New StatsCan reports show that “Canadian teenagers ranked first in terms of average hours spent on unpaid and paid labour during the school week when compared to nine other countries.”

The total work they do is about the same as “a 50-hour workweek, virtually the same as the adult population doing the same activities.”

"The time teens spent on these skill-enhancing activities is arguably a positive investment in their long-term personal and economic well-being. However, not surprisingly, the relatively high workloads involved do result in some stress."

“For example, 16% considered themselves workaholics, 39% felt under constant pressure to accomplish more than they could handle, and nearly two-thirds (64% per cent) cut back on sleep to get things done.”

“Less than half (45%) of teenagers who reported high stress reported being very happy or very satisfied with life, significantly lower than the 72% who reported little or no stress.”

Parents think all teens do is go online (Facebook, Xanga), but “60% of teens average 2 hours and 20 minutes a week.” I sort of don’t believe this one.

The study says that “teens were significantly more likely to do homework if both parents had a university education, if they lived in a two-parent intact family (where a divorce has not taken place), and if their parents were foreign-born.”

"Interestingly, boys with Canadian-born parents did significantly less homework than girls in similar families, and less than either girls or boys with immigrant parents."

The study also found that working part-time interferes with schoolwork for many teens and can increase the stress levels of teens.

Teens are pitching in around the house, with nearly four in 10 averaging about an hour of housework a day, according to the time use data.

I can relate to this, even though I’m no longer a “teen”. For full article, click here.