My son is 13. He'll be 14 in the fall. It's a tough time. He's managed to avoid some of the pitfalls of being a middle school guy, thus far. No serious girlfriends yet. He's realized that the majority of his classmates are lacking in maturity, which is to be expected. He also knows that driving is not too far away and that he'll have to pay for half of his car. He knows that he's not old to have a regular job, but that he still needs money sometimes. On the flip side, he built a tarp "fort" in the backyard last weekend...in hopes that he and his friend could sleep outside. The only thing he didn't "take into account" was the random, wandering bear in our neighborhood. He wants to be a kid. He wants to be care free and without responsibility, and at the same time he wants privileges.
He isn't alone in his struggle. I believe most adults are still caught in the pull between youth and adult. There are days when I'd rather skip work and go play, but there is a satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, a building of self-respect that comes with working...with adulting, as it's commonly referred to now. Now how do I get my kids to understand that? I offered my kid a job.
Before you start thinking I'm violating child labor laws, he did have the opportunity to say no...and he'll only be working about an hour a week. I offered him a job as my social media content creator. It's something I know I need to do better, but I literally don't have time to do it. I've given him guidelines and I have final say on everything before he posts it. He won't be spending his whole summer creating Instagram posts, but it gives him opportunity to learn a lot of things that I'm really excited for him to learn. He'll learn time management because he's working as a freelancer with deadlines. He'll learn to use his time well because he's only getting paid a set amount. He'll learn about design and color use--which he actually has a pretty good eye for already. He'll learn to take correction, which he also does pretty well, but we can all get better at that one. He will have goals and specific things he needs to do. I'm really excited for this opportunity for him...and it helps me a lot. It's like the learning money management while you're still at home. He gets to learn and make mistakes in a safe environment. He gets to still have time to be a kid and have fun, while learning to adult. And I get to learn to step back and delegate.
What do you need to delegate today? Whom do you have the opportunity to help when you do?
Make it a beautiful day, friends.
Catch up with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@JensWallsTalk). I always appreciate you subscribing to this blog, as well. Just plug your happy, little email in the happy, little subscribe box. I'll never sell or rent your info.
Before you start thinking I'm violating child labor laws, he did have the opportunity to say no...and he'll only be working about an hour a week. I offered him a job as my social media content creator. It's something I know I need to do better, but I literally don't have time to do it. I've given him guidelines and I have final say on everything before he posts it. He won't be spending his whole summer creating Instagram posts, but it gives him opportunity to learn a lot of things that I'm really excited for him to learn. He'll learn time management because he's working as a freelancer with deadlines. He'll learn to use his time well because he's only getting paid a set amount. He'll learn about design and color use--which he actually has a pretty good eye for already. He'll learn to take correction, which he also does pretty well, but we can all get better at that one. He will have goals and specific things he needs to do. I'm really excited for this opportunity for him...and it helps me a lot. It's like the learning money management while you're still at home. He gets to learn and make mistakes in a safe environment. He gets to still have time to be a kid and have fun, while learning to adult. And I get to learn to step back and delegate.
What do you need to delegate today? Whom do you have the opportunity to help when you do?
Make it a beautiful day, friends.
Catch up with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@JensWallsTalk). I always appreciate you subscribing to this blog, as well. Just plug your happy, little email in the happy, little subscribe box. I'll never sell or rent your info.
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