Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 02:26     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) hold the vast majority of U.S. household wealth, owning over $85 trillion, or roughly half (around 50-51%) of the nation's total assets, significantly more than Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z combined, thanks to favorable economic timing, stock market booms, and real estate appreciation (Google). Not sure where all those poor elderly live who cannot afford $20 for snow shoveling, but they are not in the US.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 22:10     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
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Anonymous wrote:College age kids went out with a group of friends (6 in total) and shoveled Sunday/Monday. They each made over $250/day.

There weren't many other offering so they had to decline several jobs due to time/cold/difficulty.

If your kid wanted to, the money was sitting there.


BS - the money is on the easy snow removal. This is hard work and maybe they were actually paid an appropriate wage by some homeowners, but the people complaining want to pay well below the market rate for some random "local kids". I know because I shoveled my long driveway myself over the course of 2 days.



Lol. Ok, you can call BS all you want. It WAS hard work (DH and I did our house while they were making money.) They came home exhausted both nights. But $500 is a lot to college kids. They got rave reviews on our neighborhood listserve and their phone was blowing up with people wanting to hire them since they could walk to homes. Our neighborhood is big on hiring 'local kids' and supporting kids who have grown up in the neighborhood.


Your teen is capable of more than prom, homecoming and beach week. Let them surprise you.

You live in a rich community that is actually paying a fair wage. Most of the people complaining want the neighbor next door to do it for $20


This x1000. If they are boomers, they will pay even less if the kid is younger. My aunt was complaining that the boy Nextdoor she hired to water her outdoor plants, sweep their porch, bring in mail, take trash cans to the curb etc was not reliable and she was paying him a full dollar! A dollar, a cold buck!


My poor kid had an elderly neighbor who asked him last year to shovel, and for an hour's work for a fairly large house/driveway, he was paid 10$. I told my kid not to complain and paid him an extra 20$. But he didn't shovel for that neighbor this year again.


A decent teen would do an elderly neighbor for free. Mine did. One day you will need the help.


Actually, a decent family would shovel an elderly neighbors walk together. A decent family is not sending their teen out by themselves to do charity work to feel good about themselves. They take a few hours off of work and they do it with them.


+1 Why would you send a teen alone on these icy days to work for free to do work you have deemed charity? If you are so rich that it’s beneath your dignity for your child to accept pay, you’re probably in a wealthy neighborhood. I wouldn’t send my kid out to work for free for a neighbor who probably has a million dollars of equity in their home.


Our homes are about 1000 square feet and not wealthy. Our homes are not worth millions. Of course one of us was out there too. We just teach our kids to do the right thing. Are you so poor you have to have your kids work? Probably not, just lazy and selfish. It’s about helping out others, not a money grab. One day we may need the help. What goes around comes around.


If its an elderly neighbor, sure, do it as a kindness. But not wanting to do charity work for everyone else you don't know is okay too.

I offered to do it for my neighbor if no one showed up on Monday but they declined - I am not that healthy either and it was tiring shoveling out our own driveway multiple times on Sunday.


Neighbors help each other out. We don’t ask, we just do it.


You really need to get off your high horse.




+1. With the amount of judgmental smug emanating from the PP, you could melt all the ice in the DC area.


Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 22:09     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:When my kids were little, I’d take them out to shovel the elderly neighbors steps and we’d do it together. Now that they are teens they know to go and shovel the neighbors steps without being asked. They do it for free because it the right thing to do.

This storm I actually helped it was a lot of work.


Why is it the right thing to do? Are you living in an impoverished neighborhood where the elderly are living in crumbling houses? Our neighbors (old and young) were happy to pay industrious teens a fair wage to shovel during a snow emergency.

I supposed if I lived in a very poor neighborhood, yet was wealthy myself, it would be a different story.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 22:04     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
When my kids were little, I’d take them out to shovel the elderly neighbors steps and we’d do it together. Now that they are teens they know to go and shovel the neighbors steps without being asked. They do it for free because it the right thing to do.

