OT: Paying Kids For Grades in HS

[temeculaguy]

Padre, I know it’s late in the thread, but I have been mulling over your comment because it hits home for me. My son is nearing 16, a little background, he is straight A kid and a multi sport athlete. I worked from the day I turned 16 to the present, never even had a week between jobs, but I find it hard to compare my life to his. He goes to school an hour before school for sports and stays three hours after school for sports (some semesters he is in two sports and always in ap classes), he gets no summer, school ended yesterday and football starts monday, goes all summer, with only a couple of weeks alloted for family vacations in the middle, even those are in jepordy because he is taking ap accelerated courses during that time. As that sport ends, the next begins, and so on. I know the merits of a job, I had one as a teenager but I didn’t have his schedule, high school sports didn’t seem as demanding in my day, nor did the classes, the kid loves it, I can’t see taking him out of it just to work when it isn’t about the money but the lesson. I have no delusions that he will become a professional athlete, it is merely a hobby, but I don’t see where he can fit in a job with his schedule (he is out of the house 12 hours and then does homework, showers, eats and goes to bed) and I fear the grades will suffer or he will quit sports if he gets a job. I paid for my car and social life with my earnings at his age, I am faced with either depriving him of a car and a social life or funding it myself, which isn’t a problem it’s just the missed financial lessons that a job brings. I am really not sure what to do. It’s quite the pickle, on one hand he has one hell of a work ethic (grades and six pack abs to prove it) but on the other hand he is missing out on basic econmics by not working. I have an older paid off car I was going to give him, more for me than him, I’m sick of driving him, but then I worry that I will be jipping him, I wasn’t given a car when I turned 16, I got a job, then bought one at some point. It’s so easy to parent until you actually have to.

I think Mark Twain said something like this once “when I was 23, my dad was an idiot, I could barely stand to listen to him. When I was 30, he was a genius, it is amazing how much he learned in seven years.”

[scaredyclassic]

i think probably the financial lessons are overrated. I never quite figured out how to wash dishes growing up, but miraculously, i wash them now. I was irresponsible with money at times, screed up, and guess what, I’m responsible now. I doubt the artificialness of going to a job with minimal expenses is any sort of real preparation for life. Probably a kid in great shape witha decent mind is in much better condition for the general complexities of life than a kid who worked a crappy job and balanced a checkbook to save up for certain expenses. I don’t think that lesson is truly meaningful, or at least not nearly as meaningful as living and figuring things out on your own for real.

[scaredyclassic]

i think probably the financial lessons are overrated. I never quite figured out how to wash dishes growing up, but miraculously, i wash them now. I was irresponsible with money at times, screed up, and guess what, I’m responsible now. I doubt the artificialness of going to a job with minimal expenses is any sort of real preparation for life. Probably a kid in great shape witha decent mind is in much better condition for the general complexities of life than a kid who worked a crappy job and balanced a checkbook to save up for certain expenses. I don’t think that lesson is truly meaningful, or at least not nearly as meaningful as living and figuring things out on your own for real.

[scaredyclassic]

i think probably the financial lessons are overrated. I never quite figured out how to wash dishes growing up, but miraculously, i wash them now. I was irresponsible with money at times, screed up, and guess what, I’m responsible now. I doubt the artificialness of going to a job with minimal expenses is any sort of real preparation for life. Probably a kid in great shape witha decent mind is in much better condition for the general complexities of life than a kid who worked a crappy job and balanced a checkbook to save up for certain expenses. I don’t think that lesson is truly meaningful, or at least not nearly as meaningful as living and figuring things out on your own for real.

[scaredyclassic]

i think probably the financial lessons are overrated. I never quite figured out how to wash dishes growing up, but miraculously, i wash them now. I was irresponsible with money at times, screed up, and guess what, I’m responsible now. I doubt the artificialness of going to a job with minimal expenses is any sort of real preparation for life. Probably a kid in great shape witha decent mind is in much better condition for the general complexities of life than a kid who worked a crappy job and balanced a checkbook to save up for certain expenses. I don’t think that lesson is truly meaningful, or at least not nearly as meaningful as living and figuring things out on your own for real.

[scaredyclassic]

i think probably the financial lessons are overrated. I never quite figured out how to wash dishes growing up, but miraculously, i wash them now. I was irresponsible with money at times, screed up, and guess what, I’m responsible now. I doubt the artificialness of going to a job with minimal expenses is any sort of real preparation for life. Probably a kid in great shape witha decent mind is in much better condition for the general complexities of life than a kid who worked a crappy job and balanced a checkbook to save up for certain expenses. I don’t think that lesson is truly meaningful, or at least not nearly as meaningful as living and figuring things out on your own for real.

[scaredyclassic]

kid was homeschooled almost whole life.

not practical to continue right now.

he is very strong and athletic (longtime participation in sports not connected with school) and probably could compete if he were sufficiently motivated to practice.

would much prefer he do that than work. Whatever happened tot he theory, dang, you have your whole life to work at some grinding nightmare job, why spoil youth with it? that’s what i remmeber the prevailing view was back in my time. i guess we were spoiled and rich.

[scaredyclassic]

kid was homeschooled almost whole life.

not practical to continue right now.

he is very strong and athletic (longtime participation in sports not connected with school) and probably could compete if he were sufficiently motivated to practice.

would much prefer he do that than work. Whatever happened tot he theory, dang, you have your whole life to work at some grinding nightmare job, why spoil youth with it? that’s what i remmeber the prevailing view was back in my time. i guess we were spoiled and rich.

[scaredyclassic]

kid was homeschooled almost whole life.

not practical to continue right now.

he is very strong and athletic (longtime participation in sports not connected with school) and probably could compete if he were sufficiently motivated to practice.

would much prefer he do that than work. Whatever happened tot he theory, dang, you have your whole life to work at some grinding nightmare job, why spoil youth with it? that’s what i remmeber the prevailing view was back in my time. i guess we were spoiled and rich.

[scaredyclassic]

kid was homeschooled almost whole life.

not practical to continue right now.

he is very strong and athletic (longtime participation in sports not connected with school) and probably could compete if he were sufficiently motivated to practice.

would much prefer he do that than work. Whatever happened tot he theory, dang, you have your whole life to work at some grinding nightmare job, why spoil youth with it? that’s what i remmeber the prevailing view was back in my time. i guess we were spoiled and rich.

[scaredyclassic]

kid was homeschooled almost whole life.

not practical to continue right now.

he is very strong and athletic (longtime participation in sports not connected with school) and probably could compete if he were sufficiently motivated to practice.

would much prefer he do that than work. Whatever happened tot he theory, dang, you have your whole life to work at some grinding nightmare job, why spoil youth with it? that’s what i remmeber the prevailing view was back in my time. i guess we were spoiled and rich.

[scaredyclassic]

being athletic is more than a hobby an dbeing strong and fit an d physically confident is far more important than anything one could possibly learn in high school.

the way you treat your body determines a large part of the remainder of your life.

[scaredyclassic]

being athletic is more than a hobby an dbeing strong and fit an d physically confident is far more important than anything one could possibly learn in high school.

the way you treat your body determines a large part of the remainder of your life.

[scaredyclassic]

being athletic is more than a hobby an dbeing strong and fit an d physically confident is far more important than anything one could possibly learn in high school.

the way you treat your body determines a large part of the remainder of your life.

[scaredyclassic]

being athletic is more than a hobby an dbeing strong and fit an d physically confident is far more important than anything one could possibly learn in high school.

the way you treat your body determines a large part of the remainder of your life.

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