the benefits of growing older

[weekendwellies]

having your kids growing older too

My eldest turned 18 this week.
Her last and recurring excuse for not getting a part time job... 'no-one will take me on 'cos I am under 18' is no longer valid.

Me: When I was younger you could get a job in a newsagents on Saturdays...
Her: not any more because they sell tobacco; you have to be 18.
Me: What about a supermarket...
Her: they sell tobacco and alcohol; you have to be 18.
Me: How about the garden centre...
Her: Its you that likes plants, mum, not me.
Me: That doesn't matter, you just have to serve people...
Her: (((Sulks)))

Now she can work in a bar, supermarket, petrol station, newsagent, anywhere.

Yay

And she has a reason for earning her own cash; she wants to learn to drive.
That was part of her birthday present from me... paying for provisional licence.

I can see a glimmer of a light that I wont have to pay out for her expenses for much longer.
One down. One to go.

[Jeanied]

Umm - I hate to introduce a note of discord here but from what I know of friends's kids, learning to drive marked the start of some serious money requests! That phase lasts till they get settled in a career or get married - sometimes beyond. But we can always be optimistic ww!

[Bigmallly]

It never ends WW, then it'll be the grandkids..........

[miffy]

Children are flying the nest a lot later these days as it is so expensive to get onto the property ladder and find a job to pay for that.
I have heard stories of children still at home in their late 30's!
My son has just got an apprenticeship and he is coming in absolutely shattered every night.
He turned to me this week and said,'mum i knew you were tired when you got in from school but i never really knew what that sort of tired was until i worked full time!' bless him.
He likes having his own money though and is so tight with it as he has had to earn it himself and he is realising the true value of it.

[Snadger]

My Daughter was a veggie in her teens. She managed to get herself a Saturday job.............in a butchers!

It was a laugh a minute watching her serve customers with liver............she was frightened to pick it up!

[broadway]

My Daughter was a veggie in her teens. She managed to get herself a Saturday job.............in a butchers!

It was a laugh a minute watching her serve customers with liver............she was frightened to pick it up!

Good on her though Snadger, how long did she stick it out?

[blue411]

Im 37 now and started my first job at 16 working Saturday morning in a shoe shop, i used to have to be woken up by the customers as i would fall asleep on the till after being out all night on the night before! but i loved having my own money, i dont have kids of my own but i from what i hear they are a handfull these days!

[Hans Mum]

my DD is nearly 17 & she got a p/t temporary job in River Island for the christmas period & she's just been told she's being kept on permentantly. Just 8 hrs a week but its enough for her to keep herself in clothes, etc & start to learn it doesnt grow on trees!!!
Its easier on my purse too
She's just been accepted on a short course for the police for 20weeks which is brill as thats what she wants to do, and it fits round the p/t job & 6th form

[annacruachan]

Despite the obvious drawbacks there are benefits to getting even older.

Having worked and brought up three children it's wonderful to be able to make my own decisions as to what to do with my day; just not being subject to someone else's timetable feels so indulgent.

Other people don't expect so much of me and a snooze in the afternoon is not frowned upon.

Then, of course, there's the free bus travel, reduced prices at the cinema, the hairdresser and many other places.

Best of all, there is time to stand and appreciate the world around me. I am lucky to live in a beautiful, peaceful island village with a supportive community and a wonderful OH. Although only one of my children lives on the same continent we are in constant touch with each other; they enrich my life with their enthusiasms and humour.

Even if I were forty again and fully fit I would not have all this. I am counting my blessings.

[shoreham_steve]

[QUOTE=weekendwellies;593694]having your kids growing older too

Me: How about the garden centre...
Her: Its you that likes plants, mum, not me.
Me: That doesn't matter, you just have to serve people...
Her: (((Sulks)))


My daughter had no interest in plants but had a weekend job in a garden centre
when she was 15. She's now 22 and says it was the best job she ever had because the customers were so nice to her whereas when doing bar work and supermarket work she found so many people were rude to her.

[rustylady]

Not noticed many benefits yet. Still running round after the children and grandchildren. Still working full time. Get my buss pass at the end of March, though, so things may start looking up.

[Alison]

Me: What about a supermarket...
Her: they sell tobacco and alcohol; you have to be 18.

My friend's lad has been working shifts perfectly legally in T&sco since he was 16, yes they sell alcohol but that doesn't stop shelf stacking and many other jobs. Me thinks that this was an avoidance attempt that worked rather too well

Re the alcohol thing, you can also work in bars etc when you're under 18 so long as you are just serving and not selling alcohol. My neice got a job in a wine bar which she expected to be glam when she was in sixth form. Quit the job though when she realised the hours and the fact it was a rubbish job.

Me: How about the garden centre...
Her: Its you that likes plants, mum, not me.
Me: That doesn't matter, you just have to serve people...
Her: (((Sulks)))

The same neice had (and still doesn't) no interest in growing stuff but loved her job in the garden centre cafe after she quit the wine bar. Apparently very easy work, reasonable hours and good tips if you smiled.

[Glutton4...]

It's much easier not having kids! But a bit late, I guess, if you already do LOL

I sympathise with your Daughter WW, when I was a stroppy, lazy, hormonal teenager, I didn't want to work either. Eventually, I drove my parents mad-enough that I was press-ganged into it. I have to say I did enjoy having my own money for the first time.

[FionaH]

Funny how kids differ. My eldest couldn't wait to get a job at 16 and has been fairly self sufficient ever since, he is nearly 19 now. Youngest couldnt see the point at all. Dossed all summer after his GCSE's. He has a job now after it dawned on him I wouldnt pay for anything other than essential clothes unless he got a job!
Bless 'em though they were really generous at Christmas and enjoyed buying us a "proper" present.

[Alison]

We were all expected to get some sort of job as soon as we were old enough even if that was just a few hours on a Saturday morning. The money earnt was ours but it was important that we understood that mum and dad weren't a bank and that we understood that you had to work for our money.