10. And I have a cousin who was riding on the lawnmower with her dad, fell off and lost her leg.

My brother didn't want the responsibility of our yard, so I told my Dad I could do it. I was 8 years old and probably 60ish lbs. He paid me $5 to mow the entire yard with a push mower that he had to start for me. Took me about an hour 1/2.
But I was responsible, hungry for money and wanted to earn his respect. I'm now a 50+ woman with 5 successful businesses. Not BS, just grew up up with strong business people and wanted to emulate them.

It depends on the kid and the level of training (if any) he/she has received.

My 10 year old is in training and about ready to go solo, my 13 year old has been mowing the lawn by himself for a while. I do insist that they wear closed toe shoes and protective eye wear. Oh, and I'm a conservative, too.

My sons, 16 and 12, mow our lawn.

My 10 year old DD I would let mow grass my almost 7 year old no freaking way.

It isn't an age thing, it is a maturity thing. Thigh I have never met a child younger than 10 who was mature enough to mow the lawn unsupervised. This is what we get for making them so easy to start.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't want my kids being beggars in the neighbourhood.
I don't want neighbours employing my children, feeling superior to me.

WTF? I have been hiring my neighbors kids to mow my lawn for 5+ years. It started with the oldest kid, through the middle, and now to the two youngest. I have medical issues, and can not mow the lawn...I can hire the landscaping companies and pay them $250 per month, or I can pay the neighbors 120-160/month. They do a good job -- better than I would do. I will be sad when the youngest goes off to college. Maybe I can train my DD to mow....she is 11 now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't want my kids being beggars in the neighbourhood.
I don't want neighbours employing my children, feeling superior to me.

Oh good grief, this post has to be a joke, right? I am assuming you and/or your spouse work for a living. Does that mean you are a beggar?


And do you really think it is better to teach your kids that they should worry about who is superior to whom in the neighborhood, rather than learning the value of hard work?

I work but I don't go door to door.
It's peasant like.

Going door-to-door is not actually what makes a peasant a peasant.

There was a thread earlier in the summer where someone asked for advice on how their kid could make some money.

I suggested lawn mowing because there are tons of older folks or rich people who don't want to be seen pushing a mower.

The OP sniffed, "we don't do that around here".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't want my kids being beggars in the neighbourhood.
I don't want neighbours employing my children, feeling superior to me.

Oh good grief, this post has to be a joke, right? I am assuming you and/or your spouse work for a living. Does that mean you are a beggar?


And do you really think it is better to teach your kids that they should worry about who is superior to whom in the neighborhood, rather than learning the value of hard work?

I work but I don't go door to door.
It's peasant like.

Don't particularly like the idea of kids going door-to-door, but I've made it known to many of my neighbors that I'd love to pay their kids to help me with that kind of task whenever they're ready.

For mowing, it's a size / strength /common sense / maturity thing.

Close-toed shoes are a must.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't want my kids being beggars in the neighbourhood.
I don't want neighbours employing my children, feeling superior to me.

Oh good grief, this post has to be a joke, right? I am assuming you and/or your spouse work for a living. Does that mean you are a beggar?


And do you really think it is better to teach your kids that they should worry about who is superior to whom in the neighborhood, rather than learning the value of hard work?

I live in Del Ray and heard about this but didn't read the listserv or the article. I thought the concern had to do with exposing kids to all the pesticides and crap people put in their yards, and not wanting young kids exposed to that.

please send them my way, my DH is super lazy on the weekends and my grass is in desparate need of mowing. I would totally hire these kids. People are too paranoid.

I wouldn't want my kids being beggars in the neighbourhood.
I don't want neighbours employing my children, feeling superior to me.