Gigs for teens

[Anonymous]

My DS 18 yo is rising sophomore at UMD. Due to illness/death of a family member he was quite distracted, GPA dropped a bit. He also missed all college-sponsored career fairs, as he was helping me to take care of younger siblings and sick grandma.
That said, he ended up without major-related internship, or even seasonal job .
He would spent all day sleeping, playing videogames all nigh, unless I leave a short list of errands to do while I'm at work: pick-up/drop-off siblings for swim team practice, take kids to library, grocery shopping, etc.
Not much, but it keeps him busy some portion of the day. Yesterday I've noticed that he was searching on craigslist gigs. At first I was glad that he's trying to earn some extra bucks (money are really tight right now for us).
Today I checked that portion of CL myself and got worried - some of the postings are way too shady to my taste. It does not sound safe at all. I need to help him find something safer, so I can sleep better.

What do your teenagers use to find some gigs to earn extra cash? Anyone successfully used TaskRabbit? Any other similar apps?
Please share your experience.
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Can you pay him for the work he's doing for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you pay him for the work he's doing for you?

Nope, I'm not paying kids for the work I don't outsource on regular basis, cash is really tight right now, I had to take unpaid leave of absence to take car of my mother during her last 3 weeks.
In addition, there are only as many task I can come up with to keep him busy.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a neighborhood list serve that he can "create his own business" and advertise there? You're listing things that he's doing for you that your neighbors with similar-aged kids might find helpful.

He could:

- Mow lawns on a one-time basis (Going on vacation and need your lawn mowed while you're gone?)
- Walk dogs/feed cats
- Water outdoor plants for those on vacation, maybe take in (or dispose of) newspapers/flyers that can't be cancelled for vacation
- Drive other peoples' kids to and from camp, swim, etc - there always seems to be people here looking for "uber for kids" - he can create a neighborhood one
- Sit in someone's house, watch their TV/use their wifi and wait for the plumber/ant guy/cable guy to come so people don't have to use leave (require a phone number so that he can call them with questions)

Basically, like task rabbit but through your list serve.

[Anonymous]

He was looking on Craigslist. We all do. Then we sort through it and find what seems legitimate. He can do the same.

[Anonymous]

I checked craigslist for a job for my 16 year old this summer. He applied to several. Just tell him to skip the shady ones, there are lots of legitimate jobs to be found on craigslist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a neighborhood list serve that he can "create his own business" and advertise there? You're listing things that he's doing for you that your neighbors with similar-aged kids might find helpful.

He could:

- Mow lawns on a one-time basis (Going on vacation and need your lawn mowed while you're gone?)
- Walk dogs/feed cats
- Water outdoor plants for those on vacation, maybe take in (or dispose of) newspapers/flyers that can't be cancelled for vacation
- Drive other peoples' kids to and from camp, swim, etc - there always seems to be people here looking for "uber for kids" - he can create a neighborhood one
- Sit in someone's house, watch their TV/use their wifi and wait for the plumber/ant guy/cable guy to come so people don't have to use leave (require a phone number so that he can call them with questions)

Basically, like task rabbit but through your list serve.

+1

My 18yo did this last summer, and could have kept busy full-time. There is a lot of demand for this sort of thing.