Changes in the economy leave kids without a chance to learn about earning and saving.

Has anyone else noticed that adults now mainly hold many of the jobs that used to be held by kids?

I have fond childhood memories of my days as a paperboy delivering the newspaper. It provided me with my first baby steps toward independence and away from relying on my parents or my allowance to finance my fun or even frivolous adventures.

Some of the best entrepreneurial experiences come as a child, such as mowing lawns, shoveling snow, raking leaves and even selling lemonade. Exposing our youth to business and the value of money, even making change, is paramount to their development as productive contributors to the workplace as adults.

Without the availability or cultivation of such experiences, entire generations of youth are missing out on that feeling of having money of their own that they actually earned or gaining an early understanding about savings, budgeting and other valuable and essential lessons that adults need to be successful.

In April, Maine’s credit unions, the Maine Council on Economic Education and other organizations worked to increase awareness and understanding about the importance of youth financial education.

Recent statistics indicate that only 21 percent of students between the ages of 16 and 22 say they have taken a personal finance course. Another telling statistic is that in a survey of teens by Teenage Research Unlimited, they reported spending 98 percent of their money rather than saving it.

My paper is no longer delivered by a bright-eyed 12-year-old; a lawn service does my lawn; I rake my own leaves, much to my chagrin; and the only lemonade stands I see are at fairs and festivals that are usually operated by professionals who travel from fair to fair. Do not get me wrong, whoever delivers my newspaper does an excellent job, my lawn is mowed like clockwork, and I suppose I do not do a half-bad job with my leaves.

What I lament is that society has made these jobs into jobs more suitable for adults, leaving children with fewer opportunities to earn some money, gain self-esteem, and build valuable interactive skills doing a job that was traditionally reserved for them in a relatively stress-free environment.

With the erosion of the traditional “kids” jobs, I believe it is stunting the understanding of personal finance of our children.

With less of our youth delivering papers and working around the neighborhood, we have missed a golden opportunity for our kids to become more independent and gain an understanding of the value of money.

I looked forward to depositing my weekly earnings in my savings account at my credit union. Not only was I saving for something special, but I was getting interest for having it at a credit union and not in my piggy bank.

In addition, I had a tidy sum of money saved by the time I could drive and wanted to buy a car. Although my parents would have surely helped, I am proud to say that I bought my first car entirely on my own. I had witnessed the fruits of my labor pay off. You can bet I appreciated it. Today’s youth are saving less and this could be a primary cause.

There are several contributing factors that have caused fewer young people to work as paper carriers, mowing lawns or shoveling snow.

One factor is technology and its ability to deliver products faster and in other ways, such as the Internet and e-mail. Another factor is time. Today’s youth are busy with so many extra-curricular activities, beginning in elementary school, that they do not have time. Yet another factor is a general apprehension by adults toward children and a lack of trust that they can do the job right or honestly. Instead of hiring a kid in the neighborhood, we hire an adult.

Work opportunities for children seem to be heading the way of the dinosaur. Our youth should not be forced to work, but there are many between the ages of 10 and 14 who want to do something, if only they had the opportunity.

Let’s encourage our children to start a lawn mowing business, go door-to-door offering their services to shovel snow, or come up with their own creative business proposition. Creative and entrepreneurial children often become successful, prosperous and financially savvy adults, if only given a chance.

Jon E. Paradise is the governmental and public affairs manager for the Maine Credit Union League. He has an M.A. in public policy and management from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.

Copy the Story Link