Child Labor

[blu]

I absolutely agree with you both; I've actually thought of beginning a family owned business as this would be one of the "pros."

Of course, the con is that you could go broke, as most new busnisses fail.

And, as I've dithered about making lists of pros and cons, my eldest kid is almost 16 (in May).......and I'm pushing him toward joining the Reserves in May 2011.

how old are the other kids? the family owned thing is probably too late for the 16 year old though honestly. reserves is a good choice for income (and free tutition), but your son must be very dedicated if he is planning on doing college at the same time. even just oen weekend away a month can really mess up a semester if you are a full time student. partying/frat boy/etc isn't going to work, the week days are going to have to be fulltime school attention.

I know a few people who did school with me while they were in the reserves and they were insanely dedicated to both to get by. one was so into that he served a year in iraq, had to rebuild his own home after katrina, and still doubled majored in math and computer science at the same time and graduated in in 6 1/2 years.

 

[Samson]

I absolutely agree with you both; I've actually thought of beginning a family owned business as this would be one of the "pros."

Of course, the con is that you could go broke, as most new busnisses fail.

And, as I've dithered about making lists of pros and cons, my eldest kid is almost 16 (in May).......and I'm pushing him toward joining the Reserves in May 2011.

how old are the other kids? the family owned thing is probably too late for the 16 year old though honestly. reserves is a good choice for income (and free tutition), but your son must be very dedicated if he is planning on doing college at the same time. even just oen weekend away a month can really mess up a semester if you are a full time student. partying/frat boy/etc isn't going to work, the week days are going to have to be fulltime school attention.

I know a few people who did school with me while they were in the reserves and they were insanely dedicated to both to get by. one was so into that he served a year in iraq, had to rebuild his own home after katrina, and still doubled majored in math and computer science at the same time and graduated in in 6 1/2 years.

13 and 7.

I don't expect the 7 year old to do much more than a few chores around the house. But the 13 year old WANTS to work, and is very responsible, etc., but cannot get a "Job" until he's 14.

I've tried "hiring" them to do crap....yardwork, cleaning.....just enough so that I'm convinced that you gotta be VERY damn EXTRA patient to hire your own kids to do anything: I'm sure I had a minor stroke supervising their work, as they seem to be either the most dense boys on the planet, or the cleverist.



I'm pretty sure they're not the cleverist.

 

[blu]

I don't expect the 7 year old to do much more than a few chores around the house. But the 13 year old WANTS to work, and is very responsible, etc., but cannot get a "Job" until he's 14.

I've tried "hiring" them to do crap....yardwork, cleaning.....just enough so that I'm convinced that you gotta be VERY damn EXTRA patient to hire your own kids to do anything: I'm sure I had a minor stroke supervising their work, as they seem to be either the most dense boys on the planet, or the cleverist.

some things that might help with that issue (experienced it within my own family).

the first is that you can't be so hands on. you need to give them a task and an amount of time to do it and then come back and check on them. you then need to 'rate' the performance and show them what they missed and if its too bad dock the pay and explain to them what would happen if they did a dismissal performance at a real job. simiarly, over the top well done jobs should get bonuses, just be sure that bonuses don't come too often because then they get into the idea that 'just doing the job' requires extra reward which is just as bad as doing a bad job.

also if your the other parent gets involved it works well if one assigns the task and the other comes and does the evaluation. then have the kid explain what he was supposed to do and by explaining to an unknowning outsider and having any bad pitfalls the kid will hopefully see how ridiculous the bad job was. having to explain things on their own helps them process things much more than just repition of what the original person had told them before. you can also explain to him how 3rd party auditors evaluate things when doing this and showing them how to really impress people unaware of their day to day activities which will help with first impressions such as interviews, college applications with counselors, getting a loan, selling an idea to a client, etc.

 

[uscitizen]

Early suburban LA settlers = People who wanted better lives on farms.

then people made them stop raising livestock cause it was smelly...
And raised their taxes so high they could not afford to live there.

I thought Evul Orange Growers hired them without contracts, then cut their wage, then beat them until Henry Fonda wacked one over the head.

You know my point you 'tard!!!!

As well as you know mine.

