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Odd Jobs for Kids

Mukta Gaikwad
Teaching your child the value of money and importance of money management is imperative. Jobs for kids are meant to bring about a fresh perspective in these lessons of money matters.
To manage money, one requires control over habits, planning and understanding of priorities. Despite high paying packages and handsome salaries, many adults find themselves in credit traps and bankruptcy. In times when economies plummet to the whims and fancies of a few, it is important to teach your child money management and its value at a very young age.
Jobs for kids aim to teach lessons of life that are often forgotten within confines of a classroom. These jobs make children responsible at a very young age. It also helps them comprehend accountability towards self in new perspective.

Babysitting

Babysitters are always in demand, which makes it an excellent opportunity for kids to earn an extra buck.
It is a job that demands utmost responsibility, accountability and alertness. It is a perfect job for teenagers, who have free time during vacations.
This job also teaches rebellious teenagers the duties of a parent and they reverse roles for a while. Interaction with kids younger than your own age, allows you to relive those moments of naive laughter. And what could be a better way of going back to those and getting paid for it too?!

Garage Sale

Toys, books, clothes and other miscellaneous items that are lying around in your child's room, can be a lesson in disguise. Ask your child to collect all the items that have to be discarded. Put up a garage sale and make money out of it.
This is an excellent way of teaching your child to clear clutter and keep the room organized. The money earned from this can be then used to buy required items for the next academic year. This indeed would be a good lesson on wise spending!

Helper

This vacation, make your child a helper at home. Simpe tasks like washing the car, helping in making dinner, cleaning a few things around the house, mowing the lawn, etc, can be easily done by a child above seven years of age.
Deposit daily wage in your child's piggy bank, which can be opened only at the end of the month. Jobs as such make children value the efforts parents put in to run the house. It also teaches them to shoulder the burden of household chores at an early age.

Lemonade Stand

Nothing beats the taste of an energizing drink in the scorching summer heat. A lemonade stand is a very popular job for kids. You can serve any other drink instead of lemonade.
This is a perfect summer job, as many look out for such stands. At the same stand you can try selling old books, gift items, snacks and other knickknacks.

Newspaper

Every child is familiar with the idea of writing.
Gather a group of children and start a two page newspaper. It can include stories, poems, drawings, news about local area, experiences, jokes, crossword, their favorite comic strip and so on.
Make a weekly publication, so that they have time to pool in their articles. If you have free time on hand, help them with getting pictures, layout of the paper and advertisement. Jobs as such can actually help a child to get an insight into a real life career at a young age.
Face painting, tutorials, dog walking and grocery shopping are some more jobs that a child can do. The money earned will be spent wisely, as it is earned through honest sweat and dedicated effort.