My first was as a mobile DJ, spinning records at Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, and sweet 16 parties. I also bussed tables in a nursing home dining room and unloaded giant rolls of fabric from trucks at a warehouse. Each job taught me about hard work, punctuality, taking direction, and dealing with people. They also taught me the value of money and the importance of earning my own spending cash.
That kind of experience is invaluable. It builds character, work ethic, and confidence. It's why both of my kids work, even though most of their friends do not. Just because I can provide walking-around money doesn't mean I should. If my daughter wants to drive a car, she'd better have the money to put gas in it and help cover the insurance. That's part of my responsibility as a parent—getting them ready for adulthood.
But what we're seeing now in some states (including Ohio) is something very different.
In the past few years, several states have proposed or passed laws rolling back child labor protections—allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer hours on school nights, or even permitting minors to work in hazardous occupations like roofing or meatpacking.
That's not about giving kids a chance to learn and grow. That's about filling low-wage labor gaps, and it comes at the expense of their safety, education, and well-being.
We shouldn't conflate a teenager bussing tables at a restaurant with one working the overnight shift in a factory or cleaning saws in a meatpacking plant.
There is real value in part-time jobs for teens. But there's a clear line between empowering young people and exploiting them—and we need to be very careful about which side of that line we're on.