Summer jobs? How to motivate your teen to get one!
There is a reason stereotypes exist; they are created when a large group of similar people show distinct and common behaviours. Stereotypes for teenagers over the summer, are that they become lazy, sleep in, play video games (are they still called that?) and don’t help around the house. The reason this stereotype exists is because we see it far too often around Western society.
The time is now parents. The time to start motivating your teenagers to think about how they are going to spend their six to eight weeks of holidays. There are some of us parents, who have already booked our teens into summer camps involving hot days playing tennis, cricket, swim training or improving their grades. Some of us, have planned family holidays that will be fantastic despite the long car drives and lack of privacy. A few of us even have the luxury of shipping the kids off to the grandparents or to our ex-spouses so that we can spare some needed ‘me’ time for a couple of weeks. But for the rest of us, the idea of a teenager who is more than capable of doing 15 hours in a café is just far too tempting to suggest.
Once upon a time, teenagers were the most hardworking members of society. Our dads certainly didn’t have the luxury of doing nothing every holiday. Papers had to be delivered each morning, milk was to be collected and the neighbour’s lawns needed to be mowed. Now, with the absence of said lawns and the rise of the Internet and social media, these jobs seem to be somewhat absent and therefore are less in our forward views.
A lot has changed one may argue. So as parents of this demographic, it is our job to MOTIVATE. It’s a tricky word, and one some of us find extremely difficult to practice in our own lives, but it can pay off immensely. Part-time summer jobs mean they can save money, not only for the movies with their friends but for their dream car when they get their red Ps at 17 years old. A small bit of money can go a long way.
So how to get started?
Give them tasks around the house. Taking out the rubbish, setting the table, clearing the table, unpacking the dishwasher. These may seem obvious but to some they just aren’t done. And don’t punish them every time it isn’t done. Teenagers can be forgetful sometimes. A helpful reminder (in a kind voice) can go a long way and save an argument or three.
Provide your teenager with an incentive. In addition to the payment they’ll receive from their job, which may not provide a great improvement in quality of life if they have payments already they need to get rid of, try to give them confidence and guidance with this. It can help provide greater motivation in other parts of their lives and you may well see other things start to happen.
What does your teen like to do? If working in a café or as a minimal wage shop assistant sounds less than ideal for them, think how they can get a job outside of the spectrum. Perhaps they are studious and therefore can be a tutor. Perhaps they excel at sports so can lend a helping hand at sports camp instead of attending. When I was a young teenager I attended a sailing course for a couple weeks and our instructors were teenage boys about four years older than us. They were doing what they loved, being outdoors for most of the holidays while adding another job to their resume. Plus, it gave us young girls a huge incentive to return the following year (dare I say).
Motivating your teenager over the summer holidays can take some thinking outside the box, and it helps if you have an element of flair to your persuasion. But with about a month left of the school year to go, you can’t help starting to think about this now instead of leaving it until the last minute.
Good luck!