It’s likely not the best of times for the economy, but that may make this suggestion even that much more important.

Hire a kid this summer. Put a teen to work.

Maybe you were able to add a little part-time help in the past. Maybe this year it can be little less part of part-time but it still is something that needs doing.

A whole lot of us learned how to show up for work on time, take instructions, hold our tempers, be courteous and learn that there are no “little” jobs when we were in our teens.

Those lessons likely have put most of us in good stead and given us some excellent training as we’ve aged and gone on to jobs with better pay and benefits - and likely just a bit more responsibility.
It’s not so much about the pay, although money management is a good skill to learn early in life as well. But I’m convinced that giving a kid a summer job - even a few hours a week — really helps to build a stronger community.

Obviously good parenting helps, but it does in many ways take a “village” to raise a child — and that’s where businesses, large and small, need to step up and help to provide a bunch of all-important life lessons.

I’m convinced my first summer job spent unloading and stocking shelves with exotic items like bags of manure - I’m not sure why it seemed to rain more often on the days those bags were delivered — taught me at least as much as much about life as a semester of high school civics.

As schools close their doors for the summer, see if there’s a way you can open yours to give a young person some valuable experience.

More Tips