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13 min. reading
Updated: 09/07/2018
The author of these lines earned his first at the age of 10 years. And I think that it was an extremely useful and necessary experience. Now I am already a parent myself, and when my daughter is older, I will do my best to ensure that she works regularly from an early age. Work for children, schoolchildren and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years is very important in preparing them for adulthood ,
to identify and develop their abilities, and is also a prerequisite for mastering financial literacy and the ability to handle money.
In this article, we will analyze in detail why it is worth accustoming a child to work and work from an early age, talk about how and where a child can earn his own money, how this will affect his future and how to correctly weave this process into the overall education system.
So, my first money earned at the age of 10 at a gas station. It was summer, with a friend we went out of town to one of the gas stations. Back then, there weren't many gas stations. But getting there was not difficult, we traveled by regular bus. There we refueled cars, for which some drivers gave us a small reward.
I remember that I myself decided to work at a gas station. More precisely, it was our joint decision with my friend. Well, to be even more precise, then alone we would hardly decide to do this, but together it seems to be more fun and not so scary.
Our parents did not encourage us to do this. That I, that my friend grew up in ordinary Soviet families. The family had enough money and we did not live in poverty. However, as I remember now, I wanted to have my own money, not begged from my parents, which I could spend on anything.
We wanted to be independent, adults. As a child, you usually always want to grow up as quickly as possible, and when you grow up, you want to look younger on the contrary.
In childhood, almost every child has a lot of all sorts of prohibitions: you can’t smoke, swear badly, walk until nine, don’t get deuces, don’t indulge, don’t jump, don’t show your tongue, etc. Therefore, every child perceives adulthood as a kind of liberation from prohibitions.
Children look at adults and see that they can do anything. And from adults they only hear: “This is impossible, then it is impossible.”
Subsequently, when I got older and worked part-time in other places, I remember that I always did it with pleasure, because work and earned money gave me a sense of adulthood and independence what I was aiming for.
Although I speak for myself now, I am sure that for many children, work at an early age causes similar feelings and emotions. If you are reading these lines and you have children, then here is the first plus for you from working at an early age.
Let your child feel independent and mature.
By the way, if I loved to work for money, then I hated NOT to work for money. For example, I hated working in my parents' garden. Planting and harvesting potatoes, weeding grass, picking berries - all this terribly tired me.
If I endured the first few hours calmly, then I began to frankly get bored. Moreover, parents always went to the garden from early morning until late evening.
So if you have children and they don’t like to go to the garden or cottage with you, then either take them for a shorter period, not for the whole day, or motivate them with something. It can be done both with money and in other ways, for example, sweets, movies, etc.
But back to my first job. Generally this way of earning for a child is relevant now. There are gas stations where refuellers work on a permanent basis, and there are gas stations where there are no such employees and it is not provided.
We worked at the gas station without any agreements. They just came and started working. No one drove us away, though the time was different then. Now, most likely, you will have to first talk with one of the gas station employees. For the refueling itself, this will only be a plus, because it’s convenient when you don’t need to poke around with the gas tank cap and the dispenser gun yourself, especially when the car is dirty.
At what age can you officially work?
Labor law states that you can officially work from the age of 14. Perhaps some of the leaders of gas stations are afraid to take on such responsibility. Although, you can always agree and find a way out. For example, you can prepare children in advance and teach them what to answer in case unknown people start asking them various tricky questions.
I can say for sure that my first job at a gas station changed me a lot. She showed me the process of the emergence of money from a completely different side.
Before, I always thought that parents have money, and always. Yes, I understood that they go to work, but until the end I did not realize what it was.
Even when my parents told me that they had no money, I always knew that they were cheating. They always had money, so it seemed to me.
When I understood WHAT work is and WHAT salary is, many things fell into place. I have become more respectful of money. I realized that before the money rustles in your pocket, you need to work hard and make some effort. Accordingly, I became more cautious about parting with money.
If I had money, I was in no hurry to spend it right and left. I began to treat my purchases more rationally and carefully. But what is most interesting, I learned to realize the value of certain things.
I knew that in order to earn, for example, 100 rubles, I would need to work hard for a week. And when later I saw some thing in the store, I could already estimate its value not just in rubles, but in the number of days that I would have to work in order to earn the required amount for it.
This is very it is important that your child is able to evaluate certain things not in rubles, but in the amount of effort expended, then it will be easier for him to understand the value of certain things. He will realize how difficult and hard money is given.
Perhaps for some of the adults, such reasoning will seem banal, but for a ten-year-old child, the appearance of such conclusions is akin to the discovery by Mendeleev of his ingenious table of chemical elements. In terms of developing financial literacy, this was a real breakthrough for me.
So if you're still wondering if your child should be sent to camp or work this summer, now you have a solid reason to make a decision.
After all, many parents think that summer is a period of rest when you need to swim, sunbathe, eat fruit and gain strength. And about work they think: “The horses die from work.” And they transfer this philosophy to their child, they worry about him, that he, poor thing, will overwork, God forbid.