This storm I actually helped it was a lot of work.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 20:06     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
My neighborhood was chock full of kids offering to shovel. Some were advertising on the listserve and some knocking on your door. I had two kids shovel my walk, they asked for $20 which was ridiculously low. I gave them $40. They did a great job.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 19:57     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am sorry. It is too cold and frozen to send kids to shovel. Their health will suffer if they go out to try and hack at this frozen ice. This is not regular snow that can be easily removed. Even the snow-blower does not work.


Is your teen medically fragile? Mine did our driveway apron and front walk yesterday in less than an hour by herself. She had to remove her coat she got so warm! But she is physically fit and active.


Oink
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 19:54     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
My husband and my teen were all out there shoveling our very long driveway in multiple shifts throughout the storm. This is the heaviest snow I can ever remember having to shovel. If we had an elderly neighbor nearby I wouldn't have sent my kid out to make cash, but we would have done it for free. But we were happy to just get our driveway and sidewalk cleared off. There were huge slabs of ice everywhere.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 18:31     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:My kids made bank and are thrilled.


Mine too. On Capitol Hill. They just took whatever they were offered. Some folks paid them a ton and others were a little more moderate. It was hard work, but they needed exercise anyway and made a lot of money getting it!
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 17:56     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
My neighbor's lazy college kid was breaking off the ice in their driveway this morning muttering and cursing under his breath.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 17:29     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:I am sorry. It is too cold and frozen to send kids to shovel. Their health will suffer if they go out to try and hack at this frozen ice. This is not regular snow that can be easily removed. Even the snow-blower does not work.


Is your teen medically fragile? Mine did our driveway apron and front walk yesterday in less than an hour by herself. She had to remove her coat she got so warm! But she is physically fit and active.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 17:06     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:I am sorry. It is too cold and frozen to send kids to shovel. Their health will suffer if they go out to try and hack at this frozen ice. This is not regular snow that can be easily removed. Even the snow-blower does not work.



Their health will suffer? Ha ha ha. We just spend three days shoveling. Nobody’s health was impacted. Stop raising such soft children.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 16:54     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:I am sorry. It is too cold and frozen to send kids to shovel. Their health will suffer if they go out to try and hack at this frozen ice. This is not regular snow that can be easily removed. Even the snow-blower does not work.


My teen reported it was miserable shoveling yesterday. He broke one of our shovels on his shoveling job due to the ice. Today he took the day off. There are people still frantically requesting shovelers today on our listserv, but four days post snowstorm with sheets of ice, this is a job for a team of teens or an adult who really wants the money.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 16:52     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
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Anonymous wrote:Our elderly neighbors live in 7 figure price tag houses and want to pay my kids $20 to shovel their 1/2 mile driveway. No thanks.then they are the first to complain about the cost of hiring a plow. I don’t care for the whining


Exactly! Just because someone is elderly, it doesn't mean that they are poor or destitute. I'm sick of people faulting kids for not wanting to do something they aren't willing to do themselves. OP is the prime example.


Everyone commenting on this thread will one day be elderly...will we all automatically become destitute as well and unable to function in society?


+1 Elderly is not synonymous with poor. Trying to guilt trip teens into shoveling for hours for free simply because people are old is misguided. Many are happy to pay what this work is worth, and if they want to plead poverty, they can talk to an adult about arranging for help, not a teenager.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 16:51     Subject: what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our elderly neighbors live in 7 figure price tag houses and want to pay my kids $20 to shovel their 1/2 mile driveway. No thanks.then they are the first to complain about the cost of hiring a plow. I don’t care for the whining


Exactly! Just because someone is elderly, it doesn't mean that they are poor or destitute. I'm sick of people faulting kids for not wanting to do something they aren't willing to do themselves. OP is the prime example.


Everyone commenting on this thread will one day be elderly...will we all automatically become destitute as well and unable to function in society?


No.....which is exactly what I said.


I was agreeing with you.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 16:48     Subject: Re:what is wrong with modern kids and no motivation to shovel?
I am sorry. It is too cold and frozen to send kids to shovel. Their health will suffer if they go out to try and hack at this frozen ice. This is not regular snow that can be easily removed. Even the snow-blower does not work.