work ethic

Getting your first job is a major milestone moment for most teens. It's a first taste of freedom and a nice paycheck to boot.

For 14-year-old Sheldon, his mom Lexy is making sure she knows how proud she is of his new career status as an employee at grocery chain Publix. In a sweet video, Lexy shared what it was like picking Sheldon up from his first day of "real" work.

"Our 14 yr. Old got his first “real” job today @Publix Our 4th son in a row they’ve hired 💚," she captioned the video.

Sheldon hops in the car and Lexy can hardly contain her excitement. "My baby just got his first job! Just went through orientation," she says as she pulls up. She asks Sheldon about when he will get his uniform, and she asks to see his new name tag.

"Sheldon! You are officially in the corporate world of life, business, working...a working man!" she says. Sheldon responds, "Working 9 to 5 forever!" Lexy loves it, adding, "Working 9 to 5! Not really, but..."

Sheldon continues to show her all the new hire paperwork he received, and Lexy asks him if it was a long day at orientation. He walks her though the whole day, from walking through the store to food prep. "I didn't know that they actually cut up their watermelons in the store! And the fish. I saw them cutting them up," he says.

He talks about setting up direct deposit, and how his first paycheck will be a physical paper check, before adding he worked in the office and also saw the freezers. "I've got to hit the hay," he says as they pull into home. I'm exhausted!"

The video got lots of encouraging comments from viewers. "Aww I don’t even know y’all but I’m so proud of him!! Publix is such a great employer, they have awesome benefits and are great to their employees. Way to go mama, teaching responsibility and a good work ethic!" one wrote. Another offered "14 so young, but I guess learning young will teach him responsibility in life and working hard congratulations buddy you got this."

Others agreed that 14 was too young for him to be working. "Let this kid be a kid!" one wrote, and Lexy replied, "Ok. I’ll let him sit and play video games all day like all the other great parents are letting their kids be kids right now 🙄," she wrote. In another comment she added, " It’s sad so many people don’t want their kids to learn work ethic that really is only taught as children…:when they try to pick it up at 18 it’s just forced bitterness and entitled and never ingrained work ethic."

Some people further debated if 14 years old is too young to work. "Never should one exist where we promote children working instead of children fulfilling their lives and interest. Stop downplaying the evils of capitalism," one commented. Another added, "I started working at 12 at a family friend's bar washing dishes. Some work younger in family shops and restaurants. Some work in factories despite the law. Legal work at 14 doesn't seem so bad or like an issue culturally or legally when children younger work out of necessity."

The U.S. Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has set the minimum age for employment to be 14 years old, and also puts restrictions on hours for employees under 16 years old.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

However, Lexy noted in the comment section that Sheldon was only working a handful of hours. She shared, "😂😂😂 As if his 10 hours of work each week kills his childhood 😂😂😂."

Another viewer commented, "I'm sure she isn't forcing her kid to work & I'm sure she still pays for everything. But its important for a kiddo to learn money management, to feel how good it is to buy something you REALLY REALLY want, with your own money. He seems like he has a great attitude & happy to work based on that smiled plastered on his face."

Lexy added more details about why Sheldon chose to work, and explained that three of her older sons also began working at Publix at 14. "He’s so excited! We still pay for everything of course but if he wants a car, he will have to start saving for that and a job is needed for that. Everyone is projected to have around 12-14k saved by the time they graduate high school if they don’t buy a car in that time. Oldest son did it. 2nd son is right there. Next one is on his way. And now this one will be too. Everyone enjoys working and having their own bank accounts, debit cards, etc.," she shared.