of fun.
On the job, teenager also learn about money, saving, credit and other financial subjects. They will need this information as they grows into adulthood, and it's wise to use their own money to help them learn.
While it can be difficult at first to let our child work, remember that part of our job as a parent is to let go when necessary.
A part time job is a great way to practise sending our young adult out into the world, while we're still around to help them work through their mistake.
I thank God that my son learns to give a small token of his wages to his grandparents when he came back with his earnings. Eventhough the sum may be small, I believed the spirit of generority is activated, as the book of Galatians teaches us to be generous.