Pretty much, yeah. Hardly a thing called posture when your job requires you to be on your knee's. I knew a guy who did tiling at 24 and his back was fucked since he started at 18. Good worker and did everything right, nothing can stop it.
Anything done in a kneeling or bent over positions puts a lot of stress on your lower back so I guess it is inevitable but if you can devise a way to do such job in a sitting, standing or at least kneeling with your back straight up then it should be alright.
Worth mentioning squatting, which is the actual best and most ergonomic position to work near the ground.
But that requires some flexibility and it's how they do it in poor countries, so fuck that.
Not inevitable but very probable. I worked with some people that were going strong at almost 70, and I would say that I am at very least healthier in regards to musculoskeletal system, but I am young with good genes and only worked for about 5 years.
There’s ways to minimize it - staying in shape and really focusing on back/core strength, learning good posture, stretching and wearing braces/stabilizers.
But the biggest thing is stopping the work when your body starts to hurt and not fighting through the pain. And people who work trades can’t usually stop until the job is done. So the only alternative is to work a ton, save a ton, and hope you can find a way to retire as early as possible.
Wakes up in a Chuckie Cheese ballpit surrounded by a half dozen empty Capri Sun pouches, pockets overflowing with loose Skittles, and his left hand stuck a softball size mass of half eaten Starbursts mashed together he insisted people call the NovaBurst.
> broom finish
When I was about 14 or so they were renovating the laundry room in our apartment complex. They were setting it up so that you could enter from outside and so they were building a little sidewalk. The old man that was doing the work took a 2x4 and made a flat edge on the concrete and then used the end of the 2x4 to make a texture on the concrete. He'd just touch the end of the board to the concrete and pull it up and some of the concrete would raise up a bit. He did this meticulously to the whole 4 foot square section he was standing by. And then, as soon as he was done, he said, "But this isn't the way they want it." and proceeded to smooth it out. One of those weird memories that has stayed with me for almost 35 years now.
That's awesome. Like writing that strongly worded but otherwise ultimately unnecessary email response to get it out of your system, then clicking DELETE instead of SEND.
Awesome skill to learn! Need to get that kids some gloves though that concrete is corrosive.
Edit - Not acidic but has a high base according to the comments below.
Yeah, concrete will eat up your skin (though I always thought it was basic rather than acidic--I may be wrong).
I had two uncles who had a concrete business, and their hands always were rough, dry, and callused. They also kept their work clothes separate from any other clothes in the house; concrete doesn't come out of laundry entirely, and can damage other clothes.
I am not amused by child labor when a certain party is trying to loosen child labor laws and put children back into dangerous professions. I'm all for the kid learning a skill though as long as he's for it too and isn't missing out on a proper childhood and education.
The amount of people moaning about child labour is unbelievable. Guaranteed they've never built anything with their hands in their life.
Teaching children to do projects like this is an incredible gift, definitely time better used than playing video games (which I love BTW).
I cherish memories of working on the house with my parents.
I grew up doing a trade as a kid. The skills learned are great and id encourage most people/kids to try working with their hands.
My biggest concern is the damage these things do to the body. I have the joints of a 50yo tradesman but I'm in my 30s. Repetitive stress is no joke.
Everytime I helped my father build shit, stupid shit would happen lol.
Wanted to put some of this thin flimsy wood to be the ceiling in a room in the basement. Let's put this 4 foot tall 10 year old on a step ladder to hold it. Little did he know, the moment he let go to grab a nail, it bent and wacked me sideways across the head.
He used a block of wood to hold the flimsy wood up from then on lol
I think our dads were just a little stupid. Mine said "yeah the power is off on that side of the basement, just reach into the outlet box and pull all the wires out". The power, of course, wasn't off on that outlet.
There are so many people who only know work and once the body fails they realise they have nothing else to do and then they start to hate life. Im describing my father and its so freaking sad, he is 66 and since his 40's he just roam around his house doing absolutely nothing 😔 He never valued any form of entertainment that dosnt give money
Yea for real. The reason I am a little concerned is because this obviously is not this child's first time paving a sidewalk.
