While I don’t think 14 year olds should be behind the bar, I worked in a grocery store as a kid and it was really annoying to have to call over an older co-worker to ring up alcohol. It made me wonder why they even hand kids in high school on the register.
The pay was low, but so were my needs, seeing as my parents covered housing, food, most clothing, and some entertainment. I basically just needed money for gas and music. I’m glad places hired kids, I just didn’t like being on the register. I spent a majority of my time elsewhere in the store.
You should have been hanging out with your friends, doing sports, doing art, doing things that only come to people under age. The thing you will pine for when you’re old is your salad days. Those days were swindled from you so someone could find cheaper labor.
Honestly have to agree. A few hours on a weekend, MAYBE. But between homework, family expectations, extracurriculars in and outside of school, and keeping up other relationships, I don’t think kids should be working much if at all until they’re 16 or 17.
These laws are also being coupled with laws that repeal restrictions on working hours for underage workers. Imagine being 14 and having to leave school at 3, go home, do homework until 5, then go to work until 1 in the morning, and come home just to go to school at 7. That’s where these laws are heading.
I earned a lot of money in high school. Now I live in Europe and the culture is very different. That sort of thing isn’t done here.
I actually don’t know how I feel about it one way or the other. It’s different, but I did like actually having a decent amount of cashflow for a teenager.
It’s important to remember that there’s kids working to earn some extra cash for themselves (what I did as a teen and it sounds like you did, too) and there’s kids from families that aren’t well off where they have to work to support their struggling families.
It is exploitation of the latter that we should be worried and upset about. Most people are fine with kids working a couple hours a week, but they shouldn’t be forced (by the system) to work daily so they have a chance of getting enough food on the table.
Oh, and btw, the working a couple hours a week thing is perfectly normal for kids in many European countries, too. I worked during holidays starting when I was 14 in Germany but IIRC only once you’re 16 you can actually do many hours
I worked at CVS for a long time and they had to be 18 to sell alcohol(beer only) and to operate the cardboard compactor so I never hired anyone under 18. Mostly because of the compactor because I ain’t hearing “I can’t clean these boxes up, I’m 17”
While I don’t think 14 year olds should be behind the bar, I worked in a grocery store as a kid and it was really annoying to have to call over an older co-worker to ring up alcohol. It made me wonder why they even hand kids in high school on the register.
They had a kid at the register to suppress wages
The pay was low, but so were my needs, seeing as my parents covered housing, food, most clothing, and some entertainment. I basically just needed money for gas and music. I’m glad places hired kids, I just didn’t like being on the register. I spent a majority of my time elsewhere in the store.
You should have been hanging out with your friends, doing sports, doing art, doing things that only come to people under age. The thing you will pine for when you’re old is your salad days. Those days were swindled from you so someone could find cheaper labor.
Honestly have to agree. A few hours on a weekend, MAYBE. But between homework, family expectations, extracurriculars in and outside of school, and keeping up other relationships, I don’t think kids should be working much if at all until they’re 16 or 17.
These laws are also being coupled with laws that repeal restrictions on working hours for underage workers. Imagine being 14 and having to leave school at 3, go home, do homework until 5, then go to work until 1 in the morning, and come home just to go to school at 7. That’s where these laws are heading.
Removed by mod
In Canada we have a minimum wage and a student minimum wage. Guess which is less…
Which province? Not true in Quebec.
Ontario. It’s about a buck less.
Removed by mod
Removed by mod
I earned a lot of money in high school. Now I live in Europe and the culture is very different. That sort of thing isn’t done here.
I actually don’t know how I feel about it one way or the other. It’s different, but I did like actually having a decent amount of cashflow for a teenager.
It’s important to remember that there’s kids working to earn some extra cash for themselves (what I did as a teen and it sounds like you did, too) and there’s kids from families that aren’t well off where they have to work to support their struggling families. It is exploitation of the latter that we should be worried and upset about. Most people are fine with kids working a couple hours a week, but they shouldn’t be forced (by the system) to work daily so they have a chance of getting enough food on the table.
Oh, and btw, the working a couple hours a week thing is perfectly normal for kids in many European countries, too. I worked during holidays starting when I was 14 in Germany but IIRC only once you’re 16 you can actually do many hours
I worked at CVS for a long time and they had to be 18 to sell alcohol(beer only) and to operate the cardboard compactor so I never hired anyone under 18. Mostly because of the compactor because I ain’t hearing “I can’t clean these boxes up, I’m 17”