actually I know several teenagers/early 20s who, after getting very bored with their cashiers' jobs in Game or Dixons or wherever and being qualified for not much else, have gone into care work. The one who really bragged about having landed on his feet was a 21 year old lad who was getting paid £7 an hour plus expenses to "befriend" a 16 year old girl with cerebral palsy. Or in his terms - playing on the playstation, watching films, going down the seafront, to the cinema, whatever he felt like doing, as long as he included her. Don't get me wrong, she had a great time, in that respect it did everything it was meant to do. The job came to an end when her parents moved away from the area. But if there had been any sort of crisis or even minor problem, he would have been the biggest wet lettuce you ever did see. He'd have probably grabbed the nearest passerby and gone "help! can you do something about this?" and then run home to his mum.