The world is changing

[razztazz]

Political, eh? I have always found it quite hysterical that the "evil commies" I was taught to fear growing up and the, I'll call them Good Solid right thinking Americans, of which I was told I should be proud to be one thereof, had this central religious tenet (turning up the heat here just to be a bad boy) of extolling the virtues of useless work and work for work's sake. The purpose both seemed to have was some sort of mass control and moral self-aggrandizement. They both had serious "head issues."

Now myself, I started mowing lawns as a young boy then worked for an official landscaping outfit chopping trees as an old boy while also working weekends in a suitcase factory and going to high school. So, keep the glass shards to a minimum. I was not a slacker nor a sliver spooner. I just noticed the societal irony.

 

[Which Roger]

How do parents get the money to give their kids? Probably the same way we got the money to retire early. Both are luxuries the previous generation generally couldn't afford.

 

[Ronstar]

I cut lawns during summers, worked at our family's bait and tackle shop summers and weekends, and was the janitor at the village library 4 hrs a week through high school. I had time for high school sports, but didn't save enough for a car. My parents funded my first 2 years of college, my money ran out, and I had to go to work.

And the world is changing. I had summer interns for more than 30 years and it seems like we got less production from the interns as the years went by. They took more days off than they worked.

 

[HFWR]

I know quite a few very industrious millennials, and a fair number of worthless slackers, much like previous generations...

I mowed yards, pitched hay, and such, but a Yorkshireman I was not!

 

[Hermit]

Colorado's minimum wage will raise to slowly to $12/hr in 2020. I don't think there will be many kids working in places like fast food or bagging groceries in this state in future years.

 

[aja8888]

I mowed yards, pitched hay, and such, but a Yorkshireman I was not!

I swear my father was one of the original Yorkshiremen. And I did all the jobs mentioned above and also did a stint on a garbage truck for a summer.

 

[Fedup]

My kids had no chores, they focused mostly on school and ECs. My husband and I never had chores when we were their age, so we didn't think it was a character building. But one kid did have a part time job in high school, I think that job let to her passion, college major, and current business.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Last winter, back when we had snow, a strapping young high schooler knocked on my door and asked if I would like him to shovel my driveway. Sure, I said. I forget what he asked for but I recall thinking it wasn't much.

But with all the extracurricular activities these days and the kids trying to fill out an impressive "resume" for the college application, when would they find the time to mow yards?

 

[Fedup]

One of my kid's didn't go to sleep until 2-3 am everyday and she didn't have impressive ECs. She found college much easier, despite having high GPA and a part time job, graduating within 4 years with no summer school. I swear the teachers pack the schedule in high school.

 

[EastWest Gal]

My son was also way too busy in high school, between classes, marching band, and the musical. In college, he also had a packed schedule because he tooled 3-6 units over the maximum and took summer classes. He only found time for summer and other jobs the last year. We taught him as we were taught that school was his full time job but he should do some of the chores second. He's working two part time jobs 6-7 days/week, snowboards 2 days a week, plays in two bands, while applying for teaching jobs. Compared to high school and college he doesn't feel busy at all! He takes care of the lawn 100% and helps with a some chores, in return for living at home and saving money. My husband didn't have indoor chores growing up. Now he can't/won't cook anything except scrambled eggs. DS knows how to cook. Knowing how to take care of yourself is important.

 

[Fedup]

I don't worry about cooking. When I first got married I barely knew how to cook except grilled steak and baked potato. Now I can cook, it's all about following recipes. No brainer really. My second kid also doesn't know how to cook either, she can do eggs and pulled pork with BBQ sauce and that's it. . I told her, she will learn how to cook.

 

[dixonge]

My Mom had chores growing up, mostly helping her brothers and sisters and Mom and Dad pick cotton. Then her Mom had to basically steal and hide as much of the pay as she could before Dad drank and gambled it all away. In comparison, my childhood chores and paying jobs were pretty tame.

