Anonymous wrote:start his own lawn mowing/lawn care biz

wow that's cool to start at 12 years old cool

awesome I wish icould do that

Anonymous wrote:Mowing lawns?

Great idea.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that only one person had an idea that involved manual labor. All other ideas involve sitting on your butt.

Uhm actually not just because they dont need 100% manual labor you still need the labor to do stuff -_-

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:start his own lawn mowing/lawn care biz

Finally someone with some sense. There are tons of people who would pay to have their grass cut on a regular basis and not have to pay a lawn care company. This is the time to print up flyers and put them in people's mailboxes.

This is what my NINE year old son has done this summer. He's been mowing our lawn for the past two summers. He begged me to find him some regular customers, which we've been able to do. It's been a really great experience for him. No reason why your 12 year old couldn't do this. Or, he could "apprentice" with someone who does lawn care/landscaping to at least keep himself busy and gain skills.

We have a 12-yo neighbor who is often bored in the summer and I am thinking of approaching her mom to see if she (the 12 yo) wants to make some cash this summer as a mother's helper (play with DD while I get some stuff done at home) and by watering our plants and other small things while we are out of town.

I would imagine that as mentioned many families with young boys would really just "love" to have a big brother around as a family helper at the end of the day or on the weekend. If your son seemed responsible enough, they might then even get to the point of hiring as a sitter.

If there is a chance for him to get certification in CPR and First Aid, he could be worth his weight in gold!! There just are not that many boys who sit and there are families who would love it.

You could help him out by helping him craft a simple "resume" of his past neighborly chores and getting a couple of neighbors to be willing to attest to his character and ability to follow-through. The toughest thing is when teens say they will do something and then not follow through.

Anonymous wrote:I own a kids clothing store in a strip mall. A friend once needed her 12 year old watched for 4 hours a day. He stayed with me, and I put him to work stocking the shelves. After a week we got him an employee t-shirt, and people began asking him for help finding sizes, etc., so he started helping customers. He was um, a little more honest than our adult employees "Yeah, your butt looks big in those, don't get those" but he put more effort in than any teenager we've ever hired since. He RAN. He played with babies so older kids could get their parents' help. He exchanged sizes, he helped pick out bat mitzvah dresses. So OP, if you have a friend with a small business, see if they'd take him on.

who knew were r u

PP who asked where OP grew up - THIS was my FIRST thought (not here)! OP, great job!

I'm another mom of a kid who started reffing soccer games at 12. Stoddard and Sports on the Hill are good places to start as it's real easy. Once you get on the "list" they will assign you games to ref. If you take the class and get certified you can sign up for your own games throughout VA.

Anonymous wrote:OMG, what would I DO for a teenager who wanted to pull weeds, help string holiday lights, vacuum our cars, even hang with the kids in the backyard while I *finally* get our [fill in blank with home improvement project] done!

Yep, I would pay a kid to vacuum out my car and windex all the windows inside where the dog licks!

OMG, what would I DO for a teenager who wanted to pull weeds, help string holiday lights, vacuum our cars, even hang with the kids in the backyard while I *finally* get our [fill in blank with home improvement project] done!

My 12 yr old refs soccer games. He also house sits and pet sits for people on our street while they are away. Has done some babysitting too. All together he pulls in pretty decent money!

Two 13 years old boys in my neighborhood set up a handy man business! They also offered a house and car cleaning service. They had flyers printed and a website. They came door to door. The language on the flyer and website made it sound like you were getting this incredibly skilled professional service! The kicker...they were charging $30 / hour!!! I didn't use their services so I have no idea what the quality was but I greatly admired their entrepreneurial spirit and desire to work.