It’s never too early to start learning about money and earning some money on your own. Knowing what it takes to make an honest buck, having financial goals, and learning money management skills are lifelong skills. Understanding them as early as possible can be a huge advantage for many people.
When we think of jobs, we think of our traditional office 9 to 5 occupations, but where does that leave the younger generation? How do they make some money for the clothes, games, trips, and other things they might want. You can’t exactly work at google at 10 years old.
For those ten-year-olds after my own heart, maybe they want to start their own business and invest their money.
Whatever the motivation, ten-year-olds can’t quite go about the traditional job-search by reading a linkedin profile and go looking for job opportunities, but there are still plenty of jobs for 10 years olds out there.
Why Should 10 Year Olds Have Jobs?
Having a job early in life will certainly have plenty of benefits. I’m not suggesting that teenagers or preteens need to work a full time job at 40 hours a week (I’m fairly certain that breaks a few child labor laws) or for everything they want.
Jobs at this age should be part-time and more about the skills they’ll learn. Having some extra money to spend or invest will be an added bonus.
Related: The Best Jobs for 15 Year Olds
Learn Good Money Management
Money management is an essential skill we should all have. By having a job early in life, you’ll have money earlier too. Therefore, you’ll learn how to manage your money earlier than those peers without jobs.
As a parent, I understand that we want to provide the best life for our children. Sometimes that means putting them to work and not simply handing everything over to them.
Yes, we provide the basics and then a bit extra, but if there is something special they want, there is nothing wrong with making them work for it. In fact, you’ll be giving them a brighter future.
Develop Skills and Confidence
While on the job, your ten-year-old will likely develop skills they might have otherwise. Depending on the jobs, they might develop better mentals skills like problem solving or perseverance.
Maybe they’ll develop a physical skill that they’ll be able to use later in life as well. No matter the job, they’ll certainly learn something along the way.
With that, children with jobs will become more confident in themselves. Learning to make their own decisions and earn their keep without mom and dad can be a giant confidence booster.
Learn to Work With Others
Not all jobs for 10 year olds are solo acts. They may team up with a friend or two. When this happens, they’ll have to learn how to work with others while on the job. Decisions on what to do next or possibly split up any profits will need to be made.
Jobs for 10 Year Olds: Preparations
Before sending your preteen out into the workforce, there should be a few things you do to ensure they have the best possible experience. After all, jobs at this age are more about experience, learning, and skills rather than money.
Set Goals
Before your 10-year-old attempts a job, have them define their goals. More than likely, this is about money. Right now, that is great, but how much do they want to earn? How quickly do they need to do this?
As a parent, you might want to have your own goals in mind as well. What do you want them to learn? What skills should they acquire? These are all goals that should be set beforehand.
Find a Job That Fits Their Strengths
As mentioned earlier, your teen might think their job is all about the money. However, when it comes to jobs for 10 year olds, the more important part is the skills and experience they’ll gain. So you’ll want to set them up for success with that in mind.
Help them find a job that fits their strengths. For example, maybe they are good with kids, animals, computers, or physical labor. Whatever their strong suit is, find a job that fits them to have the best experience possible.
Make Sure the Job Fits Their Schedule
Many teens and preteens are a lot busier than we think. There might not be a ton of time left after school, homework, after-school activities, and a social life. Although having a job can be super beneficial, it can have the opposite effect if it doesn’t fit into their schedule.
If there just isn’t enough time for a job, it could stress a teenager out even more. Make sure that the job fits their schedule. If that means they only do a few hours a week or month, then that’s what works.
If other activities start taking up less time, then maybe you can think about adding more hours to their working schedule.
Encourage Them
Let’s remember that these are still kids we’re talking about here. Jobs for 10 year olds will have challenges, ups and downs, good days and bad when it’s all said and done. Make sure to encourage them to keep going and pursue the goals they set for themselves.
Best Jobs for 10 Year Olds
Okay, time to get to the heart of the matter. Here are the best jobs for 10 year olds.
Baby Sitter
Babysitting is a timeless classic when it comes to jobs for younger kids, and the demand will never fade. Babysitting for even just an hour or two can be super helpful for parents and earn a ten-year-old some decent coin. If your child is looking for a job, this is a good place to start.