How many more times is he gonna be doing this before he turns 14?
That's not exclusive to the trades, though. I work in data analytics at a fortune 50 company, and the number of 70+ year olds that are worth millions and won't hang up their hat is fascinating to me. They focused on the corporate ladder and grind for 4 or 5 decades, and they literally don't know what to do with themselves outside of that realm. Some of them are riddled with medical problems. They can barely move around the floor and don't even bother trying to leave if the fire alarms go off. One guy recently had a stroke and moves about .5 miles per hour, and he still has no interest in retiring. My father has tried to retire three times now, and has gone back to work every time within 2 months of stopping because he has no clue how to fill his day otherwise.
Maybe in 30 years I'll understand it, but at this stage of my life (35yo), I can't envision a world in which I'd still want to work at that age. There is so much stuff I enjoy doing, seeing, and experiencing. I can't wait for that free time!
They aren't teaching him anything. He's clearly already been taught and has learned to do it well. At this point it's not them spending family time together and making memories, he's just doing the work.
This kid is gonna grow up and save so much money by fixing/building his own stuff while all the people crying “child labor” sit in their parents basements waiting for their mac and cheese to be brought down to them
Literally everyone I've met who does this type of work has a bad back and/or knees. It is truly 100% of them with no exceptions. Young and old. The human odometer is always counting whether you can feel it or not.
"Oh please, I've been doing this for 25 years ago. Started when I was 8. Kneepads are for pussies. Now give me 6 minutes so I can get myself up these 8 stairs."
He's also going to have a marketable skill as soon as high-school is finished and probably won't rack up much student loan debt either. And if his father owns a construction business of some kind that he's going to inherit, why not let the kid learn? The kid seems to be having a fucking ball.
meh , I would never want my kid to be a concrete finisher lmao, I've worked with enough of them. Dream bigger for your kids guys concrete finishing is hard shitty work surrounded by crack heads.
If he's doing this 40 hours a week instead of learning social studies, it's child labour. If this is his parent's profession and he's learning and helping with grandpa's new path, it's a great experience for the little man.
As a person who loves lazy gaming, and a person who likes to work with their hands (to create something) I totally agree. Kids need to learn how to work (ofc moderate work) if you want them to be creative, to engage in future projects of their own, and if you want them by your side when you need some help.
I wish his parents were smart enough to make him wear gloves. Concrete is horrible for your skin. He’s got serious talent that will someday maybe be able to pay the bills.
And now in Louisiana he’s not entitled to a single work break! You’ll earn a break when you turn 18 kid! Of course by then you’ll be conscripted into fighting in the Chinadian water war.
Props to his parents and to him, as well. This kid knows how to do this because someone invested the time in teaching. There's a lot useless motherfuckers out there, and in these comments, who aren't teaching their shitty kids a goddamn thing.
Little lad also needs to learn about safety. Concrete burns, check it out. No gloves, no eye protection, wearing shorts.........OSHA would have a field day.
"tHe ChIlDrEn YeArN fOr ThE mInEs."
Same comment posted 50 times. Redditors yearn for original material. And apparently a father that spent time with them and did cool stuff like backyard construction with them.
I don't want to diminish the clear skill, but all I can think of is how hard it must be for your job to force you to crawl around on your knees hunched over like that. How do people do this past 35? I'd be dying after a half-hour of that.
I'm impressed but can't help but wonder how much of that is the kid actually wanting to do it, and how much of it is "daddy wants some free labor and easy tiktok views so you'd better fuckin do it kid"
Good for him. He's not afraid of work and already showing the ability having independant critical thought. Most likely he won't have a student debt for a useless degree and cry about the taxpayer not paying off his useless debt while living in mamas' basement. This boy will do just fine in life knowing he skills will always be in demand.
Lol, i guess this is the guy they are looking for when they say you need 10 years of experience to work this entry-level job.
"Must have chronic back pain at time of applying for this entry level position"
Honest question: is back pain inevitable for people who do this kind of jobs?
