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| Part-time 14 yr. old helper; a bit of a vent | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 14 2009, 11:01 AM (645 Views) | |
| OTF | Mar 14 2009, 11:01 AM Post #1 |
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You're BANNED!
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The guy across the street convinced Robert to give his 14 yr. old son a part-time job about a month ago. The kid comes by after school on the weekdays for about an hour and Saturday mornings to do some chores (clean up manure in the donkey barn, fill troughs, fill the chicken and bird feeders, rake leaves, etc.) Of course, I am the one who has to "supervise" and follow up, but after a few days, I realized I'd have to make a list every day so that he'd not overlook something or say he'd done a task when, in fact, he had not. We had a little chat and I told him if he was confused about something, didn't understand something, couldn't find something, etc., he needs to ASK one of us, not just leave things undone! He doesn't seem to comprehend things very well sometimes, and I don't know if it's a "learning problem" or what the problem is. (Example: please rake up the area by the woodpile and dump it HERE, not THERE. Well, it gets dumped THERE. )When he left yesterday afternoon, I asked him what time he'd be here this morning and how long he'd be working (he said 10-1), so I made my list up and got things ready, including a couple of new things to learn how to do. While I was out early doing this and that, he called and told Robert he wasn't going to come today because he was going to a bake sale. HUH? Dammit, this irks me. Robert just says, well, he IS a kid. I'll admit to being a cranky old biddie at times, but I was PO'd. I honestly believe the whole thing was his dad's idea (get US to teach his kid how to work) and the kid's just not "into" working yet. Thanks for listening! Comments welcome! |
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| Trialbyfire | Mar 14 2009, 12:29 PM Post #2 |
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You're BANNED!
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Ugh! I feel your pain. We've hired a number of the local farm kids to do odd jobs and it's always a disappointing experience. Always had to supervise and they always tried to short the work and still get paid. I can't tell you how many times they got a "phone call" from their "grandma" whose horses just broke down the fence and they had to go...would try to be back...etc. What I did find worked the best was to hire them for one-time jobs (these were older kids who were actually quite handy, so might not be the same for you)...e.g. "Can you come put up an electric fence for me"...."can you come fix my barn door" as opposed to "can you come and do chores for a few hours?" And I'd pay by the job, not by the hour. One other idea...which might also not help...is to hire the kid to work "with you". (Which I would hate, but my dad does this all the time...he's a retired shop teacher so he always has a project and hires a kid to work alongside him.) So again, a project type job that is easier with 2 people. Last but not least is to leave the hard labor for the boy, and retain all the jobs that actually matter (anything that HAS to be done)...stacking/moving hay, mucking outdoor pens, brush clean up. Honestly, we wonder if we were this lazy as kids. As far as I recall, I worked hard and would ask for overtime but then again, I was a kid. Maybe I only thought I worked hard. |
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| Sannois | Mar 14 2009, 01:06 PM Post #3 |
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You're BANNED!
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I was would have jumped at the chance to do that when I was 14~ Oh wait I did, helped a couple with there trotters and kennels.. every day after school and on weekends. I loved it! But kids are different anymore. Sorry OTF
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| Brydelle Farm | Mar 14 2009, 01:13 PM Post #4 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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No real advice, as I have been through many of these types, they usually don't last more than a week. I actually got a note on my mailbox a few weeks ago, clearly written by a kid (lots of misspellings) asking to work here, and I was tempted, as I think farm work is good for kids, but I didn't bite, didn't want to waste my time. Sorry to be a bit of a downer...they just don't make kids the way they use to. ![]() The last time I did this, I did have one parent come the first time to see what I was asking the kid to do, what my expectations were, and a written agreement to their time commitment. Though, this did only last 1 week, but the parents had the parents finish the week and call and tell me himself. I appreciated that. Good luck with it, perhaps keep the tasks simple and don't add anything until he masters his current duties, and/or pick duties that might be of more interest for him, so that he takes more pride in his work. |
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| Brydelle Farm | Mar 14 2009, 01:13 PM Post #5 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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Oh, one more things, I would love to help with the donkeys!! Too bad I am not 14!
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| jillincolorado | Mar 14 2009, 02:27 PM Post #6 |
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You're BANNED!
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Well from one cranky old biddy to another... You are doing a good thing helping this kid learn some responsibility that he probably wouldn't get at home BUT it has to work for you too. Hopefully it's just a "learning curve"and he'll get better over time. Um...where are the Amy pics????????
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| OTF | Mar 14 2009, 03:28 PM Post #7 |
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You're BANNED!
