Work and holidays: How best to handle the situation
Apr 29, 2007
THEY can push you to the wall with expenditures beyond your means. ‘Mummy buy for me this’ and ‘daddy I want that!’ The list of wants is endless and the cost does not matter. <br>
THEY can push you to the wall with expenditures beyond your means. ‘Mummy buy for me this’ and ‘daddy I want that!’ The list of wants is endless and the cost does not matter.
They make demands without a second thought, yet they hardly understand your income and what it takes to pay the bills.
What do we do to help children understand the pains of earning a living?
Many parents believe that making children work during the holidays would make the children understand the cost of living. This matter has often raised controversy with critics describing work as a blatant violation of children’s rights. Of course, the scope of work being considered here is beyond household chores.
Holiday work ranges from helping in family business, to part time work done by teenagers.
Is it acceptable for children to work during the holidays?
Let us look at the different facets to this question: Is the task being done appropriate to the child’s age? How long does the child spend working and what kind of work is it?
Does the work environment expose the child to abuse?
Keep in mind, that even where circumstances dictate otherwise, every child is entitled to rest during the holidays. Childhood is not just a stage; it is an opportunity for you to bond with your child as you instill life values.
Childhood is also a privilege that every child is entitled to enjoy.
Even in the face of dire circumstances in which the child is compelled to work, care should be taken to ensure that the beauty of childhood is preserved.
There is nothing wrong with having your child work in the family business, as long as the environment does not expose them to abuse. Did you know that there are certain types of work that can ruin your child for life? There are certain jobs that expose your child to dangerous habits.
A friend of mine told me how involvement in family business during her teenage years almost ruined her life. Her father owns a bar and restaurant. During her holidays, she used to help out in the bar by serving drinks to the customers.
With time, some of the male clients became her friends and would buy her drinks. She ‘fell in love’ with waragi so much that she began to steal it from the shop.
Even during school days, she would escape from school to visit a nearby pub. She earned several suspensions for smuggling alcohol into the school. She ended up as a chronic alcoholic, moving from one job to another and had to be taken for rehabilitation.
It is the work environment she was exposed to as a teenager that sowed the first seeds of alcoholism in her. Watch out for dangerous environments!
Whether it is good for your teenager to get a job outside the home during holidays or not, depends on different circumstances. Every case should be judged on its own merit.
Each circumstance is different, just as each child is unique to their circumstances.
But keep in mind that your child remains a child, irrespective of the circumstances. Children are quite vulnerable and anything can happen that might ruin the child for life.
Ensure that your child is protected and is not deprived of the privilege of being a child.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032
They make demands without a second thought, yet they hardly understand your income and what it takes to pay the bills.
What do we do to help children understand the pains of earning a living?
Many parents believe that making children work during the holidays would make the children understand the cost of living. This matter has often raised controversy with critics describing work as a blatant violation of children’s rights. Of course, the scope of work being considered here is beyond household chores.
Holiday work ranges from helping in family business, to part time work done by teenagers.
Is it acceptable for children to work during the holidays?
Let us look at the different facets to this question: Is the task being done appropriate to the child’s age? How long does the child spend working and what kind of work is it?
Does the work environment expose the child to abuse?
Keep in mind, that even where circumstances dictate otherwise, every child is entitled to rest during the holidays. Childhood is not just a stage; it is an opportunity for you to bond with your child as you instill life values.
Childhood is also a privilege that every child is entitled to enjoy.
Even in the face of dire circumstances in which the child is compelled to work, care should be taken to ensure that the beauty of childhood is preserved.
There is nothing wrong with having your child work in the family business, as long as the environment does not expose them to abuse. Did you know that there are certain types of work that can ruin your child for life? There are certain jobs that expose your child to dangerous habits.
A friend of mine told me how involvement in family business during her teenage years almost ruined her life. Her father owns a bar and restaurant. During her holidays, she used to help out in the bar by serving drinks to the customers.
With time, some of the male clients became her friends and would buy her drinks. She ‘fell in love’ with waragi so much that she began to steal it from the shop.
Even during school days, she would escape from school to visit a nearby pub. She earned several suspensions for smuggling alcohol into the school. She ended up as a chronic alcoholic, moving from one job to another and had to be taken for rehabilitation.
It is the work environment she was exposed to as a teenager that sowed the first seeds of alcoholism in her. Watch out for dangerous environments!
Whether it is good for your teenager to get a job outside the home during holidays or not, depends on different circumstances. Every case should be judged on its own merit.
Each circumstance is different, just as each child is unique to their circumstances.
But keep in mind that your child remains a child, irrespective of the circumstances. Children are quite vulnerable and anything can happen that might ruin the child for life.
Ensure that your child is protected and is not deprived of the privilege of being a child.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032