Lessons from the First Job Parents Learn as Much as Teens Do By Katy M. Clark
I
was sitting in my car in the parking lot of a banquet hall. I wasn’t there to attend a wedding or silver anniversary dinner. No, I was there waiting for my fifteen-yearold son.
18
Boston Parents Paper | June 2022
Moments earlier, I had watched him walk into the office at the banquet hall. He looked so official, dressed all in black. He was reporting for his first day of work as a kitchen assistant. With this part-time job, I hoped he would learn what all of us have learned from our first jobs: how to manage your time, respect your boss, be responsible, and work hard. I was looking forward to him earning his own money, too. And can I add that by working a part-time job that summer he wouldn’t have so much free time to play video games? That pleased me, too.
I was waiting in the parking lot, though, because I was unsure if he needed me for anything. He had turned in his work permit and employment forms earlier in the week, but was everything in order? Did he need my signature one more time? A reminder of his social security number? And his employment contract had said no cell phones, but would he have a place to stash his or did he need to leave it with me in the car? To be honest, it felt a bit like the worrying and hovering I had done that first day he went to kindergarten. And just like that first day, I learned that he was going to be just fine
