FLOORS & MORE

children’s future and explained how my son benefited.

Sometimes parents pigeonhole their children. But at some point, every young adult must stand on their own and make a living. It seems to me the sooner this happens, the better.

During the summer of 2021, I visited a shopping center to return a piece of internet equipment. The young clerk who helped me was sullen, even behind her mask. I asked if she liked her job.

She told me she had just been called back to work after almost a year off “doing nothing but living on social media.” She was grateful to have a paycheck again. But many of her coworkers resented returning to work, she said.

“Folks your age can take time off and still retain your work skills because you probably worked for decades,” she told me. “But people my age just started working and learning how to manage a job when the world shut down. It kept us as dependent children when we should have been growing up.”

We all want a brighter future for our children. A job is the best thing for young people. It creates security and independence. Getting more teens into summer employment will pay off now and for generations.

Readers ask how they can contribute to Inside Sacramento. Here’s how. Visit insidesacramento.com and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Also consider a paid membership starting at $19.95 a year. Every little bit helps us provide much needed local news.

Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

WE ALL WANT A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN. A JOB IS THE BEST THING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. IT CREATES SECURITY AND INDEPENDENCE. GETTING MORE TEENS INTO SUMMER EMPLOYMENT WILL PAY OFF NOW AND FOR GENERATIONS.