13 Year Old That Needs to Find a Job and Make Some Money

My son is 13 and has been mowing lawns for 2 or 3 years now. He also has helped various neighbors with leaves, snow, and picking up hedge apples and getting rid of them. He can walk dogs, and if there are relatives living near you maybe he can work for them doing odd jobs. Also maybe for you he could do not so ordinary chores for money then deduct it off his bill.

I was at the grocery store and saw a sign that said "Rent a Son!" A teen boy was advertising his services for regular household chores: mowing yards, raking leaves, cleaning out basements and garages, etc. But the way he advertised was really creative! I thought that might be a way for him to get his services noticed.

If he cannot find a job like mowing yards or doing odd jobs for neighbors and family for money then have him work it off in sweat equity for you. Washing moms car =x amt of money off the bill. Washing windows in the house = x amt of money. Raking the yard, mowing the yard, cleaning the garage, cleaning the attic or basement.... Make him sweat it out and to top it off he has to do it all weekend so he can't be with his friends. He's under punishment until he can respect you as a parent which also includes the phone bill. Hope this helps.

Here is a website that I found that lists a few ideas. I'm sure that you situation is very difficult. I'm just wondering if it would be a better idea for you to explain to him that there is not any extra money for long-distance calls. Usually you can go to your telephone company and let them know that you do not want long-distance. They will make it to where you can't even dial out long-distance. YOu could get a calling card for the times that you really need to dial out long-distance.

website:
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_easy-ways-year-olds-...

Thanks,
Trish

He can always cut grass and coming up this fall rake leaves. Have him start with asking around your neighborhood. Thats what a lot of my friends did at his age (and we have a group of middle school boys in our neighborhood that make the rounds today :)

Any kind of yard work for neighbors is a really good choice. Dog walking, even picking up a dog's mess outside for an elderly neighbor. These are all things my 13 year old has done to earn money. You are doing well to teach him that he needs to help pay for extra expenses. Kudos!

Yard work is great. He could also wash neighbor's cars for some extra money.

Good for you in making him pay for his bill. Have him go to the neighbors and see what he can do for them. He can make flyers on the computer and hand them out to the neighbors. Also, have you thought of getting a long distance plan? We have cable phone which is free long distance. You may want to look into that and that way his bill won't be so high. You can have him pay you $10-$15 for the bill each month to help pay for the long distance plan. We've had our phone that way for 5 years and love it, we can talk to our parents in Louisiana all we want and don't have to pay for the bill. In fact they call us and then we call them back b/c it's free on our side. Hope this helps...Good luck and God Bless.

I would LOVE to have a 13 yr old boy who would be available for babysitting (supervised or unsupervised...just someone to do something with my children...more one-on-one time - anything they want- teach them sports, ride bikes/skateboards, etc.), cutting lawn, landscaping (pulling weeds, planting, etc.), house cleaning (including cleaning out garage, moving things for me, etc.). He could also set up recycle boxes in offices and collect the cans for money...it's a dirty job but it'll help the environment AND earn him money. If there are any elderly people in the area he could offer his services to them...they may not be able to pay min. wage but something is better than nothing! Leaf raking will soon be popular and of course once it starts snowing...shoveling. If he's smart, he'll invest some money in a snowblower and make twice as much money this winter with 1/2 as much work! ;) Good luck!

You have gotten some great suggestions here and one other I would make is what about service hours. IF you can afford to pay the bill make him work it off in service hours so he really gets it! Money motivates kids (most of them?) and what if he feels as though that's his answer to any dilemma? I'm speaking from experience! I worked at a very young age and enjoyed the freedom of money in my pocket so much that I wasn't mature enough and didn't have good guidance so I got myself into lot's of trouble! It was a hard lesson to learn but it helped me realize with my kids that I don't want them motivated by money. They do chores around the house because they need to take pride in what they have. And I'm trying very hard to teach them the value of a dollar! So maybe see what kind of community service he can do.

A solution to the phone issue might be going to a prepaid phone. If you go to www.kajeet.com/M. you can find a good program that allows you free parental controls. You can set limits on how much time he uses the phone, who he is calling/texting and there are 2 "wallets" that you can add money into - one for calls you are okay paying for, like to you and one wallet where he can add his own money to pay for calls he wants to make like to this girl. Good luck!

My son who is 13 found a job on craigslist doing yard work, picking cherries, and misc lawn chair for a lady. She pays him $7 an hour and he works 10 hours a week. Otherwise if it was spring I tell him to start cutting grass.

I might not be able to help with the job part, but phone wise did you know that there is something on the net called magic jack. The process uses your computer for your phone line, so he could talk to her via computer for phone, Since you already have the computer line. You can also check out the long distance end of your phone to see what the cost is for that an then his allowance money for chores done around the house could be applied to that an see if your son would think that is fair. Hope this helps.

