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I come from a hard-working, blue collar, middle class family. My parents did not have all the luxuries they deserved, but we always had enough to get by. During my childhood, it seems every time I asked them for money to go to the movies, dance or just hang out, they had a few dollars in their pocket to spare.

When I was rapidly approaching the age of sixteen, I went to my parents to inform them I was thinking of getting a job at the local fast food place. I thought this would relieve the pressure of my parents bankrolling me and put some cash in my pocket to spend as I saw fit to spend it. My mother looked at my father then turned back to me and said;

"Your Father and I have talked about this, and we prefer you don't work. We don't have a lot of money. We do make enough money to give you a few dollars here and there. Once you graduate from High School, you will spend the rest of your life working and worrying about bills. Up until that day comes, we want you to concentrate on school, sports and enjoy your youth."

I could not believe what I had heard. While most of my friend's parents were demanding their children to find jobs, mine were discouraging me for working. Many years have gone by, and I appreciate more than ever what they did for me.

I do not adhere to the claim that to have a child appreciate money as an adult they should work and earn their own pocket money. A lot of the time, I believe parents push their kids into employment, to allow them to keep their cash in their pockets to finance their own selfish adult wants. Its because of this mentality where everyone feels they must keep up with their neighbors, "The Jones", you lose a lot by having you older child away at night working. Nightly family dinners, vacations, sporting events, etc, would have been sacrificed if I had to get a job. I believe the lesson I learned of love and family means more to me, than the lesson of the power of the mighty dollar I would have learned by forcing me to get a job as a teenager.

I know of one parent, whose child got a job at sixteen to earn "spending money". By seventeen, he was paying half his insurance. By seventeen and a half, he was paying for rent and groceries. It was justified in this parent's mind since the kid was working; she was entitled to a good portion of his paycheck. The more he earned and worked, the more the parent was entitled to. Did the kid get a bigger room or more food at dinner? No. So, what lesson did the child learn? The more you earn the more you pay. This same lesson is what you learn as an adult with the Internal Revenue Service.

I have grown to appreciate my parent's philosophy of letting kids be kids. You have your whole life after to be adults. I feel very fortunate and appreciate the sacrifice they made to allow me to benefit from this. For someone to make the claim, that every child should get a job to support their spending habits and to appreciate what their parents face, is a fallacy. I believe there are certain circumstances where an older child must work to assist the family. But, if the need is not there, don't force them. They have their whole life to do it.

Learn more about this author, Greg Dunn.
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