3 ms·

And we shouldn't expect adult/parent level of work out a 16/17 year-old. There's no time left any more to be a kid.

bradfa 2mo ago
Your comment specifically compared it to the normal adult, my point is the normal adult who is a parent is very likely doing even more than your example of your kid. Even for adults who aren't in the elite high earner category, heck people who make less money are likely working even more hours per day just to make ends meet.
- Broken_Hippo 2mo ago
  How, exactly, are they working more? How many low-paying jobs offer overtime, if they are full time at all? Any clue how many jobs won't let you work a part-time job or won't work around another job? Can't exactly work for Uber if you can't afford a decent enough car. And this is assuming you have older children that don't need childcare. The fact is that they aren't working extra, not for a job anyway. The extra work comes in the time making dried beans instead of buying canned, in repairing stuff poorly, in shopping around for a doctor that takes the state health insurance or an affordable option if you have none at all, in taking busses (if they are available), and other unpaid things. Your child will be lucky to afford the activities that gets them a 'good' education, especially if they have to work.
  - tetromino_ 2mo ago
    > not for a job anyway That is exactly OP's point: for OP, if a child's "working hours" includes university prep and resume-padding sports activities, then an adult's "working hours" includes housework, grocery shopping, dealing with insurance and taxes, and commute/family chauffeur time.
- watwut 2mo ago
  As adult with job and kids, I honestly don't work as much as a kid described in that comment. It is in fact way less competitive. I get a good pay, my job is reasonably interesting (ai can make it sux and probably will, but we are not there yet). There are parts that sux or where I am under pressure, but overall, it is better to be an adult then to be teenager trying to get to competitive school. And for the record, I had to work less to get to good school back then.
alephnerd 2mo ago
Absolutely. I think some degree of competitive attitude should be developed, but admissions since the late 2000s have become hyper-competitive. Pressure makes diamonds, but it also crushes everything else.
- speff 2mo ago
  "It takes a ton of pressure to make a diamond". I read that in a game when I was a kid and took it as a guiding principle in my life. Overcoming hard times absolutely made me a better person, but as I've grown I've seen many examples of the fallout you're referring to. Sometimes people just break.
- nukethebay 2mo ago
  [dead]
rayiner 2mo ago
16 year olds aren’t kids. My dad was in boarding school in bangladesh at that age working 16 hour days (which is why I don’t have to live there).
- basisword 2mo ago
  Things change, thankfully.
  - rayiner 2mo ago
    Why should we change the practice of putting people to work to build civilization when they’re at their physical and energetic peak? In his early 20s my dad helped overthrow the Pakistani government, and by his late 20s and early 30s he was helping tackle the astronomical infant and maternal mortality in the country. Why shouldn’t our young people in America work?
Aurornis 2mo ago
> There's no time left any more to be a kid. I have several hobbies that are popular with kids (mountain biking, rock climbing, and some others). I can assure you that there are plenty of kids with more time than I have to dedicate to these hobbies at every popular spot I go to. Many of them are ambitious, smart, and working toward top universities, too. It’s actually fun energy to be around. The parent comment about students getting up at 6:30AM and working 15 hour days is highly unusual.

Your comment specifically compared it to the normal adult, my point is the normal adult who is a parent is very likely doing even more than your example of your kid. Even for adults who aren't in the elite high earner category, heck people who make less money are likely working even more hours per day just to make ends meet.

Broken_Hippo 2mo ago
How, exactly, are they working more? How many low-paying jobs offer overtime, if they are full time at all? Any clue how many jobs won't let you work a part-time job or won't work around another job? Can't exactly work for Uber if you can't afford a decent enough car. And this is assuming you have older children that don't need childcare. The fact is that they aren't working extra, not for a job anyway. The extra work comes in the time making dried beans instead of buying canned, in repairing stuff poorly, in shopping around for a doctor that takes the state health insurance or an affordable option if you have none at all, in taking busses (if they are available), and other unpaid things. Your child will be lucky to afford the activities that gets them a 'good' education, especially if they have to work.
- tetromino_ 2mo ago
  > not for a job anyway That is exactly OP's point: for OP, if a child's "working hours" includes university prep and resume-padding sports activities, then an adult's "working hours" includes housework, grocery shopping, dealing with insurance and taxes, and commute/family chauffeur time.
watwut 2mo ago
As adult with job and kids, I honestly don't work as much as a kid described in that comment. It is in fact way less competitive. I get a good pay, my job is reasonably interesting (ai can make it sux and probably will, but we are not there yet). There are parts that sux or where I am under pressure, but overall, it is better to be an adult then to be teenager trying to get to competitive school. And for the record, I had to work less to get to good school back then.

alephnerd 2mo ago

Absolutely. I think some degree of competitive attitude should be developed, but admissions since the late 2000s have become hyper-competitive. Pressure makes diamonds, but it also crushes everything else.

speff 2mo ago
"It takes a ton of pressure to make a diamond". I read that in a game when I was a kid and took it as a guiding principle in my life. Overcoming hard times absolutely made me a better person, but as I've grown I've seen many examples of the fallout you're referring to. Sometimes people just break.
nukethebay 2mo ago
[dead]

rayiner 2mo ago

16 year olds aren’t kids. My dad was in boarding school in bangladesh at that age working 16 hour days (which is why I don’t have to live there).

basisword 2mo ago
Things change, thankfully.
- rayiner 2mo ago
  Why should we change the practice of putting people to work to build civilization when they’re at their physical and energetic peak? In his early 20s my dad helped overthrow the Pakistani government, and by his late 20s and early 30s he was helping tackle the astronomical infant and maternal mortality in the country. Why shouldn’t our young people in America work?

Aurornis 2mo ago

> There's no time left any more to be a kid. I have several hobbies that are popular with kids (mountain biking, rock climbing, and some others). I can assure you that there are plenty of kids with more time than I have to dedicate to these hobbies at every popular spot I go to. Many of them are ambitious, smart, and working toward top universities, too. It’s actually fun energy to be around. The parent comment about students getting up at 6:30AM and working 15 hour days is highly unusual.