High-Schoolers Work with Kids
By Samiha Jaffar
STAFF WRITER
An increasing number of students are going beyond their regular priorities and getting jobs, specifically involving younger kids.
High school students have been getting jobs in order to help them with college by allowing students to build their skills based on interests that are beyond the focus of academics and making money. Recently the job rate for them has been mainly around jobs involving younger kids such as tutoring, babysitting, and such.
In Massachusetts, opportunities for freshmen to secure employment are constrained by regulations governing the hours and types of work permissible for minors. For 14-year-olds, state laws impose limitations such as a maximum of three hours of work on a school day and no more than 18 hours per week. Despite this, students still try—and are able to get certain jobs.
Ella Stefani, a freshman, dedicates two hours twice a week to babysitting. She earns $15 per hour for her services, and as she doesn’t earn an allowance it’s a valuable opportunity to begin earning money.
“I enjoy [it],” Stefani said. “It’s not hard to balance school and a job since I can also do some work while babysitting.”
She doesn’t have any younger siblings, so this was also an opportunity to interact with little kids. Similarly, junior Aisha Riaz, who works at Kumon, said, “I’ve always liked playing with little kids, and I felt that a job that involved working with kids would feel more fulfilling.”
Riaz chose Kumon because she would get to work with and help children, but also because it works very well with her school schedule, so commitment is pretty easy. She doesn’t earn an allowance, so this is an alternative that is useful as well as an experience.
“I don’t want to work with kids in the future, but I love how I’m getting the experience of volunteering with them,” said freshman Syd Steddom, who started working at Pike Middle School and Master Shin’s World Class Martial Arts about five months ago. A main motivation for Steddom was collecting volunteer hours, as she teaches both ukulele and martial arts on different days during the week. Being committed isn’t tough because there aren’t any consequences for missing a class to prioritize other parts of Steddom’s daily life.
Noor Bhatti, a sophomore at AHS, has volunteered at the Andover Youth Center every Thursday for anywhere from one to two hours since December 2023. Bhatti’s motivation was also volunteer hours. A bus picks her up from AHS, as well as other kids who volunteer there, so it is an easy commute for her.
“Working with kids really makes it fun,” said Bhatti. “You get to experience the thoughts and feelings of kids in different age groups.”
