help! my friend got me a job at the bakery she works at...?

Question

but im almost 15 and my parents are traditional Egyptian. they dont want a girl of theirs my age working. what should i say to them?

Answer 1

mmm, this is interesting.
U wanna know my point of view ?
I think this is a conflict between your up-bringing as an American kid - I consider you American because you spent your entire life there- and your parents who represent the traditional conservative nature of the middle east.
You should know that you are going to have lots of disagreements like this one with your parents in the future. It's for all of you guys - your parents and you- to work out some sort of understanding . A compromise has to be reached here by everyone in order to find out a solution that can make you all happy without shouting and screaming. This is for your life in general.
As for this specific incident I would say this. First you need to know this, in Egypt , a girl would -almost- never work in a bakery. This is what your parents know and r brought up with.
I believe your parents think of it this way: we have money .why would our little kid go work in a bakery? This is what they think because it is somehow demeaning in the Egyptian point of view.
What you can do is to talk nicely to them. Tell them that u need this to feel independant .Describe why u wanna work . Tell them what you will do if this work affects your life in any bad way. Focus on the importance of this for your personality development.
And you can use the following remark in your discussion; that the trend among the elite Egyptian thinkers and intellectuals is to inculcate the value of work in their young boys and girls. You can try to do this with a smile on your face and a great deal of understanding and listening to them, I am sure they will let you do it if it is for your own good.
I wish you all the best of luck.

Answer 2

why not let u work? They should encourage u to work so u wud learn to be independent. When I was in California I started working since I was 14. I am now 23 and have a lot of work experience. I worked as a teacher, a tutor, chemical assistant, Pharmacy assistant, Bookstore represenative. I am glade I got the opportunity to work in different fields because it gave me experience and helped me to socialize with ppl from different backgrounds. Most importantly, it looks nice on my CV. I think ur parents shud reconsider ur issue and think abt ur future and how work will help u deal with many situations that ur gonna face in ur life. I understand in Egypt it is odd for someone ur age to work, but that is why they grow up so spoiled and fully dependant on their parents. I wud not want my kids to be fully dependant on me cuz I won't be with them forever. try to convince ur parents and show them ur points of view. However, my advice is, if ur gonna work, just work in the summer when ur off school cuz is school is most important.

Answer 3

Well you can explain your reasons for getting a job- I assume they are honorable-- you don't want to sponge off of them, you are trying to grow up and be responsible for yourself.

You can also tell them, that if your grades in school go down, or anythingbad happens that you will quit the job.

Answer 4

I think you should tell them "sorry mom and dad I'll stay home till I'm old enough to work"
Good luck with your studies hun,things are different here

Answer 5

a girl at the bakery ?..I haven't seen this in Egypt before, what kind of jobs is that ?!

Answer 6

i think they are right
just tell them a wanna depend on myself and make something useul that dont affect my education

Answer 7

you should ask again, and demand a convincing explanation for their attitude.