I have lived in major and mid sized cities. I prefer the rural life.

 

[Samson]

then people made them stop raising livestock cause it was smelly...
And raised their taxes so high they could not afford to live there.

I thought Evul Orange Growers hired them without contracts, then cut their wage, then beat them until Henry Fonda wacked one over the head.

You know my point you 'tard!!!!

As well as you know mine.

I have lived in major and mid sized cities. I prefer the rural life.

Its not necessarily a preference. I'd LOVE to live in the country. Delilah would HATE it.


heh.....(which is why I'm looking at a second home in Wyoming).

But most American Families don't have a realistic choice.

 

[Claudette]

When I was growing up the kids in the family all had chores to do. My Mom and Dad also owned their own small business. We also worked in the store. I learned responsibilty big time working for my parents. What I learned there has stood me in good sted in my adult life. My dad signed for my sister and I to get a car. It was a raggidy Plymouth, Valiant.

We didn't have the best looking car by the stetch of anyones imaginatioin, but it was ours. We bought and payed for it. Things you earn always mean the most to me. Thats true than and way truer today.

 

[JD_2B]

The reason we have child labor laws is the same reason we have fair wage laws.. To keep employers accountable for the humane treatment of their workers.

I only wish that the big Corporations like Wal Mart, and such, did not buy so much shit from places like China, where there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of sweat shops, where people work for peanuts or are treated like animals.

 

[uscitizen]

The reason we have child labor laws is the same reason we have fair wage laws.. To keep employers accountable for the humane treatment of their workers.

I only wish that the big Corporations like Wal Mart, and such, did not buy so much shit from places like China, where there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of sweat shops, where people work for peanuts or are treated like animals.

We are responsbile for that. Wally would would not buy the chinese stuff if we did not buy it from them.

 

[JD_2B]

I give my kid "privileges" for doing housework, and take privileges away for being lazy.
Also, I pay him cash for his report card. His report card pay schedule works like this:

If he brings his grade up a letter grade, he earns fifty cents for each letter it goes up.
If his grade goes down, he is docked fifty cents for each letter grade he goes down.
He gets 30 dollars for straight A's
The rest goes like this:

Earnings:
A $4
B $2
C $1

Deductions:
D minus $2
F minus $4

With the chores and such, I also count homework as a chore. If he is not doing his homework, he gets grounded for a day. If he lies, he gets grounded for two days. If I have to clean his room, he is also grounded for two days. He can get "time off for good behavior", if he follows the rules of restriction, helps with dishes, floors, dusting, and laundry, etc. This lets me know he is back on track. Or, I will make him be grounded until he has a clean room that smells nice, that friends would enjoy being in.
Being grounded is not fun- no friends, no TV, no computer. My son hates being grounded, and usually straightens up while he is on restriction.

When grounding does not work, I spank his little ass. It is amazing how quickly he whips himself into shape when he is worried about spankings. LOL!! I don't even spank him very hard. Just enough to make my hand feel a little stung. He hates it, though.. lol I just don't want to spoil him.

 

[uscitizen]

Sounds like you are doing a good job there JD.

 

[blu]

I give my kid "privileges" for doing housework, and take privileges away for being lazy.
Also, I pay him cash for his report card. His report card pay schedule works like this:

If he brings his grade up a letter grade, he earns fifty cents for each letter it goes up.
If his grade goes down, he is docked fifty cents for each letter grade he goes down.
He gets 30 dollars for straight A's
The rest goes like this:

Earnings:
A $4
B $2
C $1

Deductions:
D minus $2
F minus $4

With the chores and such, I also count homework as a chore. If he is not doing his homework, he gets grounded for a day. If he lies, he gets grounded for two days. If I have to clean his room, he is also grounded for two days. He can get "time off for good behavior", if he follows the rules of restriction, helps with dishes, floors, dusting, and laundry, etc. This lets me know he is back on track. Or, I will make him be grounded until he has a clean room that smells nice, that friends would enjoy being in.
Being grounded is not fun- no friends, no TV, no computer. My son hates being grounded, and usually straightens up while he is on restriction.

