Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 08:24     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:My 12-year-old girl dug out for elderly neighbors for nothing because it was the right thing to do. Then she went and babysat for money for a couple working from home with toddlers.


Where were you?
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 08:23     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:I remember as a kid loving snow because it meant we could go door to door and earn cold hard cash shoveling. It was great earning $200 bucks for a few hours of work.

Now I'm reading in DC that it is a sidewalk apocalypse because no one shoveled their walkways. It is too late now because it is packed down into ice, but where are the kids going door to door to make loot? It was a goldmine opportunity if they went out and made some effort. They even had multiple rounds of opportunity for shoveling due to the hours of snowfall and days off from school. I bet they could have easily made $2000 going door to door all day.

What happened to modern kids? Parent too scared? Or are they completely demotivated because they're stuck on their screens the whole time scrolling TikTok? It is great exercise too.


Because snow shoveling prices haven't kept pace. No one is going to spend an hour shoveling for $20.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 08:21     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:Ngl, you need a jackhammer or tamping rammer to break up the ice. And even then it’s back breaking work that will take you 2x longer than usual to clear.

My 25 walkway usually takes me about 10 minutes to properly clear when it’s just normal snow. It took me over 60 minutes to clear it yesterday - using a heavy steel garden shovel to break through the ice and then shovel the ice chunks. And yes, I shoveled my walkway and sidewalks 3 times on Sunday.

I have two young kids and now my back and arms/hands are really sore.
This must vary based on where you're located. We had a crust on top of our snow but certainly no jackhammers were needed.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 08:18     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
My 12-year-old girl dug out for elderly neighbors for nothing because it was the right thing to do. Then she went and babysat for money for a couple working from home with toddlers.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 08:04     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
I recently moved from Rockville up to Urbana and am shocked at the number of Facebook posts advertising HS students wanting to shovel driveways and sidewalks. I never saw this in my old neighborhood where so many of those teens stayed inside. We even had a group come by yesterday offering to clean up the apron of our driveway after the plows blocked it again Sunday night.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:59     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
My 12 yo had online CCD class on Sunday morning but helped DH shovel our walk before and after class. His school didn’t cancel for Monday until late Sunday evening so he had to to spend Sunday afternoon getting his homework done just in case. Then he had virtual school on Monday and had to be on Zoom calls all day. When was he supposed to shovel the rest of the neighborhood?
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:54     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
I live in Vienna and we took shifts shoveling all through the storm. More than once, what looked like middle schoolers with shovels walked by. They didn’t stop at our house since we were always out there clearing but I wondering if they were going door to door if if they did it by Nextdoor or Facebook. Kids often put flyers in mailboxes for pet sitting etc.

My own are older teens. The kids in our immediate area are older and have actual jobs. Mine helped dig us out and went over to his job yesterdsy to help there.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:52     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Run from the sun
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:49     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My twelve year old and his best friend have made $500 over the last two days. But, they haven’t been going door to door. They have been using the neighborhood list serv. There are lots of kids posting on there. Maybe you just aren’t seeing them because they are using new technology.


Nope, our listserv is desperate for people to shovel. Literally zero kids offering to shovel in our area.


That is weird. We live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the DMV and the kids are offering. Because of the roads, they are staying very local. Maybe you live in a neighborhood without many kids. They aren’t going to walk 2 miles to get to your house. You need kids close by.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:48     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
My kids were busy helping us chip through the ice dam at the foot of our driveway. They then went and helped a couple of our neighbors for a bit. But then they were exhausted as were all the adults out chipping away at the ice.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:48     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:If you didn't have teens in your neighborhood shoveling it says more about where you chose to live than it says about teens "these days"... teens and tweens were out all day here shoveling.


+1

They were walking around in packs looking to shovel.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:47     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Ngl, you need a jackhammer or tamping rammer to break up the ice. And even then it’s back breaking work that will take you 2x longer than usual to clear.

My 25 walkway usually takes me about 10 minutes to properly clear when it’s just normal snow. It took me over 60 minutes to clear it yesterday - using a heavy steel garden shovel to break through the ice and then shovel the ice chunks. And yes, I shoveled my walkway and sidewalks 3 times on Sunday.

I have two young kids and now my back and arms/hands are really sore.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:47     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Get off your ass, OP, and shovel yourself.

Stop blaming others.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:46     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
If you didn't have teens in your neighborhood shoveling it says more about where you chose to live than it says about teens "these days"... teens and tweens were out all day here shoveling.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2026 07:45     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Are there lots of teens where you live? There's only one on my street.