Everyone knows what it is like to look into your wallet about to go out somewhere and realized you have no money. A simple solution to fix this problem is to find a job. It might not have to be a hard job like an accountant, but just something small like working as a counselor for the YMCA summer camp or working at Dunkin Donuts. Simple right? Wrong. To work at a Dunkin Donuts or the YMCA as a camp counselor you have to be at least 16 years old and that is true for many other jobs, too. This now only limits our jobs to babysitting and possibly helping out in the family business. These jobs are not stable and one has no idea when their next paycheck would be. When people think of kids working they think of child labor, but it is not because the children would be voluntarily asking to have a job. Children should be granted access to jobs at a younger age because it not only improves life skills, but it also increases responsibility and allows for growth in the child's traits.
To begin, finding a job at a young age can help improve kids learning skills. According to Moolanomy Personal Finance, even though doing well in school is important, learning “life skills” can be more beneficial. School can help one through their first part of life, but learning skills out of the classroom can help one not only when they are in school, but also when they are out in the real world trying to create a life for yourself. In the article, “It's My Life. Money. Making Money. Why Should You Work?”, by PBS Kids Go it stated that “Earning is learning.” Meaning, when kids go out and get jobs they have to work hard to earn their money, and in the process, they would be able to learn valuable life skills for the future. Lastly, according to PBS Kids, getting a job, “... beats being bored”. A lot of times kids get bored and they feel as if they have nothing to do, and that usually results in watching tv, which is not the most productive activity that they could be doing. Meanwhile, they could be out working and improving upon their life skills and earning a profit. Some people say, that one of the downfalls to getting a job at a younger age is that it would cut down on the after school activities that one would be able to participate in (Moolanomy Personal Finance). To answer this, one could point out, that one could perform after school activities and maintain a job. This is particularly true if that job pertains to an activity that one is particularly fond of. If one is passionate about baseball wouldn’t it be a great opportunity to be a batboy for the New York Yankees? Evidently, having a job at a young age can help improve kids learning skills.
Now, not only do jobs help to increase life skills, but it also help improve one’s responsibility. According to PBS Kids, when money comes so do decisions. When one earns their money they now have to decide on how they are going to spend it. Will they spend it on a new video game or will they put it in the bank to make income? All of this decision-making starts to increase upon one's responsibility level, do to all of the hard choices that come with money. According to PBS Kids, when one works they start to make their own money and along with that come more independence. So, when people start to get more independence along comes more responsibility. According to KJ Dell’Antonia, writer of the New York Times article "Hard Work Makes Children, and Families, Stronger", work is like a big community of people who have the same interests based on their job. Now not only do the kids getting better life skills, but they are also realizing that they are a part of this greater thing. Now these kids will have the responsibility of working and trying to control themselves with their new families. It might seem that getting a job and being in real world situations might hurt one’s relationships with friends (Moolanomy Personal Finance). However, something that these people have failed to consider is, that with the responsibility that one gain from working it can make them more aware of their time with friends and now they might start to plan more accordingly when hanging out with their friends. Upon further analysis, children can develop more responsibility when put into a job at a younger age.
Lastly, children can learn valuable traits when they take on a job. According to New York Times, traits like “drive and persistence” can appear when children are faced with hard and difficult jobs (Dell’Antonia). These traits are features that people start to develop at an older age but, if one starts to develop these traits at a younger age they will be able to be more successful in the long run. According to KJ Dell’Antonia, the writer of the New York Times article "Hard Work Makes Children, and Families, Stronger", kids who are working tend to be able to bond better when faced with a big job. Kids and adults who are able to work together better are able to adapt to situations easier which is a great skill to develop at a younger age. According to New York Times, learning life skills is just as important as going to school and learning “academic skills” (Dell’Antonia). This is true, so if one is able to do both then why not take the opportunity to do so. There also should lower the ages of being allowed to work so there can be more opportunities like this. Moolanomy Personal Finance claims that, getting a job at a younger age can impact how one feels throughout the day, like being tired. But that is just because one’s body hasn’t gotten used to working. So, as one keep working over time their body will get used to this new workload and they will not get as tired throughout the day. To summarize, kids can develop valuable traits when they get a job at a younger age.
In closing, kids should be allowed access to jobs at a younger age because it not only improves life skills, but it also increases responsibility and allows for growth in the child's traits. Getting a job at a young age can help improve kids learning skills. Also, a job can help improve one’s responsibility. Children can learn valuable traits when they take on a job. If children are not able to work they will never be able to learn proper responsibility. Children will be walking into a world of work that they have never experienced and will now not be able to succeed. Children must be able to get jobs at a younger age so, they will be able to succeed in life.