Why The Lazy Days of Summer Shouldn’t Be Quite So Lazy

It’s the middle of July and it is time for your teenager to get off the couch. Never mind the many voices wistfully calling for a summer break, imagining high school kids filling their days with reading for pleasure, swimming and long walks in the woods. Or college students giving their brains a rest and taking “mindless” summer jobs—mowing lawns, babysitting or scooping ice cream.

These critics scoff at “resume-building” summer internships and work designed “to impress a college admission d...