The term "nini" is now derogatory. It was first used in the UK in 1999, with the publication of a report on young people who neither study nor work. This was a new status , as in earlier historical times it was the norm that those who left programs of study went to work and those who lost their employment prepared for another job.

The opinion that almost all adults have, in principle, of the ninis is very negative. We consider them apathetic, childish, immature, lazy, irresponsible, etc..... We think that they do not care about their uncertain future and that they do nothing to reverse their status. The comical cartoons in the newspapers caricaturing them as lazy slobs who spend their time playing video games and drinking contribute to this. When some of them try to explain themselves, we do not give them the opportunity to do so, because we have already condemned them in advance:

-Father, do you know how annoying it is to be called a nini?

-I don't know, and I don't care.

Is this initial negative judgment fair in all cases? In my opinion, it is a mistake to put all ninis (or alleged ninis) in the same bag, since there are extenuating and/or exculpatory circumstances that should be taken into account and that would help in their possible rehabilitation staff and social:

1-The group nini is not a uniform set of young people; it is composed of people who may be ninis occasionally, while trying out different options.

2- Young people from poor families are forced to drop out of school at an early age to help out at home, making it very difficult for them to find a job employment.

3-Some sought work unsuccessfully for a long time, undergoing interviews and exams. For this reason, they have a resigned attitude towards reality and choose not to study, as they think it is not useful to get the desired employment .

4 - Young people who are wrongly considered ninis. Many of them, especially women, decided to devote themselves to the home or other activities that were not previously classified as work or employment.

5,- Some have reached the status as ninis unintentionally, by bad luck. This happens a lot, for example, in South America: most of the ninis dropped out of school at the moment when an opportunity to earn money presented itself. But since the jobs they get are very unstable, they soon become unemployed and unwilling to return to school.

6- There are ninis who are the result of some educational mistakes. Most of them arose because their parents did not encourage in them from an early age the sacrifice and virtues related to study, the work and the use of money. Many of them were spoiled and pampered children.

The most indolent ninis are exposed, among others, to two dangers:

1-Lack of future. Nini: neither studying nor working. Ninini: neither studying nor working, nor young. The longer they are not studying, the more difficult it will be for them to find a employment; it will not be easy for them to beat the other candidates (not ninis) for the same position in a selection test , both because they are not updated in the training and because of their bad curriculum.

2-The permanent idleness incites them to make many superfluous expenses. Not having the money they "need", they may be tempted to obtain it too easily. In addition, being so vulnerable, they are exposed to being taken advantage of by some unscrupulous person (for example, a drug dealer).

If we have ninis at home, it is not enough to look the other way or to scold them on a daily basis. They are ninis, yes, but "they are our ninis".

It is up to parents, first and foremost, to try to rescue nini children who never wanted to be nini. Believing in them will help them to believe in themselves. Unmitigated ninis will have to be offered ideals, but also limits as maintained by their parents.  

It may help both to read biographies (or watch movies) such as that of Abraham Lincoln. From his earliest years he was a solitary, self-taught apprentice in the backwoods of the "new frontier". His thirst for knowledge made him thrive in the face of difficulties. An example: as he had no paper or pencil, he wrote on a board with a charcoal stick; to erase his writing he used a chipping knife; as he could not afford to buy an arithmetic book he borrowed one and copied it as best he could. He was destined to be a woodcutter, like his father. But as Laurence of Arabia said before crossing a terrible and endless desert, "nothing is written".