September 7, 2025 — Episode #86
Jerry and Becky Drace tackle characteristic number ten in their teenage years series: teens are in the prime of their physical health, which makes it an ideal season to build a strong work ethic. The question of the day — should teenagers have jobs? — gets a resounding yes from both hosts.
Becky reflects candidly on how her own overprotective upbringing kept her from ever holding a job before marriage, and how that left her unprepared for financial responsibility early on. The couple traces their own children’s first jobs — babysitting a child with autism, lifeguarding, teaching karate — and how those experiences built responsibility and money management skills that carried into adulthood. They share national statistics on teen employment, discuss teaching kids to tithe and save from their very first paycheck, and recount a cautionary story about young professional athletes who suddenly receive large salaries without financial training. The episode wraps with encouragement to prioritize mission trips as a way to build gratitude and perspective in teens, alongside the usual plug for the Hope for the Home Study Bible.
Topics discussed:
- Whether teenagers should work during the school year
- National statistics on teen employment
- Teaching tithing and financial responsibility from a first paycheck
- Family stories of first jobs: babysitting, lifeguarding, karate instruction, yard work
- The risks of sudden wealth without financial training, illustrated by a professional sports anecdote
- Encouraging mission trips to build gratitude and perspective
- Hope for the Home Study Bible offer
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