Ty's First Job

Written by Momcents Mom, Krista

Well folks, my 12-year-old son officially makes more money than me. :) He started mowing our lawn on and off about 2 years ago and this spring our neighbor lady asked if Ty would be interested in mowing hers.  With his dad's help, he took on his first job.  Justin (my husband) helps him edge and supervises for now but is helping less and less each week.  This job has taught Ty responsibility, planning (it's gonna rain Saturday, so I need to mow Friday), and money management.  We helped him build a spreadsheet where he can keep track of his income.  He is spending some (can you say Fortnite?) and saving the rest for college.  When a friend of mine moved into the neighborhood recently I told her about Ty mowing and boom he already has his second client!  It's a perfect job to keep him busy and active during the summer while making some dough at the same time.  He's already thinking of trying to find additional lawns to do next summer. 

It's not easy for kids under 16 to find ways to make money other than allowance and the occasional lemonade stand.  Here's a list of potential jobs I came up with for kids.  You may need to do it with them at first but that's okay!  If they start helping you pet sit for example when they are 8 or 9, by the time they are 10 or 11 they can do it on their own.

Jobs for kids

• Pet sit.  Have a neighbor that is going to be gone all day and needs someone to let their dog out or feed them? This is a perfect job for kids.  Like I said above, do it with them the first few times until they feel comfortable doing it on their own.
• Poop scoop.  It's a stinky job, but someone has to do it.
• Pull weeds.  Grab a bag or bucket and go to town.  This would be good to do for neighbors that are elderly and cannot bend as easily.
• House sit.  We help our neighbors with this all of the time.  Taking in the garbage, grabbing their mail or newspaper, watering their flowers, looking for packages, these are all things kids can easily do!  We don't mind at all doing it for our friends for free but maybe your kids could ask if they could do it for a small fee. 
• Shovel snow.  For older kids, this could be a great money maker in the winter when mowing lawns isn't needed.