You got so many ideas and I think all are great and I would just add that if you want him talking that much to a girl at this age, which I wouldn't, there is Skype too. It's free from computer to computer and very clear and you just need ear phones which are not much money. If you call computer to phone it is a fee but you can put money in and when it's gone it's gone unless you add more.
I'm glad you're teaching him a good lesson in life and he will remember it. It doesn't hurt kids to learn that things cost and work is part of life.

How about yard work for either you or for people in the neighborhood? That's what my husband did at that age and even older. He said that he quite a job at McDonalds because he could make more mowing lawns. It wouldn't even have to be mowing, it could be raking leaves, weeding or cleaning up after dogs (I'd pay a kid to do that!). The dog thing is what our girls get now when they want more money. Good luck!

he could go around and ask people if they need any assistance with yard work, its getting close to fall when the leaves will be falling. Would he make a good babysitter? Theres people who need assistance with dog sitting or dog walking.
And then theres always house work he could do for you, such as dishes, laundry, dusting...etc...if you think that would work.

Do you have any neighbors or friends close by that he can mow their yards for them or do other things to help them out and earn money?

I can certainly feel your pain when our children make a mistake that ends up costing us our grocery money. But...in all honesty - I don't think the first offense is ever to be a harsh discipline decision such as forcing your child to get a job at the age of 13. I understand the thought of wanting them to realize the pain it's caused and to help out, but maybe talk to him about it this time and the next time he can pay it back. Think of ways and write them down for him so that he can pay to have the privledge of using the phone. Maybe he mows people's yards. Maybe he ask the neighbors if they need anything done because he is trying hard to earn money for his family, such as some people will pay to have someone take their garbage out once a week. Your post just struck me this morning as something I would write out of frustration with my children and trying to make ends meet. I hope you find your answers and sounds like you are a hard worker so hopefully your children will see that in you and be the same.

Maybe cut grass for neibors or relatives. Kids sometimes do not understand what we are going thru. Breath deep and continue forward, your doing the right thing. You can block long distance.

Good Morning M., Good for you dear-heart!! Your son really does have a awesome mama!
Ok He could mow lawns, walk dogs, pet setter, if he continues into the winter months well there is always snow shoveling!! Hope you cut this in the bud really quick. I think for 13 maybe one day a week for 10-15 minutes is plenty. And you could tell him if he doesn't have the money to call and pay for it, he can't until he does. After he gets this one and possibly the next bill paid for.

M. when do you take care of You dear heart?? I understand the economy Sux big time, your running yourself to a frazzle hon. I admire you and what you are willing to do for your kids, I'm just concerned about how long you can keep it up before you crash. You have got to be worn out.

God be with you and keep you strong. Your an awesome mama!!
K. Nana of 5

mow lawns, rake leaves, or shovel snow for money. Offer to clean someone's house and he really needs to do a good job to get paid. My oldest son is 17 but people have called on him since he was probably 10 years old for a lot of different jobs and paid him because he is a hard worker and does a great job. People also call him to help them move. You could also have him and his older sister babysit together and split the money. She would probably want to make some money as well and when he is paid up then maybe she can continue the babysitting jobs on her own as she is old enough but he probably isn't yet and if she is already babysitting maybe you could offer the suggestion to her to split it for a while to help you out but have him doing something to earn it back.

I would also check into your phone company and see what deals they offer. There are a lot of cheaper plans out there that offer free long distance. If they don't have a plan switch to cable or another company if possible.

If he can mow lawns, maybe that would be something he can do.

He could cut grass, babysit, walk dogs or pet sit. Easy things for a 13 yr old to do.

He can rake leaves, cut grass, pull weeds, babysit, walk dogs, etc.

I agree with offering to help the neighbors with mowing or small projects.

Do you have anything around the house that needs to be done.

Mow yards, walk dog, wash windows, rake leaves. Have him make a flier to put on neighbors doors (only ones you know) leave it open ended so they can make suggestions, then wait for calls. If this doesn't work, find some things he can do around the house and call your phone company to see if you can come up with a payment plan and no more long distance calls, you can have them blocked so this won't happen again.
If he needs communications there is always the computer, if you don't have internet at home let him go to the public library or wait until she comes back in town. Thirteen is kind of young for a real intense relationship anyway, so limiting their contact is not unreasonable.

Are you all involved in a church? I bet there are some people there ( especially some elderly widows) who could use help with a lot of things that they would be happy to pay him for!!. As everyone else has suggested, he could mow lawns or do other yard work, maybe someone needs help with pet sitting while they are out of town. Help him make up some little handouts that he can take around to the neighborhood...saying what he is willing to do and asking if anyone needs help with any of those chores. I know that I would pay someone to come and do lots of little things around my house, rake the grass that is left behind after mowing, scoop poop ( yeach!!) wash windows.
I agree with you that he definitely needs to pay this money back to you. I Would also consider putting a long distance lock on my phone so this doesnt happen again!!!
R. Ann