Pet Sitter
Okay, maybe being in charge of other humans isn’t up your kid’s alley. Likely animals are more their speed. Any neighbors that might be on vacation could use your kid’s services to help look after their pets while away.
Pet sitting jobs are usually a relatively easy gig and only lasts a week or so. Spread the word, and your ten-year-old could earn a couple of gigs a year to earn extra money, and pet owners will have a cheaper alternative.
Dog Walker
Another excellent job for the ten-year-old job seeker that likes animals is being a dog walker. Start small with a dog or two that they can take on walks during the weekends or again while a neighbor is on vacation and slowly work your way up to more clients.
Lemonade Stand
We usually think of even younger children for a lemonade stand, but there is no reason your 10-year-old can’t set up shop on a hot summer day. Set up the classic road side stand and let them decide how much lemonade to make, their price, and do any advertising they want.
Bake Sale
Similar to the lemonade stand, ten-year-olds can sell baked goods as well. You can help them make some cookies or another easy recipe, and they can go to work getting them sold.
Lawn Mowing
There are tons of services your ten-year-old can offer around the neighborhood, and lawn mowing is one of the top ones. Landscapers can charge an excessive amount of money for a simple task your local ten-year-old can do. They should easily find a few takers by simply going around the neighborhood.
Snow Shoveling
In addition to lawn mowing, shoveling snow is another task most homeowners don’t look forward to. Enter a team of 10 year olds.
Team up a few kids and have them roam the neighborhood right after a good storm. They can shovel on their own or help the homeowner. Either way, they are super helpful and earn a solid amount of money. All they need is a good snow shovel!
Other Yard Work
There is plenty of other yark work homeowners will pay a 10-year-old to do. Raking leaves, picking up sticks and other debris, and a ton more.
Have your 10-year-old go door to door offering services. If the homeowner doesn’t need anything then, make sure they have your cell number in case they could use the services later on.
Paper Route
Okay, this one is a bit old school, but for many of us this was our first job. There might actually be some fierce competition for those that are left these days. Still, a good old-fashioned paper route is a great way to teach kids responsibility and how to put in a solid effort to make their money.
Help the Family Business
Do you own your own business? Having a ten-year-old around can be a big help. They can do all the little things that need to get done like copies, organizing, stocking shelves, and other such tasks that you otherwise might not get to.
Social Media
If you do own your own business, you know how important it is to have a social media presence, but who has the time, right? Well, lucky for you, your 10-year-old is a social media savant already.
So instead of having them use social media mindlessly, give them a purpose. Have them in charge of a few of your social media accounts and watch the likes and comments pour in.
Car Washing
Washing cars is another way 10-year-olds can make little extra money. You might normally see this as a fundraiser for schools, organizations, or other kid-related activities, but there is no reason your average 10 or 11 year old can’t venture out and offer this service on their own.
Related: The Best Online Jobs for Teens
Cleaning
Cleaning is another task 10-year-old can certainly help you or a neighbor out with. Let them really get in there and scrub a tub or mop a floor to earn their keep.
Making Something
Making and selling homemade goods has never been easier in today’s world. There are plenty of examples of 10-year-olds making jewelry, food, candles, t-shirts, and other items and then selling them online on sites like Etsy and making money online.
Simple Painting
Do you or someone you know hate painting? Have a 10-year-old help out. I wouldn’t leave them alone on this one if the painting is being done indoors, but they can certainly help. If you have any outdoor painting like a fence or a shed, this is likely something they can handle on their own.
Photographer
Kid’s these days love taking pictures, and you don’t even need professional-grade cameras to take good photos anymore.
All you need is your cell phone. Let’s face it, our kids are way better at taking and editing photos than we’ll ever be. So if you’re having a family occasion, hire them to be the photographer and see what develops!
Final Thoughts
It’s never too early to learn about money and money management. The best way to start doing that is to have a job. Although ten-year-olds can have a regular paying job, there are certainly plenty of jobs for 10 year olds out there for them to make extra money. Find a job that fits their personality and schedule and give it a try.