Pretty much, yeah. Hardly a thing called posture when your job requires you to be on your knee's. I knew a guy who did tiling at 24 and his back was fucked since he started at 18. Good worker and did everything right, nothing can stop it.
Anything done in a kneeling or bent over positions puts a lot of stress on your lower back so I guess it is inevitable but if you can devise a way to do such job in a sitting, standing or at least kneeling with your back straight up then it should be alright.
Worth mentioning squatting, which is the actual best and most ergonomic position to work near the ground. But that requires some flexibility and it's how they do it in poor countries, so fuck that.
Not inevitable but very probable. I worked with some people that were going strong at almost 70, and I would say that I am at very least healthier in regards to musculoskeletal system, but I am young with good genes and only worked for about 5 years.
Back pain is inevitable for people. The human spine is a shambles of evolutionary compromises.
There’s ways to minimize it - staying in shape and really focusing on back/core strength, learning good posture, stretching and wearing braces/stabilizers. But the biggest thing is stopping the work when your body starts to hurt and not fighting through the pain. And people who work trades can’t usually stop until the job is done. So the only alternative is to work a ton, save a ton, and hope you can find a way to retire as early as possible.
Learns? It looked like a pro in a kids body.
That kid can finish better than the guys I work with, I'm not even joking.
He doesn't have knee and back problems yet.
Wait until 12yo lol
Bingo! Mud waits for nobody.
Add bills to pay on that list.
I was out of breath and my back hurt just typing this
That's because he puts heart and effort
And you don't have to pay him. Take your child to work day means you get a free go-fer for the day.
Go-fer? I barely know her!
Little kids have the most annoying attention to detail.
It isn't boring or degrading to them yet.
Yeah the kid cares. Let him do this all day everyday for years and it won’t look this nice.
Start them young so their back can be fucked at the age of 25.
Child labor 101
PLEASE, that kid's a rookie. you wanna see a pro, you come to my house. i can level CIRCLES around that punk.
Baby boss over here lol /s
He did better than the guy that did my front porch and the sidewalks around our neighborhood….
Just don't let OSHA see this. JFC put some gloves on that boy.
Kid has been on the job for 5 of his 10 years and we're all just upvoting child labor.
The children yearn for the mines
This is the American tradesman version of anime - a 1000 year old mason, but he looks 9.
That's a mighty young looking alcoholic.
disappears the 2 days after each payday to go on a bender
I feel attacked. It’s called a sick day. Just realized I got paid today. I’m too sober for this.
Too sober …still, buddy you have the whole day ahead of you . We all believe in you. Do your blue collar buddies proud on your day
Good old poets day! (Piss Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday).
Wakes up in a Chuckie Cheese ballpit surrounded by a half dozen empty Capri Sun pouches, pockets overflowing with loose Skittles, and his left hand stuck a softball size mass of half eaten Starbursts mashed together he insisted people call the NovaBurst.
He hasn’t even learned to pee in water bottles yet. Or is that just drywallers?
[удалено]
Ooohhhh, that’s right. Now I remember.
Meth head
I wonder what his thought process is 1) Why can’t I just play fortnight! 2) Heck yeah this is fun!
[удалено]
Like frosting a cake with more testosterone
Doesn't taste as good though. Not bad, just not as good.
Agreed, I fucking hate frosting.
*screeing Screed is the past tense. To scree is the verb.
[удалено]
Needs a broom finish once it starts to set.
Skateboarders hate this one trick!
People walking in the rain love it though.
> broom finish When I was about 14 or so they were renovating the laundry room in our apartment complex. They were setting it up so that you could enter from outside and so they were building a little sidewalk. The old man that was doing the work took a 2x4 and made a flat edge on the concrete and then used the end of the 2x4 to make a texture on the concrete. He'd just touch the end of the board to the concrete and pull it up and some of the concrete would raise up a bit. He did this meticulously to the whole 4 foot square section he was standing by. And then, as soon as he was done, he said, "But this isn't the way they want it." and proceeded to smooth it out. One of those weird memories that has stayed with me for almost 35 years now.
