Don't pamper jobless grads

RonRon

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British govt guide tells parents to show 'tough love' in poor job market

LONDON - THE British government has published a guide for parents of jobless graduates, urging them to show their offspring some 'tough love'.

Mollycoddling mothers and fathers should resist the urge to make home too comfortable for their recently qualified children, the government guide said.

The manual, published on Tuesday, instructs parents to show a bit of 'tough love' as they try to encourage their children to get a job. That means making them do their own washing and ironing, emptying the fridge of student-friendly snacks and cutting back on handouts, the Guardian newspaper reported.

The guide also has blunt advice for those with lofty ambitions: 'Yes, some people will make it as actors and scriptwriters, but many just waste away the years.'

The guidance, from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, comes amid fears over a crippling shortage of graduate jobs in the recession.

Almost one in 10 people was without a job after leaving university last year, as unemployment rates hit a record high in Britain. More than a fifth of students at some institutions were left without work or a postgraduate place six months after graduation, the Telegraph said.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
 
Some advice for parents
DO


Allow children to relax once they graduate, but only for a few weeks.


Encourage them to get a job.


Make them do their own washing and ironing.


Empty the fridge of student-friendly snacks.


Cut back on handouts.

Look out for their mental health - log changes to eating and sleeping patterns - and encourage them to see a doctor if necessary.



DON'T


Nag. It might work in some circumstances, but otherwise it can stress out young people and make the situation worse if they fail to get a job.


Be too supportive and make life too comfortable for the children at home.


Dismiss their ideas. However, do encourage them to have realistic goals.
 
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