Our children have made money in so
many;different;ways;that;it;would;take;an
entire article to share all of their experiences. Some endeavors, such as creating
FSU accessories, were far more success-ful;than;others;(selling;firewood;in;Flor-ida, in the summer, in the rain), but even
when;there;was;little;financial;gain,;the
experience acquired while trying to earn
money proved to be worthwhile.
Our children also worked at many
jobs that provided income without tying them down. Jobs such as babysitting,
house sitting, mowing grass, grading pa-pers,;cleaning;houses;and;offices,;manu-al labor, and washing cars are just a few
of the opportunities that came their way.
One year our daughter was hired to wear
the bunny costume for a photographer
at a mall; our oldest son was hired to be
a clown for the family night at a local
steak;restaurant!
As I mentioned, we did not come to
this;decision;until;our;fifth;child,;Jona-than, reached high school. The oppor-tunities;he;was;able;to;take;advantage
of;were;amazing!;He;met;the;President
of the U.S. while campaigning one year.
After Hurricane Katrina, he immediately volunteered to travel to Mississippi to help with the recovery. At our
insistence, Jonathan attended speech
and debate conferences and camps, as
well as numerous worldview seminars
and debates.
One;of;Jonathan’s;most;significant;ex-
periences;was joining;the;movement;to
help;save;Terri;Schiavo’s;life;(spending
time at the capital, joining protests, help-
ing us host out-of-town supporters, and
attending;prayer;vigils;at;the;Governor’s
mansion). After attending the annual cri-
sis pregnancy dinner one year, he began
the male counseling training at the cen-
ter,;and;he;also;joined;a;Pure;Life;team
that made presentations to teens. He
even taught a postmodernism class to
the staff at the pregnancy center.
He went on mission trips and was able
to;spend;six;weeks;in;Papua;New;Guinea.
In;addition;to;working;at;summer;camps,
he also was a staff member at a worldview
camp in Texas in October. Twice Jonathan
traveled with two other teens to conduct
worldview seminars for homeschool
groups throughout the Southeast.
Most of these opportunities would
not have been available had he been
employed;at;a;“real”;job.;Did;he;have;a
fat bank account when he graduated
from high school? Far from it, but most
would agree that the experience Jona-
than gained was far more desirable than
a padded savings account. He did earn
money when he had time to do so during
his;high;school;years,;but;not;a;lot.
As;I;was;writing;this;article;I;talked;to
Jonathan,;who;is;now;24,;and;my;daugh-
ter,;Kimmy,;now;22,;about;how;this;deci-
sion had impacted their lives. Jonathan
agreed that his experiences were far more
valuable to him than a job would have
been, but he did mention that it would
have been nice if he had earned and
saved more money during those years.
Kimmy,;because;she;had;opportunities
to earn money working for many dif-
ferent people, was able to earn and save
enough money to buy a car, a computer,
and photography equipment for the busi-
ness she started. She appreciated the fact
that she was in control of her schedule
so that she, too, could attend seminars,
mission;trips,;camps,;and;more.;Kimmy
also told me that she had several friends
who were impacted negatively by their
work;environments;during;high;school;
she was glad she did not have to deal with
similar challenges as a teen.
Is;there;a;one-size-fits-all;solution?;Of
course not. Some teens will do well hold-
ing a steady job and end up with strong
character and hefty savings accounts.
Others might not fare as well. My main
purpose for writing this article is to give
you;permission;to;think;outside;the;box.
Doing something simply because that
is how you were raised or because “
everyone else does it” might not be the
best thing for your child. In addition,
there are a limited number of years that
your children can participate in certain
events (events that may require nonnegotiable, parental mandates), so consider taking advantage of the many
opportunities available to your teens—
even if it means not allowing them to
get;real;jobs.;They;will;probably;thank
you later. Mine did.
Pat Wesolowski
Pat Wesolowski has been married to Don
for forty years. She is the mother of nine
children and soon-to-be grandmother of
nine, and she has been homeschooling
her children for more than twenty-seven
years. Pat began writing curricula for
homeschoolers in 1993. She has written
several unit study guides that can be found
at her website: www.dpkhomeschool.com.
In addition, Pat blogs about homeschooling co-ops and worldview issues.
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
. . . Most would agree that
the experience Jonathan
gained was far more
desirable than a padded
savings account.
