teenager gets bored...

Deals_2

we have a 3 year old but my partner has 2 teenage children and an 18 year old girl. i tend to take our 3 year old to school fetes etc at the moment as it is cheap and always have something for the young ones. is it normal for teenagers to feel bored at this sort of event?
also what are people's thoughts on a 15/16 year getting a Saturday job? my partner son is thinking of going to college in september and i mentioned as we are near some film studios why does he not try to get the odd saturday or week day odd job there to try it out. but he does not seem keen and says he will wait till september and learn at college (though i believe you learn more on the job than at school) . what are people's thoughts. he mentions that he gets bored so goes out with his mates and out of the house as much as he can. the mum is struggling to pay her bills and none of the children work (and their mum keeps telling my partner he should pay more - even though we have sorted out everything with the divorce).
(we also feed them, buy clothes, take them on holiday, give them food for their home, help with job and study ideas etc etc but no-one seems to take account of this). thanks in advance.

johnswife

My daughter is 16 on Tuesday & starting college in September. I am encouraging her to look for a Saturday job as she can then spend the money how she wants. I don't think it's too much to do and go to college.

I have three teenagers and yes they get bored sometimes but they don't hang around the streets. Mind I have three daughters so perhaps boys are different, my girls go shopping, cinema etc.

Jussy

Teenagers have a duty to say they are bored, even when you offer them something quite interesting to do - I think it may be a hormonal thing! I really think its very normal.

With regards to the working though, my son has just managed 1 year of doing a paper-round 6 nights a week. We are so proud of how well he has managed, sorting out his time, arranging cover when needed, etc. It didn't help him to budget in any way, as he spent his wages as soon as he got them, but he has learnt an awful lot about turning up every day, doing what you have to do, etc. I think it has been a really important learning and development experience for him (and it also saved us a fortune, because he had his own money to spend).

Go for it with encouraging them to get a job - it teaches such responsibility!

Jussy

Toonie

Though I can't advise on teenagers who get bored, as a recent (ish) Film Production graduate, if it is something your partners son wants to do for a career I would recommend getting as much experience as possible before and during studying, as it is extremely hard to get a job in the field and to be honest, qualifications don't mean anything unless you have experience and a driving license. Sorry to be so down about it, but of the 20 of my friends who graduated, one person has just now got a job in film as a runner (2 years after finishing) and she got that because she can drive.

dora37

We have actively encouraged our DS1 (16) to get a part time job. He has just finished GCSE's and will be doing A levels in September.

We encouraged him for the following reasons:

1. To fill some of the extra time on his hands during the summer.
2. To give him some extra money/save some money.
3. To get him from under our influence and out into the big wide world - therefore giving him confidence.
4. To give him a little responsibility of his own.

He got a part time job at McDonalds and today was his 2nd shift - he has been making quarter pounders for most of his shift (11 - 4). He loved it, came home with loads of enthusiasm and was really proud of himself (and so were we. :T )

Definitely encourage him.

roxy7699

I thing you should encourage the working along side studying. A saturday job shouldnt have too much of an impact, yet will give them independance, money and take away some of the boredom. They can also then contribute to the household stuff, at some point they need to understand that life costs money.
I worked while I studied however, I wish my parents had made me contribute so that I had that basic understanding of the costs of life.