Summer Vocation

Summer vacation. 
A blissful period for children, and a stressful one for parents, who teeter on their last nerve for three months.
And we're almost there.
Summer vacation was created out of necessity when societal economies were mostly agriculture-based.  Families were large, out of necessity, as children were needed to help the parents in farming the land necessary to feed the family. 
Agriculture gave way to industry, which gave way to technology.  One begat another.  And another.
American educators have toyed with the idea of eliminating the summer vacation altogether in order to make our children more competitive with their foreign counterparts.  As an example, in Soviet-era Russia, the basic education was ten years compared to our twelve.  However, by the time the average Russian student reached eighth grade, they knew more about science and math than most American high school graduates.
Think about that.  Most high-demand fields such as medicine, engineering, aeronautics, and others in this country are often filled by foreign-born people.  They had the foundation of a college-prep education very early in life, and it was not elective.
America has gotten better, but there's much more to be done.
Over Easter dinner with my extended family, my sister-in-law informed me that my six-year-old nephew had to be able to count to a hundred by the time he finished kindergarten.
We were lucky to be able to count to twenty by that time, helped largely by the efforts of Sesame Street.
Back to the issue at hand...we need the summer vacation.
As kids enter adolescence, they tend to get bored.  They spend more time chatting on the computer with their friends or texting. 
They need something to do to occupy their time.  Even retirees are re-entering the workforce on a part-time basis.  Not really because of need, but their forever-busy lives of the past have left them with a hole in their lives that needs something to prove their continued value to society.
Once your child reaches adolescence, they can either work a summer job, or do volunteer work.
Volunteer work, while not providing a paycheck, still has its rewards and can open doors to the future.  Service organizations like Rotary, Lions, and others provide annual scholarships to qualified students who donate their time towards serving others.  Candy-stripers are a great example to young people wanting to enter the medical profession.
A summer job can also teach your young son or daughter the true value of money.  The joy of spending, while tempered with the merits of saving.  They learn that what they get in life is earned, and never given. 
Hey Johnny, want your own car?  Start working and saving now.  With your meager earnings, it's not going to be a Cadillac.  And you'll have to pay your own insurance too.  Want your own cell phone?  Or you have a prepay with limited 'mom-and-dad minutes' and want more?  Pay up!
Most companies hire summer help as young as age 14 these days.  If your child wants a summer job, tell them to start looking and applying as early as December.
And no, that's not too early.  Especially if you want your child to get a better start early in life in a non-retail environment.
Parks and rec departments, colleges, government entities and others that look particularly good on resumes typically review applications and resumes in the winter, narrow down their lists of candidates, and begin a rigorous interview process with the intent of having young people trained and hired at the right amount of time.
Most importantly, this is a great time to bond with your teenager.  Share your own interviewing and job-seeking skills.  Money is a great motivator for anyone.  By doing so, you're giving them a better shot at having a better future than you had.
After all, isn't that what it's about?

NEXT WEEK:  What Happens Next?