While on a date, my husband and I asked if the restaurant was hiring. The next day, our son interviewed and got a job.

The author said she and her husband both started working as young teens, and their son wanted to do the same.

Courtesy of Chris Rosenberg.

My husband and I both started working at 14.When our oldest son told us he wanted to do the same, we were ready to help him make it happen. But it was challenging because most companies require employees to be at least 16, sometimes 18. We knew we had to find an independent business with a manager willing to take a chance on a young teenager.The opportunity came on a date nightWe live in a beach town with a strong tourism economy, and one Friday night, my husband and I were out at a local restaurant. We're always thinking about how we can open doors for our kids, so when our server came to the table, I asked if they were hiring.She brought over the general manager, who had decades of restaurant experience. We explained that we had a 14-year-old son who wanted to work. He was skeptical. He said he had hired a lot of teenagers over the years and said the pattern was almost always the same: the parents wanted them to work, but the kids didn't. He said if our son applied online and emailed him directly, he'd be willing to interview him. He needed to know whether our son wanted the job or we did.He didn't wait to applyWe got home around 10 p.m. and told our son exactly what the manager had said to us.He went straight to his computer, built his first résumé, and sent the email that night.The next morning, he had an interview scheduled.