When grounding does not work, I spank his little ass. It is amazing how quickly he whips himself into shape when he is worried about spankings. LOL!! I don't even spank him very hard. Just enough to make my hand feel a little stung. He hates it, though.. lol I just don't want to spoil him.

thats crazy. we have the same system almost 99%. including spankings when it gets out of hand. we work on 'video game points' though instead of money b/c my gf's son is only in second grade and cherishes video game minutes more than money now. it also works as a good limit so that he cant really play more than 45mins a day during the week and only 1 or 2 hours on a full weekend day.

 

[Samson]

We didn't have the best looking car by the stetch of anyones imaginatioin, but it was ours. We bought and payed for it. Things you earn always mean the most to me. Thats true than and way truer today.

Ok here's where I think USCitizen and I agree: Parents Spoil their children, buying them bling, cars, clothes, spending $100's on Prom, Homecoming, Spring Breaks...for christssakes.....my son just asked for some damn new-fangled gadget that has more apps than the last two MP3 players he bought (he broke both). I told him to buy a THIRD freakin' MP3 player for himself, and if that was still working NEXT christmas, we'd consider the I-Pod 5000-whatever-the-hell.

The reason we have child labor laws is the same reason we have fair wage laws.. To keep employers accountable for the humane treatment of their workers.

Yes, OSHA requires that employers take responsibility for training employees in safety and health issues, but I'm saying that 12 year old KIDS can be taught these rules.

I give my kid "privileges" for doing housework, and take privileges away for being lazy.
Also, I pay him cash for his report card.

I do the same thing. Lots of $$ for grades, and I usually take them to a movie or something to comphensate them for chores. However, I'm still not an Employer, a third party to whom they must be respectful, report on time, and be responsible. If we want our kids to be more like THESE things, then we need to create more opportunities for them.

Then, we need to tax the shit out of them.

 

[chanel]

Ha ha! Make those rug rats report that report card income!

The single biggest regret I have as a parent is cleaning up after my boys and not making them do more chores. They are two of the biggest slobs I've ever met. Well - their friends are pretty bad too.I feel sorry for their future wives.

 

[Samson]

Ha ha! Make those rug rats report that report card income!

The single biggest regret I have as a parent is cleaning up after my boys and not making them do more chores. They are two of the biggest slobs I've ever met. Well - their friends are pretty bad too.I feel sorry for their future wives.

You gotta be damn persistant with boys and cleanliness....I don't know WTF they do, but they have ZERO SELF MOTIVATION.

Maybe if pasted girlie posters to the floor...........


Then I'd have ANOTHER cleanliness problem

 

[Cecilie1200]

I believe if it is a family owned business, the kids can start at any age. My students that have jobs are far more mature and productive than most. Work does not have to interfere with school. It can actually be a great way for them to manage their time effectively.

Yes, children are allowed to work in family-owned businesses at any age, although obviously if you are working your kid like a house elf, you're open to charges of child abuse.

Another possibility is having them work for money around the house. The time-honored method of making your child earn his allowance/spending money is always good for teaching them responsibility, hard work, and money management. What's that? Your favorite band is coming out with a new CD which you simply must have? Why, sure. The yard could use a good mowing and hedge-trimming and weeding, so let's get right on that!

Lord knows, my 14-year-old gets his fanny worked off by helping with his new little brother, in addition to the chores expected of him simply as part of living here. I figure it teaches him responsibility, hard work, appreciation for the money he earns, AND how much he does not wish to produce one of those little poop machines on his own any time soon.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I absolutely agree with you both; I've actually thought of beginning a family owned business as this would be one of the "pros."

Of course, the con is that you could go broke, as most new busnisses fail.

And, as I've dithered about making lists of pros and cons, my eldest kid is almost 16 (in May).......and I'm pushing him toward joining the Reserves in May 2011.

how old are the other kids? the family owned thing is probably too late for the 16 year old though honestly. reserves is a good choice for income (and free tutition), but your son must be very dedicated if he is planning on doing college at the same time. even just oen weekend away a month can really mess up a semester if you are a full time student. partying/frat boy/etc isn't going to work, the week days are going to have to be fulltime school attention.

