We heard a recent story on NPR about the decline in newspaper delivery kids throughout the country. It got us thinking about this dying trade
When TRMom and TRDad were kids, many of our peers delivered newspapers. TRDad was a paperboy for the Newark Star-Ledger starting in the fourth grade. He did a final run of his route in the summer between ninth grade and tenth.
Newspaper routes offer a host of opportunities for kids.
They get paid for their work. This is important as kids quickly learn the value of money. Mom and Dad aren’t going to bankroll every trip to the corner store, and every pizza with friends.
Kids have to learn how to run a business and take care of customers. Some customers are kind; some are not. Some are very picky. And some are hard to track down when the bill is due. Others may offer conversation and interesting insights into their lives.
They have to become independent. It’s their job. Their little business enterprise. They have to get out of bed to deliver a morning route, or get home from school in time for an afternoon paper (there aren’t too many of those afternoon presses anymore.)
Kids quickly learn to map their neighborhood, learn how to dress for different types of weather, and even develop some basic bike repair skills.
But these opportunities are disappearing from our American landscape. The majority of people get their news over the internet. But when they choose paper delivery, most newspapers end up delivered by adults with a car.
Young kids can’t get these sorts of simple jobs anymore. Our Plum is regularly wishing there was a way for her to earn some money on a regular basis (beyond babysitting). But parents don’t want their kids roaming the neighborhood, let alone at 6 A.M.and perhaps in the dark. Not only are our kids missing out on the early development of pride in one’s work, self reliance, and the importance of a dollar- but we’re quickly losing yet another bit of the printed word.