We are reminded of the wonderful protection afforded
our children by Gurudeva's wise guideline:

"Followers should not allow children before college,
to hold any job, even during vacations,
lest money desires distract them from education.
This does not apply to the the family business,
which they help without pay. Aum"

Sutra 218

Read On:

Too Much Time on Job Imperils Teens' Future,Panel Says

By Barbara Vobejda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 1998

A national panel of scientists issued a stern
warning yesterday about the hazards of teenage employment, saying
that young people who work more than 20 hours a week, regardless
of their economic background, are less likely to finish high school
and more likely to use drugs and run into trouble with police. The
panel also warned that work can be dangerous: Young people are
injured at work at twice the rate of adults, and 100,000 show up in
hospital emergency rooms each year with job-related injuries.

In a book-length report, a committee
of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine
portrayed a generation of young people eager to enter the work
force, not only to earn money but because parents often encourage it
as a way to teach children responsibility. Today, eight of every 10
American teenagers hold down a job some time during their school
years, and the current tight labor market has made them even more
desirable to employers who can't get adults to fill minimum-wage
jobs in fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops and
nursing homes. The panel, which reviewed years of research from
leading scientists in the field, acknowledged that work can have
positive effects, such as teaching punctuality, money management
and how to work effectively with other people. But when teenagers
put in more than 20 hours a week -- as nearly half of 12th graders
do during the school year -- those useful lessons tend to be
overwhelmed by the negatives.

These
young people end up sacrificing sleep and exercise, spending less
time with their families and shortchanging their homework, the
panel found. One study cited by the researchers found that for every
additional hour worked, there was a corresponding increase in the
likelihood that a child would drop out of school. The teenagers also
are more likely to be sent to the principal's office, to have minor
scrapes with the law and to use alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. The
researchers said the reasons are not clear, but that the behavior
patterns may result from the fact that working teens spend time
with the older people they meet at work or may consider themselves
independent earlier than they would have otherwise.

"Parents may not realize how jobs are associated
with risks," said David Wegman, chairman of the Department of Work
Environment at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell and head
of the 16-member panel of scientists. "Some work is good for youth.
But there is also very good evidence that a large number of hours has
adverse consequences." A practice that is firmly fixed in the
national work ethic may be more problematic than it was in the
past, the panel said, because the changing economy greatly rewards
those who stay in school longer, making early work experiences
ultimately less valuable than additional education. And while former
generations of teenagers tended to work so they could contribute to
the family budget, the most common reason cited by teens now is to
earn money for their own discretionary spending, often for cars,
clothes and entertainment. "Most of them want a car. Their parents
say they can't drive unless they pay for a car and insurance," said
Marcia Carman, a guidance counselor at Hayfield Secondary School in
Fairfax County.

Employers hire them
to work 15 to 20 hours a week, she said, but then tell them to come
in for extra shifts. "The kid's afraid to say, 'I can't. I've got to do my
schoolwork,' " Carman said. "Then they drag in here late, they can't
stay awake. They haven't got the time to get it all done." She said
that once students turn 18, they get bombarded by credit card offers
and many sign up, start to buy, then find themselves trapped in a job
to pay off their bills. Rebecca Newman, principal at Montgomery
County's Thomas Wootton High School, said some students must find
jobs to save money for college, but that she urges others to balance
work with school. "If you're going to school full time and having to
study and working four hours a day . . . most adults would have a hard
time keeping up with that schedule," she said. Federal laws restrict
the number of work hours only for children younger than 16. Those
16 and older can work nonhazardous jobs without limitations on
hours. Agricultural work is even less restricted.

The panel recommended that Congress give the
Labor Department authority to limit the number of hours worked
during the school year by youngsters under age 18. It also urged the
federal government to tighten its regulation of youth in hazardous
jobs and farm work. The panel attributed the higher injury rates
among teens to inadequate training and supervision, to their
inexperience and to the fact that many are too small to handle
equipment meant for adults. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman said
in a statement that she agreed with the findings of the report.
"Working too much too soon only jeopardizes a child's future," she
said. The Labor Department recently fined an Ohio fast-food company
that operates an Arby's outlet and chicken restaurants more than
$333,000 for violations of federal child labor laws after a
15-year-old girl cut her finger using a power-driven meat slicer.

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