Young laborers develop work ethic and earn pocket money—and their parents’ eternal affection
October 28, 2025
By Liz Welch
My daughter just turned 14 this past September, and we’ve already begun exploring what kind of work experience she’d like to try now that she’s legally allowed to work in New York State. Up until now, she has earned money caring for neighbors’ cats and, on occasion, selling her artwork. I once mentioned babysitting as a possible teen job, to which she quickly replied: “Um, no thank you. I prefer cats to small children.”
Fair enough, but not much of a résumé builder.
And then one day I spotted my dear friend Luise’s teenage son Anatole stocking shelves at the Coop. “What are you doing?” I asked him.
He flashed his megawatt smile and said, “Working a shift for my parents.”
I was flooded with thoughts—ranging from ‘his parents are brilliant,’ to, ‘Wait, does the Coop allow this?’—which Anatole must have intuited, as he added: “When Bella turns 14, she can work here too.”
Considering my husband just did a weekday 5:30 a.m. shift to avoid household suspension, I thought, “This is a triple-win!” She gets work experience, we get credit—and a break from the constant nail-biting brink of suspension—and she becomes a more conscious and connected member of a community where “work for food” takes on so many layered meanings.
My next question was, “How do we sign up?”
I spoke with Membership Coordinator Jana Cunningham who explained, “Any child age 14 to 17 can work at the Coop with working papers—which need to be on file at the Coop. They can get these from the guidance counselor at their school (see “how” in sidebar below), bring them to the Coop along with a parent or guardian and we issue a card that says ‘working papers on file’ so we know they can legally work.”
Once again, I thought, Anatole’s parents truly are brilliant. And then I wondered, how many other adults with working-age children are aware of this?
“The policy has existed since the beginning of the Coop,” Cunningham says. “Most parents don’t seem to know about it.”
This is a triple-win! She gets work experience, we get credit—and a break from the constant nail-biting brink of suspension
Currently, there are about 230 minors with work papers on file at the Coop. “We mostly have kids coming to work in the summertime,” Cunningham adds. “September to June, fewer kids work.”
Anatole is a high school senior, and veteran “working-papers-on-file” Coop member. Now 17, he started doing shifts at age 14—and has since clocked more than 20.
He says that he enjoys the work. “You meet so many interesting people at the Coop,” he tells me. “And you learn a lot about them by what is in their shopping cart.”
When probed, he admits that this was entirely his parents’ idea. The incentive? “Snacks,” he says. “If I work my shift and shop for the family, I’m rewarded with complete freedom when it comes to buying snacks.”
I spoke to another young worker named William who got his working papers in spring 2025, when he was still in eighth grade. Both of his parents are school teachers who thought having him clock shifts would be a good way to learn about responsibility, and William says “getting good work experience” was his reason for signing on. He has worked six shifts thus far and says he likes the Coop’s overall “vibe.”
“The customers are also workers, so everyone has filled the same roles,” he explains. “Knowing that makes me feel secure—no one is looking down on you.”
Cunningham says the staff love working with young people. “They’re more willing, even if they’re not as capable! They’re excited to do anything 99.9% of the time.”
There are rules pertaining to what minors can and cannot do. For instance, they must stay on the Coop property, which means they can’t do cart returns. Nor can they work in the basement, or at the checkout. “We don’t want them handling beer,” Cunningham explains. “It’s not a NYS requirement! But that’s unique to us.”
Max, who is currently in tenth grade, has been working for more than a year. When he signed up, his mother Makela came in to work his first shift with him.
‘It’s a preview to working my first job,’ a high school student says. ‘Plus, I know my way around the place because I’ve been going since I was little.’
“We did a receiving shift together,” she explains. “The receiving coordinator said it was great to do it that way.”
“It’s a preview to working my first job,” Max says. “Plus, I know my way around the place because I’ve been going since I was little.”
Makela pays Max to do shifts as she and her wife view the work as incredibly helpful for their family. “He takes it seriously,” she says.
Max says he has learned that he likes working with people. “On my second shift, the receiving coordinator said there was another kid who was working for the first time,” Max says. “He said, ‘Show him the ropes!’” Max did—and declares, “He was a natural!”
Read Before Delegating:
If there’s a child aged 14 to 17 in your household, here is what you need in order for them to work your Coop shift:
- Fill out a NY Application for Employment Certificate found in the guidance counselor’s office at your child’s school. If your child is homeschooled, go to your zoned school. The application can also be downloaded from The New York State Department of Education.
- To complete the application, your child needs a birth certificate as proof of age and a doctor’s note stating that the child is fit for employment.
- Once the application is approved by the counselor, the parent must accompany the child to the Coop to get the child’s own dedicated Coop card and number. Prior to this fall, the minor’s card had the name and photo of one of their Coop member parents or guardians along with a “work papers on file” declaration. That policy has just recently changed so the child can now get their own personal card, with their photo on it. This allows the child to both work shifts and shop. On that note, if your child has an old card with your photo on it, please have them come get a new card with their photo.
- The child must bring their card when they work—as the “work papers on file” identification makes their labor legal in the state of NY. As for their Coop “committee” it will be designated as CHILD.
- Important note: any child of a Coop member is entitled to shop at the Coop, with or without working papers. If you would like your child to shop independently, bring them to the office to get their own Coop card.
- For those who want to work, once the child’s paperwork is on file at the Coop, the adult they’re “working for” can sign them up for shifts using the adult’s number.
- Once a minor turns 18, they can continue working shifts for their household as they’re no longer required to do their own work shifts as they had historically had to do. That new rule was passed in 2023, as it was too difficult for kids who went to college to keep up with their Coop work commitment. Now, if a college-aged kid (between 18 and 22) lives at home, they must join the Coop as a member, contribute the $100 investment fee—either all at once or via a payment plan—and join the work-exempt “Youth Committee.”
- Important caveat: the “Youth Committee” simply means the member is between the ages of 18 and 22. It does not require shifts. Also, it does not require that the “youth” live with Coop members. So anyone aged 18 to 21 can join the PSFC, get a membership card that designates them as “Youth Committee”, and therefore shop without working shifts. When that person turns 22, they are required to start working shifts.
Liz Welch is a journalist, memoirist, and book collaborator.