I assure you that a few weeks of work, and even better a month, will have a much more fruitful effect on your child. You should not rush to extremes either and send him all summer to some kind of labor camp.
Also, it is important that the child wants it to make his wish come true. To achieve this, I recommend doing the following. Find out what your child dreams about. Perhaps among his desires there is some expensive toy, such as a bike or a computer console. Offer your offspring to earn part of the amount, and you will add the rest to him for the purchase.
In general, you need turn your child's employment process into a game. After all, not every child wants to work in the summer, while his peers swim and sunbathe on the lake.
Here you can not act by force and force the child to work. You need to be smarter. It is necessary to show him the advantages of work, to convey weighty arguments to the child so that the child himself wants to earn money.
How can a teenager make money online?
When we talk about work for children, teenagers, schoolchildren, we first of all mean work in the summer. After all, in autumn, winter and spring, children study and, as a rule, they have no time to work.
But with the advent of the Internet in our lives, this situation has changed dramatically. Now any child can easily earn money on the Internet for pocket expenses at any time of the year.
If you have a computer with Internet access, then you can earn money at any time of the day. Do you want early in the morning, if the child is studying on the second shift, do you want in the evening or even at night.
In general, this way of earning should be put in the first place, because working on the Internet is simple, any child can easily cope with it, starting from 9-10 years old. To master this work, you do not need to take any special courses, study for 5 years at the institute or read a bunch of books.
You will not be fired from this job. You can work for a week, then go to your grandmother in the village for a month or two, then return and continue working.
You can be sure that your child will not get injured on the job, he will not get hit by a car and some hooligans will not take his honestly earned money from him.
Let's get to the heart of the matter. You probably can’t wait to find out what you need to do to make money on the Internet for your child. Today, any teenager can earn as follows:
- Clicking on links and browsing sites. Don't worry - this is an absolutely safe work and all the sites you view are subject to preliminary control and verification. There will be no porn sites and sites that can damage the child's psyche.
- Reading letters. This is also a safe job. It boils down to the fact that the teenager needs to read a short letter and answer a security question.
- Passing tests. Here you also need to read the text prepared by advertisers, and then give the correct answer to one of the three options. The test usually contains three questions, each of which contains three possible answers. The questions are all simple and if the child is attentive, he will easily answer.
- Performing various simple tasks. For example, to get money you need to register on the site, play a demo game and then write a short report.
This work can be found at this link on the Seosprint website. And here you will find detailed instructions with video tutorials, which I recorded especially for you.
How else can a child earn money?
Try to contact the local employment center or the administration of your city. Perhaps they have some public organizations or special companies that are engaged in the employment of children.
We used to have a special organization in the city, I think it was called "Cobra", which employed teenage children. I remember later, after a gas station, somewhere at the age of 13-14, I worked part-time in this organization. It was spring and we cleared the roads, footpaths and areas in front of the entrances from snow. In the summer, they usually cleaned different areas.
They worked for several hours a day, did not get tired much and got good money for the children. It was already more close to reality work. If at a gas station we were like individual entrepreneurs, they themselves decided what time to come to work and what time to leave. That in "Cobra" we were already as hired employees.
Work began at a certain time. I remember how worried I was about not being late for it. Now I understand how much this work has affected my responsibility, punctuality.
After that, I didn't work anywhere else until I was 18. At the age of 18, I already began to work seriously, in an adult way. But that's another story. Now let's look at what other ways there are to make money for children.
Newspaper sales
In my city there is a newspaper of free announcements “Fair”, which invites teenagers for the summer to distribute their newspaper. They are given bright yellow T-shirts, newspapers, which they offer to buy in crowded places, markets, near shopping centers, etc.
In general, this is a good school. I think that the subject of "selling" should be taught at school. One way or another, a lot of our lives are built on sales. When we meet a girl, we “sell” ourselves, our charm, sense of humor, etc. When we get a job, we “sell” our knowledge, skills and useful experience. When we persuade someone to our opinion, we “sell” their benefits. When we build our own business, the key skill that an entrepreneur must have is the ability to sell.
Many more examples could be given. If you have a child, I strongly recommend that you teach him how to sell. But if you yourself do not know how to sell, then give it to where they can teach it. Newspaper sales are one such place.
Posting ads
This is a common job that teenagers do. It does not require any special knowledge and skills. Run around the city and put up ads. In this regard, I do not really like this kind of work. There is no need to think here, which means that the head will not develop.
Refueling cars with gasoline or selling newspapers are much more preferable in this regard. There's still work with people provided. And on how you approach a person, how you smile, whether you can like it - it largely depends on whether you sell something to a person or whether he will reward you for your work.
But what I dislike the most about posting ads is that you often see ads of an intimate nature that are posted by teenagers. I will not allow my daughter to do this kind of work.
Postmen
Today, postmen are required both at the post office and in various commercial organizations that distribute their flyers in mailboxes.