I know a few people who did school with me while they were in the reserves and they were insanely dedicated to both to get by. one was so into that he served a year in iraq, had to rebuild his own home after katrina, and still doubled majored in math and computer science at the same time and graduated in in 6 1/2 years.

13 and 7.

I don't expect the 7 year old to do much more than a few chores around the house. But the 13 year old WANTS to work, and is very responsible, etc., but cannot get a "Job" until he's 14.

I've tried "hiring" them to do crap....yardwork, cleaning.....just enough so that I'm convinced that you gotta be VERY damn EXTRA patient to hire your own kids to do anything: I'm sure I had a minor stroke supervising their work, as they seem to be either the most dense boys on the planet, or the cleverist.



I'm pretty sure they're not the cleverist.

I believe a child that age is also allowed to work for friends, family, and neighbors in the form of babysitting, yard work, cleaning out the garage, etc. I remember my older brother and his friends mowing lawns all over town when they were that age, and the fun of having to rub medicine into his blazing sunburn all summer, because blonds REALLY should not work outdoors.

 

[Cecilie1200]

The reason we have child labor laws is the same reason we have fair wage laws.. To keep employers accountable for the humane treatment of their workers.

I only wish that the big Corporations like Wal Mart, and such, did not buy so much shit from places like China, where there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of sweat shops, where people work for peanuts or are treated like animals.

On the other hand, if American businesses weren't paying those people to work in their factories - usually at wages that are better than the average in their country - what would they be doing? Sure, the pay and treatment are crap by OUR standards, but they don't live here, do they?

 

[Samson]

Lord knows, my 14-year-old gets his fanny worked off by helping with his new little brother, in addition to the chores expected of him simply as part of living here. I figure it teaches him responsibility, hard work, appreciation for the money he earns, AND how much he does not wish to produce one of those little poop machines on his own any time soon.

Let's not sound too altruistic.

We ALSO work their asses off because we're old and tired.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I give my kid "privileges" for doing housework, and take privileges away for being lazy.
Also, I pay him cash for his report card. His report card pay schedule works like this:

If he brings his grade up a letter grade, he earns fifty cents for each letter it goes up.
If his grade goes down, he is docked fifty cents for each letter grade he goes down.
He gets 30 dollars for straight A's
The rest goes like this:

Earnings:
A $4
B $2
C $1

Deductions:
D minus $2
F minus $4

With the chores and such, I also count homework as a chore. If he is not doing his homework, he gets grounded for a day. If he lies, he gets grounded for two days. If I have to clean his room, he is also grounded for two days. He can get "time off for good behavior", if he follows the rules of restriction, helps with dishes, floors, dusting, and laundry, etc. This lets me know he is back on track. Or, I will make him be grounded until he has a clean room that smells nice, that friends would enjoy being in.
Being grounded is not fun- no friends, no TV, no computer. My son hates being grounded, and usually straightens up while he is on restriction.

When grounding does not work, I spank his little ass. It is amazing how quickly he whips himself into shape when he is worried about spankings. LOL!! I don't even spank him very hard. Just enough to make my hand feel a little stung. He hates it, though.. lol I just don't want to spoil him.

Good for you. I don't spank my son, but only because he's indifferent to that sort of punishment. On the other hand, he responds extremely well to guilt, revocation of computer time, and the threat of one of his father's suicide-inducing lectures. He'll do damned near anything to keep his dad from lecturing him. Come to think of it, I'll do damned near anything to keep from having to hear his dad lecture him.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Lord knows, my 14-year-old gets his fanny worked off by helping with his new little brother, in addition to the chores expected of him simply as part of living here. I figure it teaches him responsibility, hard work, appreciation for the money he earns, AND how much he does not wish to produce one of those little poop machines on his own any time soon.

Let's not sound too altruistic.

We ALSO work their asses off because we're old and tired.

Nope. I actually really enjoy taking care of the new baby, because I'm very conscious of the fact that he's the last I will have, and the last chance at enjoying Mommyhood. However, I have other things I need to get done sometimes, and I think the fact that most of us these days have small families with the children grouped closely together in age tends to rob our kids of the chance to learn parenting skills before they need them for their own kids. And I really am hoping that, as much as Nicky loves his little brother, it will make him put off presenting me with any more grandchildren.