Food service and retail; those are the two pretty basic first jobs. Most people try to avoid them, which makes sense. They are jobs where you are on your feet for hours at a time and doing things you will never need in some professional jobs. And not to mention that sometimes, in those jobs, the people you are helping can be extremely rude.

But my kids are going to experience everything that comes with working a minimum wage job. Whether it is some restaurant or a store in the mall, my kids will be working there. And no, it won’t be a situation of “I did this so I have to do it too”, it is going to be “You need to learn the lessons that come with working in those types of jobs”.

I want them to learn that in this world, there are people who will treat you like you are less than them because you are doing a job in which they have never done. They will treat you like you are less than them because you are working a job that is a beginning level position. While working in a food service job or a retail job, you get to learn how to deal with people like that, you get to learn that the expression “kill them with kindness,” is a good way to deal with a stressful situation.

You also learn valuable life skills; like how to properly handle money, how to work well with others, and how to deal with stressful situations. All of these skills can and probably will be used later on in life. So having the experience to fall back on will be incredibly helpful.

Your resume will also benefit from working those jobs. Future employers will see this jobs and understand that you have worked long, hard hours and learned many useful skills that can be put to use in a real-world setting.

So yes those jobs are not always ideal but my kids will work them because I want them to learn that people in this world can be rude and inconsiderate, but that you do not have to let them ruin your day. That sometimes you will have to do things in life that make you feel like there is no point to it, but then realize that you are learning skills you can use further on in life. I want my kids to be able to learn that in life being able to keep a good attitude can make anything awesome.