Starting from the school holidays, which happened to my children’s school was turned off for a month. Of course I was surprised to hear it from my son. But after that I think how to make my son not spend his time by watching tv or playing internet. To be sure, the activity must be new and involve some friends. Then I think of my friend who has information about the work that can be done by 12-year-old child from the website – http://promoneyinfo.com/offline-money/how-to-make-money-as-a-12-year-old.html
Then I thought of my friend who owns a shop that sells parts or electronic items such as cables, plugs, ICs etc. I try to ask if my friend needs human resources to do stock taking in his shop. And it turns out my friends in desperate need.
Finally I talked to my son and explained the internship concept. I offered the opportunity and asked if he was interested. The answer: interested. Then we together looking for 3 friends whose parents I know. After that I called their parents, in this case the mothers, and offered if they allowed their children to take part in the internship program at my friend’s place during this holiday. Surely there is a little pocket money that has been prepared. But that’s not the main purpose. The goal is to fill their time with positive activities while providing new experiences for them about the taste of making money.
A few days before the apprenticeship started, I gathered them and explained the concept of internship with very easy working terms: their job is to count goods and write them on stock cards, the working period is about 9 days and is only done every Wednesday to Friday, divided in two groups and only work for 3 hours. To give more picture of the world of work, I make a very simple Working Agreement where written on working hours, came to be on time etc.
The first day begins where my friend explains how to work and also tells not to count but try to learn about the items. At the end of the day, I asked my child what it was like to work. The answer: tired. It turns out after I try to collect data, other children also have the same comment: tired.
But even though there is a tired like my son who always eat very greedily every work home, but some do not want to continue because it is too tired because the morning just play futsal with his friends, there are plans to exchange the day because there are plans to play with friends, some say that no longer want to work calculate like this; What is amazing are some children who remain passionate and consistently finish their working period for 9 days.
Like the age of 12 years old children, they are still shy to greet with employees of the store, so do not know their names. But I encourage my son to ask who their names are and it would be nice to interact with them. I was also told that they did not want to take the reserved mineral water. There may be shame. It’s Okay.
Even more interesting is the distribution of allowance. In accordance with my friend’s request, they created a laminated thank-you note and put it in an envelope. Their reactions were mixed. My son jumps up in joy receiving his honor and immediately has a lot of plans with the money (of course the wage will not be able to accommodate all his plans). There are people who proudly say he will bring money from his work while watching together with his friends to the mall and plan to spend on books etc. But there was also no view of the contents of the envelope and the next day his mother found the envelope in the trash and after checked, the money is still in the envelope, and when told to the child, his reaction was just laughing.
Until now I have not had time to talk again with these children. But I am sure that they have got the essence of this simple internship program, that to get something, we must have an effort. In this case, to earn extra money on holiday, they have to work.
Their diverse reactions are astounding, but at the same time also a very valuable and unique experience for me. The best part I really cherish is their commitment and consistency in accomplishing their tasks. Though I’m sure there must be days when the temptation to skip must be huge. Just like us, which sometimes arises boredom to go to work in the morning.
And what makes me grateful is when I hear some stories from mothers about their children’s activities that make them stress, that is play bike all day or even fun to play online games at home from morning till night.
I am also grateful to get advice and moral support from one of the parents when trying to implement this idea. He also encouraged me to write down my experience in the hope that it can be read by parents.
Actually, the child working during the holidays is a natural thing as long as his work is in accordance with his age. And we as parents can help create these jobs by relying on our creativity and tailored to the conditions surrounding environment. Use a connection with a friend who owns a shop or own business. Choose a suitable job type. Be a good listener to them. You will be amazed by their life values and perspectives in this process.
I still have a desire to continue looking for opportunities like this again when my child is on school long vacation, so they can get a positive experience. We can provide all infrastructure with advanced technology such as internet and good and great gadgets. But do not forget to teach the value of life (value of life) in a simple and creative way for our children to grow into people who can socialize with everyone from all walks of life because they have empathy.