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by mathgeek 943 days ago
> I'm not sure why teenagers need to do anything other than learning about the world and going to school.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Working is a way to learn about the world in a low risk way (losing a job as a teenager is often more a lesson than a set back, for example). It’s also a way to earn your own income, which is obviously useful.

2. Not every teenager has the luxury of living in a stable home with one or both parents/guardians. Even then, some teens are better off spending more time away from those people beyond time spent in school.

1 comments

You specifically mention low risk in your first point but not all jobs have the same risk profile and food delivery drivers absolutely do not have the same risk profiles as say, a retail worker. If the spectrum of "jobs we let teenagers do" is from Kidzania to food delivery cyclist, I think it's in the interest of said teenagers to tip the balance towards Kidzania.

Seriously! Roads are not a joke! Bikes don't have crumplezones! A significant minority of drivers actively target cyclists! The teenagers in these scenarios are also effectively operating under coercion when they swap with a registered driver! How could any of this be low risk?

I was only commenting on the quoted section above. No thoughts on kids doing gig deliveries.