And, by the way, teenagers cope with this work much better than adults. Teenagers work much more honestly. They haven't been ruined yet. But adults often cheated. For example, they threw leaflets into trash cans, and they told me that they had distributed everything. As you understand, the company suffered serious losses because of such rogues.
car wash
This is a job for older children, starting at 13-14 years old. For example, selling newspapers or refueling cars with gasoline make money for kids Can be years with 10 and even younger.
Car washing is a monotonous physical job. But its main drawback is that the child will have to work in a humid room, which may affect his health. And you need to remember that your child will have to work with expensive cars, inadvertently scratching which you can get a lot of trouble.
couriers
The task of couriers is the delivery of various goods, food, correspondence. This is also a job for older children from 13-15 years old. The fact is that you will need to wander around the city. And I wouldn't recommend it for younger kids.
Territory cleaning
I already wrote about cleaning the territory above, but here I want to add that this work can be found in various private organizations. Many enterprises require people who keep order in the territory, remove garbage, paint the fence, do landscaping, etc.
Distribution of leaflets and flyers in passable places
There is nothing complicated in this work. The main task is to distribute as many leaflets as possible to people passing by. Such work should be sought in various advertising and marketing agencies.
Usually they, commissioned by large trading companies, attract teenage children to distribute flyers.
Advertising of goods and tastings
Often in large shopping centers I meet so-called promoters who lay out some products on small tables and offer everyone who wants to try it for free.
They can offer various dairy products, yogurts, various semi-finished products, cheeses, sausages, soft drinks, beer, etc.
Selling flowers
Once, I invited a girl to a restaurant. We had a great time, chatted nicely, ate gourmet dishes, listened to live music, and suddenly, unexpectedly, a boy appears, 10-12 years old, in a strict black suit and with a bow tie instead of a tie. He looked very serious and presentable.
In his hands was a basket of roses. Smiling, he said, "Would you like to present these beautiful roses to your lovely companion?" It was very helpful. You can't imagine better. My companion was very happy when I gave her a beautiful flower.
Further, this boy went through all the other tables and sold a few more flowers. Then, he left the restaurant and most likely went to the next one. In this case, you can not do without the help of adults. Since the boy needs to be taken to restaurants. And yes, it was getting late. Around 21-22 hours.
I really like this way of earning. Because the method of sale is practically trouble-free. Even if my plans did not include buying flowers for a girl, then in that situation I would not be able to say: “Thank you, no need.” I would have looked like a frank miser and it is unlikely that I would have subsequently succeeded in something with this girl.
Packers in large stores
My wife told me about this job. As a child, she worked as a packer in a grocery store. She put cookies, sweets and other sweets into bags.
Sale of ice cream in the squares
One of the easiest ways to earn money for a child in the summer is to sell ice cream and soft drinks in squares, squares and other crowded places.
Installing a refrigerator is easy. In addition, companies involved in the production and sale of ice cream of these refrigerators are a dime a dozen. You can just come to them, offer your candidacy, and then they will organize the workplace themselves.
It's even easier to sell ice cream on a bike. Once in Tyumen, I saw special bicycles with a small refrigerator with ice cream in front of them.
Bicycle rental
Usually in the summer there are a lot of bike and rollerblade rentals. Such rentals are organized both in separate rooms and in spontaneous places. I have seen special trailers in which the big ones are stored.
These trailers are small and easy to transport with a car. Such work can be found both for hire and organized independently.
Trampolines
Many parents walk in parks and squares with small children. Children need to be entertained in some way, and usually various trampolines and inflatable towns are installed for them, where the children can frolic to their heart's content.
A child from 10 years old can easily sell tickets or keep track of time on such playgrounds. By the way, a simple trampoline that can fit 3-6 kids is not expensive and you can quite organize an independent business in this direction.
Diploma and term papers
If your child is doing well in school, then he may well make money on your own brains. You can help less capable classmates, solve problems for them to order.
You can also try your hand at writing term papers and essays. By the way, for this it is not necessary to study at the institute yourself. Today, most of the original abstracts and term papers are simply old abstracts and term papers rewritten in other words.
Dancing in clubs and restaurants
This way of earning is not for everyone, but only for those who can dance well. More than once in clubs and restaurants I saw young boys who danced break-dance there, and then went around with a hat and collected donations.
In general, I give this way of earning money for children more so that you turn on your imagination. If you or your child have creative abilities and skills, then you will not face the problem of lack of money.
When you can sing, dance, draw, play musical instruments, sculpt or craft, then you can always earn on your talent.
Computer literacy (children teach adults how to work on a PC)
Children today understand computers much better than adults. This can and should be used. Computers are everywhere, in any enterprise, but far from everyone knows how to handle it.
This is especially true for the adult generation, those over 40. If your child is computer savvy, then let them teach adults how to use it for money. It is not a problem to advertise in a newspaper or on a bulletin board.
Merchandiser
A merchandiser is a person who arranges products in large supermarkets. You probably paid attention to how beautifully and evenly stand juices, milk, jars, cookies and other products on the shelves.
All this is the merit of merchandisers. Usually young girls and boys work in these positions. The truth is not younger than 14-15 years. The fact is that sometimes you have to pull heavy boxes, which not every child can do.
