Seven Benefits of Your Teen Getting a Summer Job

If there’s one thing every teen wants, it’s a little extra spending money. Without a doubt, a summer job has a big financial advantage for your teen, but here are seven other benefits:

1. Earning money boosts your teen’s independence. A summer job helps your teen grow from a child who is completely reliant on you into a young adult capable of starting to support himself. With an income, your teen can start becoming a little more self-sufficient, saving for things she wants. That gives her a feel for independence from you and your pocketbook.
2. Work instills a sense of pride. Extra spending money will give your teen a little more freedom, but it also fosters your teen’s sense of self-worth and self-respect. No longer does he need to ask you for money every time he wants to make a purchase. He’ll feel empowered and proud of his hard work and growing bank account.
3. Your teen will gain life skills. Filling out job applications, learning to make a strong impression in an interview, working with customers and dealing with different management styles—these are real-world tasks and skills. Your teen might not realize how much that summer job is actually preparing him for scenarios he will face in life.
4. A job teaches responsibility. By its very nature, a job requires your teen to be accountable by showing up somewhere on time, being dependable, fulfilling job duties and striving to do a job well. Teens who earn money also realize its value and begin to understand what it takes to accumulate those paychecks.
5. Work nurtures your teen’s fiscal responsibility. Learning to save and manage money are important lessons your teen learns from working. Your teen might even choose to invest some money into a certificate of deposit or high-interest savings account, which cultivates good habits for adulthood.
6. Working will help your teen learn to manage his time. If your teen wants to maintain his social life, put some effort toward college applications and also get a part-time job over summer, he’ll need to learn to prioritize his activities. That requires good time management and learning about a healthy work-life balance.
7. Your teen will be exposed to different fields. Some jobs might spark a passion in your teen—like working at a bookstore, in a hospital or in a hospitality setting. You never know when your teen might discover a possible career path.

There are many advantages to your teen getting a summer job, and best of all, a summer job won’t interfere with school and your teen’s extracurricular and other obligations like an after-school job would. So, let him apply away and explore the options. The commitment will be good for him!