As soon as I turned 16, I wanted to get a part-time job. My mother let me, as long as my grades and other after-school activities didn't suffer.

My first job was at a movie theater working at the concession stand (oh, how I ended up hating it! LoL). It was a real eye-opener and made me appreciate the value of a dollar.

Check out these links about part-time jobs for teens:

I'm fascinated by the results of a new poll from The Christian Science Monitor:

Seven out of 10 parents want their child to be a public-school teacher when they grow up.

Are you part of this majority?

Some teens looking to earn a little extra cash get jobs at Starbucks or McDonald's or babysitting the kids next door. Others can work at strip clubs—and it's perfectly legal.

Have you seen the video of the spoiled teen who has a meltdown after his parents give him a beat-up truck for his birthday?

What do you do if you want your kid to go to college or vocational training program and she/he is refusing to go?

Two moms share their completely different takes on how they handle this situation...

photo by JayGirlsMom

Summer vacation. Is that an oxymoron? Summer might be a vacation for the kids, but when they're home from school all day, it might not be so relaxing for you. In fact, you might even have more work to do since they'll likely be adding to the daily mess of the house. One way to keep them busy and your house in order? Have them help out with household chores.

There have been lots of reports that it's difficult for teen to find summer jobs this year because they're competing with laid-off adults for positions in movie theaters, retail, and fast food. The lack of jobs for teens seem to be a reality for some CafeMoms; but others say that their teens have been successful in securing employment for the summer. Here's what a few teens are doing...

There's just something so nostalgic about seeing kids on the sidewalks in their lemonade stands. That's just one summer activity that hasn't really changed for years (other than the price of lemons!). Kids are always trying to come up with ways to make some "hard-earned" cash and this is a great way to keep them both entertained and give them a little lesson in money.

A blogger for The Juggle recently posted a dilemma about kids and money: Should she give her teen son complete freedom on how to spend his money (weekly allowance, cash gifts, etc.)? Or should she "interfere" and use this as an opportunity to teach him about how to make responsible purchases?

photo by home-sweet-home

Sunset or the promise of a new day?

The weirdest thing just happened. I just wrote a really long response to my "Am I a Bad Mom?" post, as it has engendered a lot of conversation (that's putting it politely) about what a Daily Buzz writer should and should not say. I never write long responses, if any at all, because I usually figure I've said my peace. I just genuinely like to enjoy reading the often insightful, inspirational things you moms have to say.

Anyhow, I polished off my note (defending my position and clarifying that I certainly do not believe that one negligent act is the same thing as being a "neglectful" or "bad mom") with a group hug Sweet Pea, and thought I hit "submit." But when I checked back, it wasn't there. I'm really bummed about that because I definitely wanted to make some things perfectly clear.