The Sis owns and runs a commercial cleaning business. She and her business partner have 18 part-time employees. The Sis makes enough to send both of her kids to private school, and, if necessary, to support her family if her husband lost his job.

One of her part-time employees is my daughter, JJ. There are some family members that cringe at the thought of JJ working a custodial job on her breaks from school. These family members believe that, as the daughter of an engineer and lawyer, JJ should not have to take on what they consider a menial job.

Unfortunately for JJ, who would much prefer to spend her breaks sleeping in and hanging out with her friends, The Husband and I do not agree.

We refuse to give JJ an all-expenses paid trip through childhood, and here’s why:

Manual labor teaches the value of choices. I grew up on a farm. Farm kids are well-versed in manual labor. It was the summers spent walking fields that made me decide to go to college.

No way did I want to do that kind of work for the rest of my life. On those days when I was convinced that I would never survive law school, I remembered those days in the field, hauled my ass out of bed and went to the library to study.  JJ needs to have a point of reference for her difficult days as well.

Hard work teaches the value of a dollar. A lot more thought goes into the purchase of a $50 video game when a kid has to pay for it herself, rather than the parents footing the bill. That video game means a lot more to JJ when she knows she had to clean bathrooms to get it.

Manual labor teaches empathy. The Sis and her employees tell stories of the rude and shabby treatment they get from some of the office workers.

“They think we’re stupid,” she says.

The Sis is one of the smartest people I know. She can make a souffle from scratch and discuss Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables. (I’ve been reading that book for four years, and I’m on page 57.) I want JJ to know that everyone she meets deserves respect for the job they do, whether it is the janitor or the CEO.

At the end of the day, I think the people that are happiest in life are those that find fulfillment in their work, whether their collar be blue or white.

Do you think there is value in manual labor?