Is it wrong to want your 14 year old to be independent?

[ghunter]

Nothing wrong with wanting her to be independent, but catching the bus to work? What is wrong with you?  She is still a kid, and why can't you take her to work?  In fact she is too young to work where she have to catch a bus somewhere.  Babysitting is the only work she should have right now at her age or some work program where they give the kids some kind of stimilus.  God forbid something happens, for it is a hard world out there, be careful with your kids.

[BrittaJo14]

I think it's great to have her get a summer job and start learning about the real world and earning things for herself. I started working around 20 hours a week when I was 15. But I think taking the bus by herself and not telling her she can call you to pick her up is a bit too much. 14 is still a kid and I would have been scared to death to do that then. I think taking on a summer job is enough responsibility in itself for a 14 year old girl. My advice would be just take it a little slower, one step at a time. She works this summer, then maybe next summer she could start getting there herself. I remember being a 14 year old girl and I needed to know that my mom was always there for me if I needed to call her if I wasn't comfortable doing something. I could call her day or night, no matter where I was or what I was doing. You want her to also enjoy starting out doing responsible things, so you don't want to make her hate it so much that she doesn't even want to do any of it. But in the end, you are her mom and you have to decide what is best for her.