Ideas for Tweens to Earn Money This Summer

As the mother of a tween boy, he is all about earning money to fund his many interests and activities. But his age keeps him from being old enough to work and earn a partial income, so we have had to come up with some creative answers to the problem.

Depending upon the age of your tween, one of the easiest summer jobs they can do is babysitting. My son is still a tad too young for this kind of income, however many twelve and thirteen year olds do great with a touch of responsibility in return for their spending money. Use your own judgment and common sense before allowing your child to accept a job such as this. Make sure they are showing some responsibility and maturity in decisions. Do they know what to do in an emergency? Before you turn them loose this summer with other people's children, enroll them in a local YMCA babysitting course. I believe those are fairly inexpensive and given on Saturday mornings in most areas. They will teach your child how to respond to a life threatening situation with CPR tips and emergency phone number usage. They will also give them a good idea of how to take care of the children and help smaller children when they cry. In addition to this information, let them watch a sibling while you run your errands for an hour or supervise their first few attempts at babysitting. It is important that you do not do the baby sitting job for them. Instead you guide them and make sure that they are being attentive to the child and doing what is expected of them.

Another good summer job a tween can perform is mowing lawns. I know my son is looking forward to trying this out this summer for himself. However, please understand lawn mowers are dangerous machinery. They are not toys. Teach your child how to be safe and responsible with the machinery. If it is a hand held mower they must know to wear appropriate footwear, never stick their hands in a stuck blade or try to grab that handful of grass while the machine is running, and they can even wear some protective goggles until they gain experience with the machine to avoid any flying particles harming their eyes. I highly recommend before you turn your child loose on your neighbor's lawn, you allow him or her to mow yours first. Do not turn them loose with the lawn mower and stay inside with your feet propped up. Instead, try sitting on the porch swing with your book. Look as if you are busy and not being over protective but watch them. Guide them and make sure they are following safety instructions! There is a great room for accidents and danger with lawn mowing if there are not rules in place and proper instructions given to the child.

My son has recently developed quite the attitude about litter and harmful environmental behavior. He is very animal and earth friendly. He is also quite outspoken and well versed in this belief. So in order to foster this tendency he has to take care of nature, I suggested he spend some time can hunting this summer. He can preserve nature by helping remove harmful litter from the ground and sidewalks, as well as pick up a few dollars worth of metal we can haul to the local scrap yard. Again, do you trust your child knows road safety enough to walk around the neighborhood or up a commercial street? If not, use the opportunity to take a walk and stretch your legs. You can relax and stroll conversing with your child as they pick up the cans. Another rule I would make clear to them is about dumpster diving. Cans are a great source of a small amount of income for a tween, but they should be picked up while walking rather than from a dumpster behind the gas station. Let them know what is acceptable and what is not. A greedy little boy of ten years old is very likely not to care about disease or germ when he sees a twelve pack of beer cans glinting in the sunlight of a dumpster. Also make sure you provide them with a storage area for their collection. An outdoor shed is the best option though a basement can work as well. We also equipped a can crusher to help our little environmentalist store his cans.

My son has participated in and ran his own lemonade stand several times this past year. Most of the neighborhood kids do it so the competition can be pretty fierce and they wind up drinking the profits when the sun is shining. However, the elderly in our neighborhood come out in droves to support them. They find this a refreshing idea from their childhood and enjoy the glasses of lemonade, Kool Aid, and Gatorade the various children offer. In fact, one of our neighbors decided to have some fun and went to a couple of the stands claiming that he was buying up so much lemonade as a test comparison. The kids got a good laugh out of trying to have the best stand on the block. Hot, tired commuters coming home from work found the chance to get a fresh glass of a refreshing, iced drink a huge relief. So help your child set up a lemonade stand. Invest in a cheap cooler, some ice, powdered or fresh products, disposable cups, and a pretty pitcher. They will also enjoy making their own sign and displays.

If you just don't feel like little Tommy or Betty can handle a big lawnmower, allow them to start their own weed pulling business. People that work full time often can't find the time to pull the weeds from the garden or flower beds. The elderly that loves gardening may find that they are unable physically to properly weed. If you can't help your child learn this job, send them to the friend or neighbor with the green thumb and have them learn the proper weeds from the marigold in bloom. Or the tomato plant that has yet to sprout. With a few days training they are all set to set out and earn a few dollars toward the summer vacation!