It’s summer time and you’re kids might be saying “I’m bored”. Recently, I shared 206 summer fun activities for kids. One idea for bored kids is to discuss how can kids make money to help kids less fortunate. In other words, help your kids take their eyes off themselves and find ways to help other kids, even kids around the world.
What if your kids earned $8 this summer … and bought enough glue sticks for 2 classes in Central America?
What if your kids earned $10 … and bought a Bible for a child overseas?
There are children around the world who are lucky to eat three meals a day. They live in a home with a dirt floor, don’t have air-conditioning and might not have electricity, much less Wi-Fi. Those are the kids I’m talking about.
There are two parts to this summer activity for your kids:
- How Can Kids Make Money this Summer
- How to Help Kids – How to Be Others Focused
3 Ways: How Can Kids Make Money this Summer
#1 Vacation or Pet Sitter
Every time I go to El Salvador, I need to find someone who will water my plants, turn the sprinklers off & on at the right times, pick up packages at my doorstep, and other tasks. We don’t have a dog any more, but when we did, we needed someone to watch her every time we left town. Last year, I hired the 9-year old who lives a couple houses down from us. Not only did he work for me last summer, he also worked for my neighbor who goes to Maine every summer.
This is an easy way for your kids to work together to earn summer money. Let your kids walk up & down your street to see who might need help. Once they have the names, they can make a calendar of who needs help on what days. When the neighbor returns from their trip, your kids can share with them what was done and any issues there may be. All that’s left at this point is to collect your money.
#2 Wash Cars
Consider going to homes and washing the car right there. You could even set up a weekly or bi-weekly schedule so you go every week or every other week to clean your neighbor’s car. This allows your kids to work together and make money on a regular basis. It’s not a one-time job, but a regular job.
#3 Child Care
My girls earned a lot of money babysitting other children. Sometimes, they went to their home to babysit. Other times, they watched the child at our home. It really depends on the situation.
I don’t know about you, but babysitting fees have skyrocketed in my opinion. Many babysitters make $10-$15 an hour. At that rate, they could divide their earnings between spending, savings and donating.
If your child is interested in babysitting, I recommend they take a babysitting class. The American Red Cross offers Child Care classes around the country.
These are just a few ways on how kids can make money during the summer. Now, what do they do with their earnings?
3 Steps: How to Help Kids Less Fortunate
If your kids are working hard to make money, I would not encourage them to donate all their money. I would use this summer to encourage good money management. Here are three areas your kids can use their money.
How to Be Others Focused
Encourage your kids to think of others first with their hard-earned money. This might be donating money to your church, giving back to God since He is the One who allowed your kids to work.
In addition to giving back to God, I suggest finding a place you can help kids who don’t have as much as your family. One such place is Compassion, International. You can see the items your child could buy for less fortunate kids here.
Savings
I recommend opening a savings account for each of your children. Each time they earn money, they should put a portion into their savings account. My kids still talk about putting part of their earnings in savings … and they are in their twenties. They remember earning money and dividing it exactly the way I’m sharing with you today.
Spending
Although this is where kids want to go first, I saved it until last. With my own kids, I wanted them to have the right priorities with their money: God/others, future needs, self.
Finally, last fall I shared a specific way my kids earned money to buy Christmas gifts for missionaries around the world. It was our way of to remember how to be others focused. In that post, I offered my free Bake Sale Guide. You might want it to share how can kids make money. You can grab it below. Just enter your name & email and we will send it to you.
What ways have your kids discovered how to make money and still be others focused?
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