Kids Home for Summer? Put them to Work!

 So if your kids are hanging around the house this summer with little to do, consider giving them a job-or having them come up with a job that they can do in the neighborhood. Not only will this allow them to raise a little money that they can spend on things they really want, but it will give them a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction while doing so.

I've mentioned before that our little neighborhood friend who is about eight years old sets up a lemonade stand about once per month on our block. She has done it so many times that she has it down: cash register, change, cups, stand. She even gives discounts to the neighbors she really likes - and free cups to everyone under the age of two!

Part of the money that she makes goes back into her lemonade fund for future sales.

The other part of her money raised goes to what she wants to purchase-a new book, a new doll, a piece of candy.

Talk about raising an entreprenuer!

This is an easy thing to set up around your house. First, come up with a job or set of jobs that your child can do. My four year old makes her bed each morning and cleans up her toys each night. She earns money for this. An older kid can mow the lawn, clean the pool. Washing dishes, cleaning up the house and folding laundry are all in house jobs, while washing the neighbor's car or pet sitting for the older kids might be a great option. Babysitting, of course, is always a great money maker.

Put part of what your child earns into savings. Explain savings as you do this, and create a goal for how this money will be saved. Make it reasonable, so that by the end of summer your child can actually spend some of the savings on something big. My daughter is dying for this princess castle she saw so we are working toward that.    

Spend part of the money now. I know I don't want to work hard and then not have any money left over to buy a coffee or a new shirt. Kids are the same way: They want some immediate satisfaction for working. Some people say that we shouldn't teach our kids this, that we shouldn't reward them when they are working hard or doing something that they should be doing.

I agree to an extent-if I say clean up your room and that is not attached with money I'm not going to reward you for doing so as cleaning up after yourself is expected in our home.

However,  if this is your job and we have agreed that you will get paid for it, I would definitely give some rewards for this and then allow you to go out and spend a little to show you the end product of working hard. I would hope that I would get rewarded for going to work each day. Aside from the personal satisfaction I get, it sure is nice to receive a paycheck!

Finally, save some long term money that is not spent right away nor that is spent at the end of summer. It's important to teach kids the idea of long term savings. Perhaps you have a goal for this money-a trip to Disney in six months-or perhaps you don't have one just yet. Either way you should be teaching your kids that not all money is always spent and that it is important to keep some in the bank for the future.

There are so many things that you can tie into this summer job. Sit down with your kids as you pay your bills. Teach them where YOUR money goes. Show them the check book. Set something up for them that is similar and teach them how to write checks. Show them where money goes, and how it comes in, and why it is so important to work and then to save. But also teach them that it is okay to spend a little as you work.