My Son, the Working Stiff
It's a banner week at our house: My son has his first-ever job. He's doing odd jobs at the high school next door, working in a small group under the supervision of the high-school transition coordinator and the watchful eye of several paraprofessionals.
The first day, he came home full of mud and scratches after doing battle with weeds in some flower beds around the school. Day two, he was painting lines in the faculty parking lot, and had the paint-smeared clothes to show it. I don't know what he's going to look like when I pick him up today, but I know he'll need a shower.
I wasn't sure he was actually going to be able to pull this off, but so far, reports from the bosses are good. And after some initial reluctance, he's warmed to the idea of earning money to buy some expensive keys for his collection. Plus, more episodes of SpongeBob for his iPod. Hey, whatever gets you through that long working day.
His job is coordinated by our county's workforce development program, which places teens with special needs in summer jobs and pays them minimum wage. My daughter also has a job through this program, though a less heavily supervised one, as befits her higher ability.
If you think a job like this might be a good plan for your special-needs teen next summer, a couple of places to check to find out what's available are the special education department at your high school (the one that serves your town, even if your child is placed out of district) and agencies in your county government that deal with jobs, human services, or disabilities. It may take some calling around, but adding your child to the workforce -- in a safe, protected way, for all us invasive parents -- is a worthy goal.
What's your teen up to this summer?
Comments
Hoorah for the job force! I know you’re happy to have your kids doing something so meaningful for the summer.
I would probably pay Walker’s employer for giving him a safe environment where he feels productive–because he is! He works about 28 hours a week, and always stands in line to get his pay check on Thursdays. The first thing he does is pay his “rent” then give his dad his pay stub. He finally makes a connection between the size of his paycheck and being on time and not dawdling at his break. He has a retirement plan, and gets vacation pay, which is unusual for part times. We will celebrate nine years at Superlo Foods this fall.
Kudos to the people who have enough faith to give our kids a chance to show what they can do. Happy 4th to you and your family. Blessings, Janie