Should your teen get a summer job?

Hey hey! Did everyone enjoy their weekends? We hope you felt loved, celebrated, and relaxed on Sunday. And here’s to hoping you got at least a little bit of what you wanted for Mother’s Day…and not just another candle or robe.

Should Your Teen Get a Summer Job?

We don’t want to scare you…but it’s almost summertime. Which means it’s almost the time of year when your kids take up full-time residence on the couch. Want to keep them motivated (and keep your own sanity at home)? It might be worth considering a summer job for your teen.

Hear us out: Summer jobs are kind of the best for tweens and teens…

• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, for every year a person works in their teens, their income rises a significant 14% to 16% in their 20s.

• Summer jobs help your kids learn real-world and very important skills like organization and time management. And they can build character!

Want to help your teen land a really fun and formative summer job? Here are some specific ways to help them prep for the job search and interview process. And for our Common Parent crew (get your free trial here if you’re not part of the community yet!), here are 5 ways to help your teen land their first job.

Curious about teen jobs that aren’t just babysitter or lifeguard? We’ve got you covered with 27 cool summer jobs for teenagers…and what they pay.

Teens and Taking Risks…What Could Go Wrong?

We’ve all thought it: “I can’t believe how dumb I was when I was a teenager.” That’s part of why we lose sleep over our own kids now—because we know the stupid sh*t we got into as kids, and we don’t want them to take the same risks.

But that’s part of life: Kids take risks. So how do we navigate it all as their parents? We asked Phinnah Chichi, a parenting consultant and coach who specializes in the changes and challenges of the adolescent years. And the takeaways were major. We learned so much.

Want to hear Phinnah’s POV yourself? Listen to our conversation right here and enjoy your newfound perspective on your kids taking the same risks you did at their age.

How to Help Your Teen with Summer Body Image

Here’s a harsh reality: Almost one-third of teenagers feel ashamed of some aspect of their body. That’s way too many, if you ask us.

But it’s hard to go head to head with all of the negative perspectives on our bodies out there, especially as women and especially as impressionable teen girls. And it all gets worse in the summer…

Want to help your kids embrace their bodies for the powerful, strong, beautiful things they are? Here are some simple actions you can take to lead by example and help your kids feel good in their own skin.

Mom truth: We love our families more than life itself and we’d seriously do anything for them. But sometimes? We just really need alone time. Like most moms, we want time to chill out or get work done without kids, dogs, and texts constantly peppering us…and we rarely get it.

So today, the perfect recs to finally get some alone time when you really need it. And no, hiding in the bathroom does not count.

• Real parents’ advice to a mom-to-be who values her alone time

• Single parent? Here are 10 ways to start getting alone time, even when it feels impossible

• Why this parent needs to hide from their kids sometimes

• Giving teens and tweens their own space is important, too—here’s how