Summer Jobs for Kids

Ways for Tweens to Make Money

© Denise Oliveri

May 11, 2007

A summer job can help your pre-teen earn some money while making good use of his time. If done with persistency and consistency, he may even start a lucrative business. Take a look at some of these top tween business tycoons:

• K-K Gregory has also sought to make life a little more pleasant. At the ripe age of ten, she invented Wristies® to keep freezing snow out of her coat sleeves. K-K’s Wristies can be worn under mittens or gloves. Fingers are free and cuffs stay dry. Her samples were such a hit with her Girl Scout Troop that she brought her design to a patent attorney. The result? Nine years in business and going strong. (LegalZoom.com - May 2007)
• Elise and Evan Macmillan co-founded and own The Chocolate Farm. This custom chocolate company has a twist - a farm animal theme. Elise started making chocolate with her grandmother at age three. She and her brother, Evan, started their own company about six years ago. The siblings are now teen millionaires thanks to the popularity of their cow-shaped chocolate lollipops and other chocolate treats. (LegalZoom.com - May 2007)

If your child is not ready to become the next big entrepreneur of the decade, he can start off by earning extra cash with some of these ideas:

Bake Sale - Sell the goodies at local events or in your front yard. He can bake from scratch or from the box. Bake sales usually go over really well if people know that part of your earnings will go to a good cause. Depending on what you sell, cookies usually go for 2 for $.50, a cake for $5.00, or 2 brownies for $.50. Just make sure that you know how much you spent on supplies, so you know you will make a profit. Flyers can be placed at grocery stores, church, and community bulletin boards.

Housecleaning - People do not like to wash windows very often. Your tween could be the professional window cleaner of the neighborhood. Other household chores that could be done are dusting, ironing, and cleaning floors. When advertising, be sure to emphasize how nice it would be to come home to a clean house, or have more time to spend with your children. The going rate for this type of work would be about $5.00 an hour. Flyers can be placed at grocery stores, church, and community bulletin boards.

Pet Care - If your tween is energetic and loves pets, this would be a good option. It requires patience and the willingness to take on a great deal of responsibility. Jobs that fall under this category would include pet sitting, grooming, or walking dogs. Good places to advertise for this type of business would include pet stores, veterinary offices, and animal shelters. Your tween could easily charge $5.00 an hour for this line of work.

Also check out: Income Opportunities for Tweens and Teens that are great for year-round.

Lawn Care - If your tween likes working outdoors, this could be a winner. Lawn care would include mowing grass, weeding, raking leaves, watering plants, and so on. Most neighbors will already have the equipment for you to use. They will just want your services. The going rate for jobs like this are $25.00 for any one service. Flyers can be put on neighbor's mailboxes, but remember not to put anything inside of mailboxes, as that is against the law.

While these jobs are great for kids 9 to 12, upper end kids (12-year-olds) may also be ready for some jobs suggested in the article Summer Job Ideas for Teens.

A lemonade stand

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