Are Teens Working Too Many Hours? - jobs may have negative impact on education, health

0 Comments | Current Events, Dec 11, 1998

SOME FLIP BURGERS on the weekends. Others work at the video store. Whether they work to support their families or to earn some extra spending cash, many teens are working hard at part-time jobs.

Experts agree that kids who work part time can gain valuable skills and experience. But at what point does part-time work become more trouble than it is worth? A study by the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine found that working too much could cause trouble for many teens. The study indicates that teens who work more than 20 hours per week are more likely to use drugs and have problems in school.

Two states, Maine and Washington, already have laws that limit teens under age 18 to a maximum of 20 hours of work per week. The NRC says a national limit on the hours teens can work would protect millions of other teens. Opponents, however, say that most teens benefit from working and that the proposed law would be unfair to working teens.

Limit Their Hours

The two-year study by the NRC and the Institute of Medicine found that a 20-hour workweek for teens is the equivalent of a 50-hour workweek, when one adds in schoolwork and other activities. That much work, the study reports, can be dangerous to teens.

According to the report, kids who work more than 20 hours a week are less likely to get enough sleep and are less likely to be able to pay attention in school. The study also found that kids who work that much are more likely to use illegal drugs and skip school.

"Although work has many benefits for children and adolescents, it is clear that too much work can be harmful," said David Wegman, who headed the study. The study recommends that the U.S. Department of Labor limit the number of hours teens under 18 can work during the school year.

Let Them Work

Working after school is not the only teen activity that can occupy more than 20 hours a week. After-school sports and other activities often take up just as much time as working, say opponents of laws limiting teen work hours. Why should working, which can benefit teens, be limited by law and not these other activities? ask opponents.

The amount that a teen should work is different depending on the individual teen, opponents argue. "One student could work 25 hours and get straight A's," said Bud Niddle, a guidance counselor at Fairfield (Conn.) High School. "Another might work 20 hours and find it interferes with [school] work."

Each family, opponents of a teen work limit say, should set its own limits for working teens based on the teen's and the family's needs.

Should the government set limits on how much teens can work? Why or why not?