by B. B. James

Created on: December 12, 2009

In the Middle Ages, children were apprenticed by age 8 into the trades that they would be expected to pursue for the rest of their lives.  Whether a cobbler, a baker, or a servant, the child was handed adult responsibilities out of economic necessity.  Even the children of the nobility were trained at a young age for their roles as political and social leaders or courtiers to the heads of state.

We've evolved today to a point at which only children in impoverished circumstances are forced to work at such tender ages.  And that's a very good thing. 

However, a sense has emerged that the pendulum has shifted too far, and that many young adults would have benefited by working in their teen years, or earlier.  Not only would they have learned a particular skill, but, more importantly, they would have been socialized into developing important traits and habits that are crucial for success in life: punctuality, honesty, civility, service, and so on.  Now we ask if we have pampered our children by delaying their work years too long.

The truth is that many young adults were ill-served by parents who indulged them through their teenage years with easy money, new cars and clothes, and no responsibilities.  If they had worked as teens, their adjustment to the "real" world would have been easier.  They should have worked at a younger age.

But that doesn't get to heart of the matter: knowing when a child should begin to work.  The answer is: it depends.  It's not so much a matter of chronological age as it is of temperament, skills, confidence, maturity, etc.  Basically, children should work as soon as they are able to handle the responsibility of working.  And they can handle that responsibility at a significantly younger age than their parents (or society) suspects.  When a child starts showing independence and good judgment, he or she is ready to start working.  Development psychologists say that this typically occurs at age 12-13.  That's when children can think beyond themselves and can start to understand that their actions have consequences.  Their minds are not fully formed - they do many things that indicate a lack of judgment - but they also can control their impulses most of the time.  A job will not only be a test of their judgment, but it will teach them to develop better judgment in new situations.

Given that children cannot make great decisions in new situations, their first jobs should be modest in scope.  They could start with local babysitting, in which they know the children and the neighborhood where they are working.  They could do yard work.  They could be assistants at a local farmer's market or charity event.  Their work can be closely monitored, and their rewards come quickly, both in ready cash, but also in the praise they receive for doing the job well.

From that point, a child can move up to more complicated jobs that require working with a greater range of people.  And the child can do it with the confidence of having handled simpler situations correctly (and also learning that making a small mistake isn't the worst thing in the world).

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