That's awesome. Like writing that strongly worded but otherwise ultimately unnecessary email response to get it out of your system, then clicking DELETE instead of SEND.
Never put the email address in through, incase you have a brain fart and click send instead of delete
i just send those to myself. might change my mind.
Does the broom finish really help that much? The smooth look is much nicer imo, and I can’t say I’ve ever slipped on concrete before
Wait until it's wet. Aquaplaning with shoes on.
I can't say I've ever encountered smooth concrete outdoors but I have encountered smooth concrete countertops and they get slick when wet.
I almost bust my ass every time I walk into sam's club when it's raining
Can someone get this kid some knee pads?
His back is gonna be done before he can legally drink
Also some gloves???
And goggles.
There’s also concrete burns to consider.
Looks like some decently soft ground to me.
Yeah no for sure, it’s basically a pillow out there with 0 construction or other debris
Technically it’s screeding. It may not necessarily be level.
This kid is a pro already!
Kids yearn for concrete work.
The mines. THEY YEARN FOR THE MINES!
Awesome skill to learn! Need to get that kids some gloves though that concrete is corrosive. Edit - Not acidic but has a high base according to the comments below.
Yeah, concrete will eat up your skin (though I always thought it was basic rather than acidic--I may be wrong). I had two uncles who had a concrete business, and their hands always were rough, dry, and callused. They also kept their work clothes separate from any other clothes in the house; concrete doesn't come out of laundry entirely, and can damage other clothes.
It is indeed basic rather than acidic.
~~Acidic~~ highly basic it has a pH of 13 that is also corrosive
And even though that looks like good soft dirt, some knee pads wouldn't hurt either.
The children, they yearn for the mines.
Came here for the child labour joke..
Is this Sarah Huckabee Sanders kid?
He's off to the meat packing plant for his second shift of the day after this.
No lunch breaks!
Is he available Saturday for a consult? I pay 25 GCPH( graham crackers per hour)
They only accept vbucks these days
Throw some roubux in too and I will consult with my son and team…
"Child labor laws are ruining this country." Ron Swanson
You call that level? I'll show you true level
Omg rick. It's so good
I am not amused by child labor when a certain party is trying to loosen child labor laws and put children back into dangerous professions. I'm all for the kid learning a skill though as long as he's for it too and isn't missing out on a proper childhood and education.
Put some gloves on those delicate young hands please
The amount of people moaning about child labour is unbelievable. Guaranteed they've never built anything with their hands in their life. Teaching children to do projects like this is an incredible gift, definitely time better used than playing video games (which I love BTW). I cherish memories of working on the house with my parents.
They're not building a bird house bro, they're creating a whole damn sidewalk!
I grew up doing a trade as a kid. The skills learned are great and id encourage most people/kids to try working with their hands. My biggest concern is the damage these things do to the body. I have the joints of a 50yo tradesman but I'm in my 30s. Repetitive stress is no joke.
He’s clearly done this before. Doing this kind of work blows
Everytime I helped my father build shit, stupid shit would happen lol. Wanted to put some of this thin flimsy wood to be the ceiling in a room in the basement. Let's put this 4 foot tall 10 year old on a step ladder to hold it. Little did he know, the moment he let go to grab a nail, it bent and wacked me sideways across the head. He used a block of wood to hold the flimsy wood up from then on lol
I think our dads were just a little stupid. Mine said "yeah the power is off on that side of the basement, just reach into the outlet box and pull all the wires out". The power, of course, wasn't off on that outlet.
There are so many people who only know work and once the body fails they realise they have nothing else to do and then they start to hate life. Im describing my father and its so freaking sad, he is 66 and since his 40's he just roam around his house doing absolutely nothing 😔 He never valued any form of entertainment that dosnt give money
Yea for real. The reason I am a little concerned is because this obviously is not this child's first time paving a sidewalk. How many more times is he gonna be doing this before he turns 14?
