First Jobs and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

My son is a paper carrier. I am quite proud of the fact that he is employed. After all he is only fourteen, and just the idea that he wants to work is wonderful. I still find it amazing that he actually wants to work. However, there is a huge difference between wanting to work and actually doing the work!

When he first started, I had to help him several times as he wasn't used to the physical exertion required, and I got very tired of hearing the excuses and complaining that went along with the paper route! However, he did get used to his route and soon he was managing it all by himself. The only issue that kept recurring was getting him started. For weeks I had to remind him that "today  is paper day," and then keep nudging him to get out there and start delivering. After a few months, we finally settled on a delivery time, and that seemed to work out well.

Then we got a call from the newspaper office stating that they had made a mistake, and his route was actually bigger than what he had been told. This sparked a new hurdle. My son decided that he wasn't going to do the other street as the route now took him twice as long to do and the previous complaints came back with a flourish! I suggested that he call his "boss" and tell her that he didn't want to deliver papers any more, but my son admitted that he had become accustomed to the money, and he was actually reluctant to give it up.

Again, it took a few months before he finally settled into a routine, and for the most part, he completes his whole route on his own, with no help from me...unless it is pouring rain. Then I will step in and we load his papers into the van. I drive, he delivers!

So far, my son has been a paper carrier for over a year, and this will be the second Christmas that he is able to buy gifts with his own money!

As today is "paper day", it is time for me to remind him to start early...it gets dark quite early now, and I am doing my best to motivate him to start and finish while there is still daylight! At any rate, I am very pleased that he still has his first job, and that for the most part, he doesn't complain about doing it...
See? There is light at the end of the tunnel...