Stop Doing Their Laundry

A great first step to help children and teens become self-reliant is to help them develop a good work ethic at home through doing chores.

What if your child refuses to do any work or get a job? I know a woman who experienced this with her son. He refused to do dishes or any cleaning. What this mom had to do was stop doing her son’s laundry. Then, he had a choice to make. He could either do his own laundry or wear dirty clothes. He did his own laundry.

The next step, after giving your teen responsibilities around the house, is to have them get a job. Whether that be a in-person job, doing something online to make money (make sure they are legitimate), or starting their own business, your teens can start making money.

There are so many benefits to working. A research study from 2010 states, “We find evidence … that work experience can promote the healthy development of some young people, especially when it is moderate in intensity and steady in duration—attributes that assure that employment does not interfere with other important elements in a teen’s life, and instead foster an appropriate balance between school and work.”

Your teens can gain work experience that will help them in getting better jobs in the future. Work ethic is developed, connections are made, learning takes place, time management skills are developed, and teens receive an opportunity to practice managing their money when they have jobs.

For your benefit, imagine not having to pay for sports equipment, piano books, school trips, or other things your teenagers want to participate in.

When my dad was a teenager, living in Utah, he worked a lot. He made and sold bread every day, Monday through Friday, and earned $4 a day. He did yard work throughout all of high school during the good weather months. Beginning at age 16 and all through the rest of high school, he also worked part-time at a movie theater. A friend of his from band class introduced him to her older sister who was the manager of the movie theater.

With the money from these jobs, my dad was able to pay for a school trip to Germany for an exchange program, 2 band tours, a history trip, and a trip to the National Scout Jamboree. That’s 5 high school trips!

Now, you might be thinking, “that’s cool that your dad did that, but that was decades ago and wages and prices have changed.” Let me share some current numbers with you.

As we talked about with today’s money trivia question, in the United States, the average hourly wage for teenagers is $15. If a teen worked 15 hours a week during the school year, he or she could earn $900 a month. During the summer, if he or she worked full-time, the earning potential increases to $2,400 a month. If a teen saved only 20% of their income throughout the year, they would have nearly $3,000 saved in one year. After 4 years, that’s $12,000! What teenager do you know with $12,000? Personally, I want to know more of them!

I highly recommend you encourage your teenager to start working. If they do, or if your teenager already works, I recommend you give them some financial responsibilities. This is step three. You could pay for their necessities and have them pay for everything else. Or give them responsibility for one of their needs and all of their wants. Like we talked about a couple weeks ago, it is important for teens to learn how to distinguish between wants and need.

Here are a couple examples of what you could have your teens start paying for.  First, clothing they want beyond what they need. Second, gas when they drive your vehicles. Third, any fun things they want to do with their friends. Have you seen what movie tickets and snacks cost lately?!

They are around $9-12, unless you want to go to the Taylor Swift concert that was in theaters a few weeks ago, then they’re $20! Let’s do a little math. If your teen went to go see the Taylor Swift concert in theaters one week and then a new Disney movie the next week, and they wanted a large popcorn and a treat each time, that would cost about $64! And that’s just for one teen.

If you have 2 teenagers, that would cost $128! Is anyone else ready to run away and hide, or is it just me? Now, if your teen worked and paid for their own fun activities, that is $64 that you get to keep in your wallet.

If you’re ready for your teen to start working and seeing these benefits in your life and theirs, but don’t know where to start, sign up for my free “20 Best Jobs for Latter-day Saint Teens” download through the link in the show notes.

Now that we have talked a lot about teenagers working, let’s talk some more about young adult children. I would highly recommend you have your young adult children who live with you pay you rent, especially if they are not in school. This can help you financially, and it will hopefully encourage and help them to prepare to move out.

Now, when making decisions around this, I would encourage you to have a husband and wife council and then a family council with the child you are discussing to decide what is best for your family.

When my mom was young, her parents had her take piano lessons, as many parents do. Later, when my mom’s oldest brother went to college, their parents needed money to help him, so they sold their piano to their piano teacher. Her family had an organ as well and the exchange with the piano teacher was that she would teach my mom (and probably some of her siblings) how to play the organ. None of this was explained to my mom. My mom refused to take organ lessons. Many years later, after learning the reason her parents sold the piano, my mom wishes her parents had explained the situation. She says that if they had, she thinks she would have understood and been more willing to learn how to play the organ.

Involving your child in the decision-making process can give them some perspective, empower them, and motivate them to follow through with the plans you make.