Weary Parent: Parenting Tweens & Teens

Summer Jobs For Tweens

by Christine on April 26th, 2008

Teens are starting to think about what job they will be working at for the summer. They may already have applications turned in and already had their first interview. They may be going back to the same place they worked last summer. Or they may be going full-time at the part-time job they’ve been working at all school year.

But what about tweens and younger teens who aren’t yet sixteen? What can they do to make money? These young entrepreneurs have a lot of options. They can start their own business.

Here are a few ideas:

• Babysitting: It’s an oldie, but a goodie. A teen can earn quite a bit babysitting for families in the neighborhood or for you friends and co-workers.
• Pet Sitting: Are you kids not your teens thing? Would they rather watch pets? Summer is the time many families head out for vacation. Your teen could offer to feed fish, dogs or cats, change cat litter and take dogs out for daily walks.
• Cleaning Service: They may not want to clean at home, but when somebody else is paying them for it they’ll find a whole new interest. An elderly neighbor may need somebody to scrub their kitchen floor. Or a working family may need somebody to dust and vacuum. Or maybe your teen will want to specialize in garage cleanups or toy room organizations.
• Maintenance Service: Last summer my oldest helped a guy down the street who was doing some renovations on his house. He paid really well for the help. It turned in to a great idea for a summer job. Summer is the time when a lot of people choose to renovate. Teens can pull nails or paint or even help hang drywall.
• Lawn Care: Let you teen use your mower (as long as he pays for the gas) and have him mow lawns in the neighborhood. This is something he can do during the day while people are at work. It can also go beyond mowing. Your teen can also offer to weed the yard. Or help in the garden. Maybe set out sprinklers and turn the water on and off at set times. This business could continue on in the Fall where he/she can rake and bag leaves and in to the winter where they can shovel walks.
• A Car Wash: With our busy lives many people just don’t have time to keep their cars clean. Your teen could wash and wax cars, vacuum the carpeting and wipe down the interior.
• PC Tutoring: Kids are whiz with the computers these days. And some of us adults aren’t. Your teen could put an add in the paper to help people learn how to use the internet or set up their email. If they know about hardware, they can offer to help people set up their new computers or replace their hard drive, memory or video cards.
• Web Design: If they are pretty good with web design they could spend the summer designing websites for people. There are a bunch of people looking for blog designs. A web design business is something they can do online and get paid through Paypal.
• Cooking Service: Does your teen love to cook? Maybe he/she can cook meals for busy families. I would love to have somebody cook us dinner a couple times a week.

What other ideas do you have? What has your teen for money in past summers?

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POSTED IN: Money & Teen Jobs