6 Summer Jobs for Pre-teens

Do you want your kids to start at a young age to learn a good work ethic? Do you want them to stop asking for money to buy this or that? Do you want them to learn how to manage money?

Each and everyone of the previously mentioned can teach your kids valuable lessons.  The younger kids are able to learn them the better..it allows them to have many years of guidance, so that when our kids step out of the house for their first year of college, nothing is a surprise. They aren’t racking up credit card bills or making poor money decisions.

Allow your kids to earn money…

We believe that the younger you allow your kids to make and manage money, the better off they will be as adults. Stop handing them cash to go to the movies, buy a new pair of shoes or even to grab an ice cream cone for no reason.

Sure there are times when it is perfectly appropriate to purchase these things for our kids, but there are also times they can pay for these items.  Do they want a new pair of shoes every. single .month?? This is a want.  Let them earn some money to save up for the shoes.  They will quickly learn how long it takes to save up for an$80 pair of shoes….and ultimately may not decide to buy the shoes.

In order for your kid’s to have money to manage, they have to make money.  In this little mini-series, this week we will share jobs pre-teens can do and next week great jobs for teens!

	1. House Sitter All summer long neighbors are going on vacation. Offer to collect their mail and newspapers. Kids can also water flowers: everything from potted plants to flower beds and gardens. They can print out their own flyers here.
	2. Dog Walker/Pet Sitter Do you have neighbors that would love to have their dog walked in the middle of the day? This is a quick and simple 20-minute job. When the neighbors go on vacation, kids can be a pet sitter: feed the dog and take it out to go to the bathroom. This helps people avoid the high fees of boarding their dog. They can print out their own flyers here.
	3. Mother’s Helper Pre-teens as young as 8 or 9 can be a Mother’s Helper. Different than a baby-sitter, a Mother’s Helper helps out with the kids while mom is home…basically they play with the younger kids to keep them entertained so mom can get some stuff done around the house.
	4. Mow grass This job will depend on how responsible your child is, but in our house, at age 10 the kids learned to mow the grass. This is a great job for kids to make regular money on a weekly basis. Find just 2 neighbors a week and your kiddo could be making $40-$50.
	5. Lemonade or Slushie Stand Set up shop on a regular basis, people will expect that every Wednesday afternoon the Lemonade Stand will be up and running. Your kids will great regular customers. Spice things up by offering flavored lemonade (raspberry, strawberry or peach) or by having something a little more out of the ordinary such as a Slushie Stand (this is a huge hit with the kids in our neighborhood!).
	6. One-Time Money Makers Most of the previous jobs can be preformed on a weekly basis. But your kids could also try a few on-time money makers. To name a few: set up a garage sale, collect recyclables and turn them in for cash, allow your kids to clip coupons for your next grocery trip and every coupon used at checkout, give them the cash for it or hold a car wash.