Making Sure Your Teen's Job Is Safe (continued)

Starting the Job Hunt

If you and your teen agree about your teen looking for a job, plan to spend some time searching for one that's safe and enjoyable.

Talk about what your teen wants to do. If possible, your teen should be interested in the job, not just taking it for money. Someone interested in pursuing medicine in college, for example, might seek a job as a nursing home worker or at a hospital.

Try contacting the department of labor in your state. Among the things you can ask them: the number of hours teens can work, the hours of the day when they can work, and the types of jobs they shouldn't do. For example, in some states teens under age 16 aren't allowed to operate deli slicers or fryers in restaurants. And some teens under age 18 may not be allowed to work past 10:00 PM on school nights.

You can also get helpful information from the National Consumers League (NCL), a national organization that works (among other things) to monitor and fight child labor abuses.

Starting a Business

How do you monitor the safety of a teen who wants to start a business (or work independently, as in babysitting)? Check with the labor department anyway; this may help you and your teen establish some guidelines, like hours to work and what kind of businesses are OK.

For example, let's say your 16-year-old wants to run a window-washing business this summer, but the labor department in your state prohibits minors from taking jobs that involve climbing ladders. Even if you know your teen is mature and responsible, the laws are there to protect teens from getting hurt.

Before your teen starts a business, steer your child to the library or Internet for business and safety advice for young entrepreneurs. Your local hospital, police or fire department, Red Cross chapter, or YMCA/YWCA may have helpful information about first aid, CPR, and safety.

Before Your Teen Is Hired

To find out if a job is safe, talk to your teen and ask questions such as:

• How did you find out about this job? If your teen got the tip from a trusted adult, for example, you might feel more comfortable with it than a job listed in the classifieds with an unknown company.
• Do you know the people you're working for? It's one thing for your 14-year-old to babysit for your neighbors and friends. But if you don't know your teen's boss, you may want to set up an appointment to meet before your teen accepts the job.
• How many hours will you work? What hours will you work (weekends, after school, school nights)? For the sake of grades and sleep, you and your teen should set limits.
• What protection will you have? If your child is working inside someone else's home or cleaning up at a restaurant after hours, find out if there's a security system and lock, as well as easy access to a phone to call 911 and other emergency numbers.
• Do you have the skills for this job? Age isn't always the key factor. A 13-year-old used to babysitting for younger siblings may be more qualified for such work than the 16-year-old who's an only child with no experience watching kids. And if your teen wants to be a lifeguard but has limited swimming skills, you might steer him or her toward the snack bar instead.

Checking Out a Job Site

You might not have concerns if your teen is working around the neighborhood with people you know. But you might have questions if your child's takes a job where you don't know the people or the environment.