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agonyaunt2024-07-05 12:56 am
minoanmiss) wrote in agonyaunt2024-07-05 12:56 am
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Pay Dirt: The Reason My Son Refuses to Get a Job in College Is Ridiculous...
... I Made the Mistake of Telling Him So.
Dear Pay Dirt,
My son is 19 years old and in college. He refused to get a job his first two semesters because he was too busy with his girlfriend, with whom he ended up sharing his dorm. I was not aware of this girl’s existence in that manner and now, because I let my son know how disappointed I am of him… it only made matters worse. In their mind, it’s him and her against the world. Yet neither of them work full-time. This is a gentleman I would always see with a book in his hand. How do I knock some sense into him?
—College Job
Dear College Job:
You don’t. Your son is 19 years old, and biologically speaking, he’s nowhere near ready to take on the responsibilities of being a grown-up. His brain will still be developing well into his 20s. But, he is legally an adult, and you have to let him start to experience the consequences of his actions.
But before we get there, how’s the rest of his life going? Is he getting good grades? Is he able to focus at all while being in this relationship? Is he letting his other friendships fall to the wayside? If he’s getting good grades and having fun, but you feel he should (or already promised to) contribute financially to his education, that’s one thing. If his grades are sliding and you think getting a job will be “punishment” enough to get him back on track, that’s another.
Assuming it’s the former, decide what you think his contribution should be. The next time he’s home, you can sit him down and have a conversation with him that goes something like this:
You: Son, we need you to help out with your college expenses.
Son: But I’m working hard for my grades and don’t have time.
You: In life, we all have to make choices we don’t particularly like, and we can’t fund your beer money anymore. We expect you to find a way to contribute X amount to your schooling.
Then stick to it. Don’t bring up the girlfriend. Don’t bring up what you had to do when you went to school. This is just about his agreement to help—you’re asking him to stick to that.
And a word of advice for you: don’t think making him get a job will get him to dump the girl. Instead, try the opposite approach: make friends. Invite her in. As my friend Michael likes to say, “Be on the acceptance committee, not the admission committee.” That way, it might be you, your son, and whomever he’s dating at the moment, against the world.
Dear Pay Dirt,
My son is 19 years old and in college. He refused to get a job his first two semesters because he was too busy with his girlfriend, with whom he ended up sharing his dorm. I was not aware of this girl’s existence in that manner and now, because I let my son know how disappointed I am of him… it only made matters worse. In their mind, it’s him and her against the world. Yet neither of them work full-time. This is a gentleman I would always see with a book in his hand. How do I knock some sense into him?
—College Job
Dear College Job:
You don’t. Your son is 19 years old, and biologically speaking, he’s nowhere near ready to take on the responsibilities of being a grown-up. His brain will still be developing well into his 20s. But, he is legally an adult, and you have to let him start to experience the consequences of his actions.
But before we get there, how’s the rest of his life going? Is he getting good grades? Is he able to focus at all while being in this relationship? Is he letting his other friendships fall to the wayside? If he’s getting good grades and having fun, but you feel he should (or already promised to) contribute financially to his education, that’s one thing. If his grades are sliding and you think getting a job will be “punishment” enough to get him back on track, that’s another.
Assuming it’s the former, decide what you think his contribution should be. The next time he’s home, you can sit him down and have a conversation with him that goes something like this:
You: Son, we need you to help out with your college expenses.
Son: But I’m working hard for my grades and don’t have time.
You: In life, we all have to make choices we don’t particularly like, and we can’t fund your beer money anymore. We expect you to find a way to contribute X amount to your schooling.
Then stick to it. Don’t bring up the girlfriend. Don’t bring up what you had to do when you went to school. This is just about his agreement to help—you’re asking him to stick to that.
And a word of advice for you: don’t think making him get a job will get him to dump the girl. Instead, try the opposite approach: make friends. Invite her in. As my friend Michael likes to say, “Be on the acceptance committee, not the admission committee.” That way, it might be you, your son, and whomever he’s dating at the moment, against the world.
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