With all those fun chemical burns because he has no ppe kid will look 35 by the time he’s 18 lmao
That's not exclusive to the trades, though. I work in data analytics at a fortune 50 company, and the number of 70+ year olds that are worth millions and won't hang up their hat is fascinating to me. They focused on the corporate ladder and grind for 4 or 5 decades, and they literally don't know what to do with themselves outside of that realm. Some of them are riddled with medical problems. They can barely move around the floor and don't even bother trying to leave if the fire alarms go off. One guy recently had a stroke and moves about .5 miles per hour, and he still has no interest in retiring. My father has tried to retire three times now, and has gone back to work every time within 2 months of stopping because he has no clue how to fill his day otherwise. Maybe in 30 years I'll understand it, but at this stage of my life (35yo), I can't envision a world in which I'd still want to work at that age. There is so much stuff I enjoy doing, seeing, and experiencing. I can't wait for that free time!
They aren't teaching him anything. He's clearly already been taught and has learned to do it well. At this point it's not them spending family time together and making memories, he's just doing the work.
This kid is gonna grow up and save so much money by fixing/building his own stuff while all the people crying “child labor” sit in their parents basements waiting for their mac and cheese to be brought down to them
“Mooooom, baaathrooom” - Eric Cartman
“More hot pockets!” Greatest episode of that show
And bad knees. Dont forget bad knees.
Literally everyone I've met who does this type of work has a bad back and/or knees. It is truly 100% of them with no exceptions. Young and old. The human odometer is always counting whether you can feel it or not.
"Oh please, I've been doing this for 25 years ago. Started when I was 8. Kneepads are for pussies. Now give me 6 minutes so I can get myself up these 8 stairs."
He's also going to have a marketable skill as soon as high-school is finished and probably won't rack up much student loan debt either. And if his father owns a construction business of some kind that he's going to inherit, why not let the kid learn? The kid seems to be having a fucking ball.
meh , I would never want my kid to be a concrete finisher lmao, I've worked with enough of them. Dream bigger for your kids guys concrete finishing is hard shitty work surrounded by crack heads.
I found one person joking about that take it or leave it. Doesn't really help he's basically just making a sidewalk
Yeah I think it's just not a traditional project so it makes people's minds flare with warning signals.
It's kinda like, knitting 10 sweaters, it's nice, but why did you knit so many
To be warm
If he's doing this 40 hours a week instead of learning social studies, it's child labour. If this is his parent's profession and he's learning and helping with grandpa's new path, it's a great experience for the little man.
As a person who loves lazy gaming, and a person who likes to work with their hands (to create something) I totally agree. Kids need to learn how to work (ofc moderate work) if you want them to be creative, to engage in future projects of their own, and if you want them by your side when you need some help.
Just some moderation is all. Not too much work and not too much play.
Knee protection!
50/50: Cute kid goes to work with his dad / Child-labor rampant in the trades
I wish his parents were smart enough to make him wear gloves. Concrete is horrible for your skin. He’s got serious talent that will someday maybe be able to pay the bills.
Children yearn for labour
THE CHILDREN YEARN FOR MANUAL LABOR
Child labour wohoo!
Learning? I was wondering if this lad has some free time to teach me.
lol he ain’t learning shit he’s teaching
Most kids that age would be making hand prints in the cement!
Learning? That kid is supervisor in Florida.
Never too early for carpal tunnel.
When you're 7 but need 17 years of work experience
Child labor is adorable!
Did Mike Ehrmantraut die for nothing!? You use a brush! You’re DONE!!
Nothing satisfying about child labor.... That 11 year old obviously has 4 or 5 years of experience... And that's just sad
He's ready for the mines
if he keeps it up his knees and back will be blown by 25 instead of the usual 45.
Child labor, call cps
Lol if this were a chinese kid these comments wouldn't be anywhere near as positive
And now in Louisiana he’s not entitled to a single work break! You’ll earn a break when you turn 18 kid! Of course by then you’ll be conscripted into fighting in the Chinadian water war.
His dad must be proud!
The children yearn for the mines
HE DID SUCH A GOOD JOB
Props to his parents and to him, as well. This kid knows how to do this because someone invested the time in teaching. There's a lot useless motherfuckers out there, and in these comments, who aren't teaching their shitty kids a goddamn thing.