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Thanks so much for sharing my pain everyone! I appreciate the commiseration. There seems to be a common thread that at this age, they just can't hack it. TBF, paying by the task makes sense to me too, but Robert agreed on an hourly rate with "Daddy" and we're stuck with that; as you know, hourly workers (kids and adults) quickly figure out if they take their sweet time doing something, it means more $. Heck, if someone had asked me to pick up branches in the yard and snap them into kindling, I'd have been out scouring the woods looking for more! This one couldn't find 3" chunks of oak branches lying on the ground!!! Funny thing (well, not at the time): we had a lot of snow (for us) on March 1. The day after, I asked him to shovel a path to the chicken coop and a path to the barn. He shoveled a path FROM the chicken coop TO the barn. Ummmm.........???? I didn't say a word, knowing it would all melt within a day. There's not a lick of common sense these days, is there? Brydelle, I think the kid who left you a note on your mailbox is motivated, but after you've been burned a few times, it ends up being more work than help for YOU, as I am quickly learning! And you can come play with donks anytime you want! You'd probably have them jumping a full course, with auto lead changes, in about an hour! Sanny, c'mon down....we'd have a good time! Ms Jilli, this is one mighty steep learning curve, I tell ya'...... Oh, Amy and the mini's both got "No Parasites Detected" reports from the lab yesterday, so I can work on merging her with the group. I don't have photos of this, but I took her on lead out in their pasture today...she was sooooo excited, prancing along. The meanie mini's were not thrilled. Even Faith and Josie (the quiet ones) went after her. Maybe tomorrow I can get Robert to take photos of their evil behavior. All I have to do is point at them and they turn back, but they do mean business! |
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| Brydelle Farm | Mar 14 2009, 05:58 PM Post #8 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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I know, I felt kinda of bad about not trying her out but based on her spelling [misspellings] I think she was quite young and don't really want that liability either, especially if I am not here... Can't wait for more donk pics tomorrow, I hope they all behave and treat Miss Amy well!! Where are you exactly? I might just take up u up on some donkey play time!! |
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| thetoothpick&oliveshow | Mar 14 2009, 06:58 PM Post #9 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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Here's an idea! Fire that kid and hire me! |
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| Copper Leaf | Mar 15 2009, 06:13 AM Post #10 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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Well... doesn't that just burn your bum... Methinks you may want to renegotiate this kid's compensation... No more by the hour... you need to switch to by the chore/task. Maybe telling him that he will get an extra $1 if the job is exceptionally done may motivate him to do better. |
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| jillincolorado | Mar 15 2009, 10:54 AM Post #11 |
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You're BANNED!
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I just can't picture those sweet mini's being MEAN! ...then again, the one we saw in Florida was quite the holy terror which really surprised me.GOod luck with the "help" (and I use the term loosely!!)
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| Fish Cheeks | Mar 15 2009, 06:21 PM Post #12 |
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You're BANNED!
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I hear 'ya! We have neighbors who are friends. They have two daughters. One is very motivated at a young age and has taken to breeding/raising/selling pigs to start her college fund (at the ripe young age of 8!). She's already made a couple thousand dollars. Older daughter is 14. Wants to have money but doesn't want to work to earn money. I had her come out and help me last year a couple days because she said she wanted to work and make money, so I had her doing easy things - pulling weeds, moving small rocks. That's about it. She lasted, oh, an hour or two...and only did it twice, I think, and never wanted to help me again. And I paid her well!! She's just not interested in working. They had horses at home but have since sold them - she didn't keep up with that very well either. Paddock always had manure in it, tack was filthy, horses not fed on a regular schedule . . . and she was a pony clubber! My advice would be: - pay by the job - only give one job at a time - only give the most basic instructions...don't say dump the pile HERE and NOT there, only say dump the pile HERE...last thing he hears is THERE and so that's where he dumps. Same for the path shoveling. Job #1 - shovel a path from house to the barn. When he finishes that, then tell him to shovel a path from the barn to the chicken coop (or whatever). He's a boy and his little boy brain can't handle too much at once. He has the attention span of a flea at this point! "Kids these days!" Unfortunately it does seem like they just don't have a good work ethic and need a swift kick in the arse with no excuses from mum and dad! Where's a finger-wagging emoticon when we need one?!
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| doppelganger | Mar 22 2009, 07:10 AM Post #13 |
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I Visited Candy Mountain and All I Got Was This Lousy Incision
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You've got 2 things working against you....a14 year old, and a male. (sorry!) As a parent of teenagers, and working with teenagers, and seeing lots of teenage friends of my teenagers...frankly, I'm not impressed so much with many of them these days. (at least in our area) It's very easy for them to call out on a shift an hour before, because they're tired of say, working Friday nights and they'd rather hang with their friends (doing nothing). They don't understand the ripple effect of their actions. And yes, you do have to get specific with a 14 year old boy...the attention span just is not there. Good luck! |
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| Copper Leaf | Mar 22 2009, 08:58 AM Post #14 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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Do you have a dry erase board in the barn? If so you can make a job list for the day and check them off as "good", "fair", "unsatisfactory" as he completes them... may be a little over management for a teenager, but good experience for when he gets into the real world. |
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| thetoothpick&oliveshow | Mar 22 2009, 10:06 AM Post #15 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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I still say fire him, and hire me, but its your choice!
Edited by thetoothpick&oliveshow, Mar 22 2009, 10:06 AM.
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...then again, the one we saw in Florida was quite the holy terror which really surprised me.

9:48 AM Jul 13