How to Cope with Your Child's First Job
By Vic Coelho
Do you have a child about to begin his or her first job? If so, you may be at a loss for ways to keep your child
interested in the job long enough to see it through. This is the problem my wife and I faced for the first time with
Michael, our 11 year old son.
One day last May, when my wife arrived to pick him up from school, he jumped into the car and proudly proclaimed
he landed his first real job. He could hardly hold his excitement as he recounted the events leading to the job offer.
As I understand from what he told his mother, his fifth grade teacher, Miss Avila, needed someone to water her lawn
twice each week over the summer months. My son overheard her ask one of the eighth grade boys if he would be
interested in a summer job. The young man quickly thought the offer over and then declined.
Michael, not one to let the knuckle of opportunity knock more than once, quickly thrust his hand in the air and
volunteered. And thus, my son became a wage earner agreeing on the following terms: for $2.50 per hour, Michael
would water her lawn for one hour on Tuesdays and Fridays after school. Miss Avila kindly added cookies and milk
to the deal whenever my son was waiting to move the sprinkler.
The first week went well. Michael showed up on time and performed his duties as agreed. On the second week, he
began to slip: a classmate arrived with him "to help" water the lawn. Apparently, this "help" was substantial because
it took only forty-five minutes to do the job. To boot, he had an additional fifteen minutes to play with his friend and
still get paid for a full hour. What better working conditions could Michael ask for? Why he had it "made in the
shade"!
Upon learning of this, my wife impressed upon him that he was not to bring his friends to work with him. She stressed
that he was not being paid to play on the job and that he was to give a full hour's work for an hour's pay.
When I arrived home from work, my wife advised me of these events. I called Michael to my side and asked him if
what I heard was true.
With downcast eyes, he said, "Yes dad, I did."
I responded, "O.K. Michael, you know what we have to do, don't you?"
"What, dad?"
"We have to go back to Miss Avila's house so that you can finish your work the right way."
Michael: "Aw! Do we have to?
"Yes, son. Let's go."
We returned. After on-half hour, his work was completed and the matter was closed.
During the third week, the excitement of having a paying job wore off and Michael became bored. He considered
quitting and expressed his feelings to his mother.
At that point she responded, "Michael, you can't expect work to be fun and exciting all of the time. Don't you
remember why you wanted that job?"
His eyes were fixed on the floor when he muttered, "I think so."
She went on, "You took the job so that you could have more money than you would get in an allowance from us each
week. Right?"
His agreement with her was grudging, "Right."
"Look at it this way, Mike: you are getting $2.50 each time you water Miss. Avila's lawn. That's $5.00 per week,
$20.00 a month. Why by the end of summer, you will have earned at least $60.00."
His eyes brightened.
She continued, "It looks pretty good, doesn't it?"
He nodded his head in agreement, "And I earned it myself, without asking for money from you or dad."
That little session didn't completely end his boredom, but it eased his desire to quit. I have to admit that an
unexpected $9.00 tip from Miss Avila pumped up his enthusiasm again.
With his walled bulging with cash (at least it seemed that way to him) he spent $3.50 for a toy while shopping with his
mother. When they arrived home, he had a pensive look on his face. My wife asked him why.
He regretted buying the toy on impulse! After he had the toy at home a few minutes, he realized he didn't really care
for it as much as he first thought. Because he earned the money, it had greater value to him then when his income
was from an allowance. He learned a valuable lesson: think carefully before spending your hard-earned dough.
That week, he asked his mother to help him open up a savings account at our bank. He subsequently saved about
sixty per-cent of his earnings.
About one and a half months into his job, he realized his good fortune. Michael became aware that most of his
classmates didn't have a summer job. He knew that if he gave up the job, it would be snapped up in a minute.
By early September, Michael entered the sixth grade knowing the grass was not growing as fast as it was and that his
work would soon end. His job had become valuable to him and he no longer wanted to let it go. It was then he
started talking about expanding his job skills for next year by offering weed pulling and yard cleaning to supplement
his lawn watering service!
He has already asked Miss Avila for next year's work. He is looking forward to adding a couple more clients.
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