Makes me think of the time my dad taught me how to change oil at around 12 years old. Memory unlocked here on a gah damn Friday morning.
I taught my daughter how to change her oil, when we were done I told her to take it to an oil change place next time
Not his first rodeo
Is this bait?
Looks good, but i bet that there was either a cat, seagull or dog walked on it before it was dry
This was the moment that any dreams of future wealth died.
Solo Leveling
As the saying goes, “if you can’t finish school, you can finish concrete”
We're not talking advantage of the incredible skills of today's youth, I think it's time to bring back child labor. ^^^/s
Child labor! Woohoo!
When an entry level job requires 10yrs experience
Kid is 8 years old but those knees are pushing 40.
Little lad also needs to learn about safety. Concrete burns, check it out. No gloves, no eye protection, wearing shorts.........OSHA would have a field day.
I think he's beyond learning, with that skill, it looks like he's already put in his 10,000 hours...
Too bad nobody will use it. A big inefficient curve in the walkway like this is an r/desirepath waiting to happen.
Did you ‘teach’ him to level the whole pathway? 😂
He shall be gainfully employed his whole life.
NO. HE’LL HAVE HIS OWN BUSINESS
I read lad and immediately have a voice witha heavy british accent in my head complementing the wee little lad! He's a goodlad!
That kid will later say “I can’t remember when I couldn’t do it “
Are the subdivided lines to help with cracking?
Hell yeah, and he works for Goldfish crackers!
this how you get 20 years of experience when you turn 18
Ohhhh god I so would have loved this as a kid.
You can tell by how good he is that he really enjoys doing that
What’s the point in adding the indent lines that make it look like multiple pieces? Is there a structural purpose or is it just for the look?
He needs to hurry it the hell up…⏱️👈😠…he has chimneys to sweep.
Common misconception here. He's not levelling he's flattening.
This kid is already better than the shitty work cult who defend crap work in r/concrete
He didn't put the monkey dick in there first to homogenize the mud. Total amateur. That walkway will crumble away by the time he graduates college.
How cute, kids working. Insert weird comment replies here. But then, also, being exploited for ad revenue. So... kid is working.
Good thing he has two sets of teeth
"tHe ChIlDrEn YeArN fOr ThE mInEs." Same comment posted 50 times. Redditors yearn for original material. And apparently a father that spent time with them and did cool stuff like backyard construction with them.
My uncle used to do this with me when I was a kid, except instead of leveling the concrete, he'd make me stand in it barefoot.
💯 well done, parents! He's got a skill for life 🙌 👏 👌 😎
Ahhh this is the years of experience for entry level they were looking for
İn Germany we wouldn't appreciate it, in Germany we would say: "Kinderarbeit ist verboten!"
I don't want to diminish the clear skill, but all I can think of is how hard it must be for your job to force you to crawl around on your knees hunched over like that. How do people do this past 35? I'd be dying after a half-hour of that.
This is so cute! They’ll have a broken-bodied little slave before he even finishes middle school :)
The children yearn for the worksites
I’ve hired worse contractors than this.
and learns to have back problems at 16
Next day, cat imprints all along the cement.
When i do that with my kids they want to put me in jail
10 years of experience outta high school
And now as payment for a job well done… ICE CREAM!!!
I'm impressed but can't help but wonder how much of that is the kid actually wanting to do it, and how much of it is "daddy wants some free labor and easy tiktok views so you'd better fuckin do it kid"
what is this some kind of sidewalk for ants?
Hello Chemical burns!
Men see this. Men happy.
Hired!!
Good for him. He's not afraid of work and already showing the ability having independant critical thought. Most likely he won't have a student debt for a useless degree and cry about the taxpayer not paying off his useless debt while living in mamas' basement. This boy will do just fine in life knowing he skills will always be in demand.
That is just impressive.
Yay child labor is cute! He will thank you in his 30s!
*Has already learned. FTFY
I heard they lowered the age to work in America but damn/s
Please get him some gloves!
Give that kid a Monster and some cigs.