 

[zedd]

Dialog from the movie "Raising Arizona"

[an old convict and H.I. lying on their prison bunks, passing the time]
Ear-Bending Cellmate: ...and when there was no meat, we ate fowl and when there was no fowl, we ate crawdad and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.
H.I.: You ate what?
Ear-Bending Cellmate: We ate sand.
[pause]
H.I.: You ate SAND?
Ear-Bending Cellmate: That's right!

 

[Nemo2]

Dialog from the movie "Raising Arizona"

[an old convict and H.I. lying on their prison bunks, passing the time]
Ear-Bending Cellmate: ...and when there was no meat, we ate fowl and when there was no fowl, we ate crawdad and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.
H.I.: You ate what?
Ear-Bending Cellmate: We ate sand.
[pause]
H.I.: You ate SAND?
Ear-Bending Cellmate: That's right!

We were lucky to get sand for Christmas Dinner when I was a boy.

 

[MichaelB]

You had Christmas? And dinner? Luxury!

 

[Gumby]

We had to grind our own sand from large granite boulders.

 

[braumeister]

Our boulders were made of corundum. Granite would have been easy to grind.

 

[zedd]

I swear my father was one of the original Yorkshiremen. And I did all the jobs mentioned above and also did a stint on a garbage truck for a summer.

Me too. Back then I had an awesome beer can collection compiled from our rounds. I think I sold it for something like twenty-five cents a pound.

 

[iloveyoga]

When I was growing up, in my family, if you wanted money for anything extra, you worked. It was simple. Times change with each generation. My grandkids don't work much at all, but they are all great kids involved in many activities.

 

[Aerides]

Counter point:

My niece is going to need a far higher GPA and SAT score to even get admitted to her choice of state school, than I ever did. The requirements to get into college are far more competitive.

I would not have even been accepted today, so yeah maybe that part time job would not have been a good idea.

That said, there's always been some kids with everything handed to them, not unique to the current generation. I knew plenty of kids growing up saving for a car, and just as many with one sitting in the driveway for them when they turned 16.

 

[Music Lover]

Don't you think it is the responsibility of every parent to loan their child $1,000,000 so they can start a business ?

The ones who get a loan from their parents and then use that money as a stepping stone to make something of themselves are not the problem by any stretch of the imagination. It's the ones who grow up thinking that society "owes" them something for nothing who are the real problem.

 

[Philliefan33]

As parents, don't we want things to be better for our children than they were for us? That doesn't mean giving in to every request, but why make your kids do without all the time just so you can prove a point?

Our two girls had everything they needed and a lot of things they wanted. Not everything they wanted. We still managed to save enough to FIRE comfortably, they managed to fit in some part time jobs when they wanted to buy things that we wouldn't give to them. If we had lived like paupers when we had the means to live a comfortable life, what message would that send to them? We like counting piles of money more than we care to spend it on you?

 

[Nodak]

Things have changed indeed. When I was in school there was a small parking lot for the teachers. There were maybe 3 students that had old cars but they didn't drive to school; most out of town kids rode the school bus. I went by the school yesterday and there are now 3 large parking lots filled with relatively new vehicles and there are fewer students now.

 

[imoldernu]

Back in the 'thirties... when I was growing up we didn't have....

Uh... oh wait... gotta go... scheduled play date... then birthday party at Chucky Cheese....

 

[NanoSour]

This thread strikes a nerve as we have 3 teenagers (8th, 9th, 12th grade) and none has had a job...yet. Although DD (the oldest) has been actively looking since fall X-C ended with no luck. Apparently, she missed the holiday hiring window.

My youth employment started at age 11 as a caddie at an "exclusive" country club. Followed by; paper route, dishwasher, and busboy all through HS.

I do feel some guilt over not pushing my kids to work, but I do enjoy 3 straight A students and dinners every night at the dinner table. Also, I wonder what effect being ER'd has on them as they don't see dad heading off to work every day.

As a side note wrt all the ECs required for college, we just finished the college application process with DD and she got accepted to all 12 colleges she applied to. IMHO her ECs were not particularly strong (no work and only 3 years of JV X-C for HS sports) yet she got accepted to 3 "highly" selective colleges and 3 state flagships. So anecdotally, ECs are not quite as important as I once thought.