photo by Digital Sophia
It’s no secret that most kids want stuff, and most of it isn’t anything they need. As a parent, you want your kids to be responsible, grateful and not think they are the center of the universe. You can’t possibly afford to satisfy every whim, either.
A common solution to the “gimmes” is to let them work for the things they want instead of running out and buying it or simply saying no. Often, it’s the children who want to work for extra money. If you don’t have enough work for them on the home front, let them test their entrepreneurial skills close to home. If you want to help, you can match what they make to bring them closer to their goals more quickly.
The following are some money-making ideas for kids.
WRAPPING GIFTS: Holidays are an ideal time for kids to make money wrapping presents. It’s a task many adults dread, so they’d happily allow children to wrap for them. This could broaden into the area of creating custom gift baskets.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Whether it’s with a digital camera or an instant camera, taking pictures can be a great way to make money. Children can get creative and take pictures of pets, homes, gardens, families, or simply sell their own random photos or create and sell custom-made greeting cards.
CLEANING: Children can do various domestic chores, such as cleaning a garage, window washing, car washing, vacuuming, dusting, laundry and being a mother’s helper. Responsibilities could broaden to baby-sitting, reading to younger children, helping with parties, helping unload groceries, organizing closets, washing outdoor furniture and teaching skills such as computers, playing an instrument, crafts or school tutoring.
PET CARE: Offer services such as pet walking, bathing and brushing, and pet sitting.
YARD WORK: Try mowing lawns, sweeping driveways and walkways, shoveling snow, weeding gardens or raking leaves. This could expand to caring for houseplants or farm help, too.
YARD SALE: They can sell items such as toys, clothing, homemade beaded jewelry and crafts. When the temperature heats up, they can sell beverages and frozen treats, too. Children could also plan ahead and grow houseplants or cut flowers in your backyard garden. Kids could sell baked goods, produce and potted outdoor plants grown from seed.
TYPING PAPERS: Kids who are fast and accurate on a keyboard can type school assignments or letters for people who don’t have the time or equipment to do it themselves.
Research local laws concerning any inspections or licenses that might be required. If you prefer not to have a sale at your home, introduce children to selling by consignment or on eBay. If your children don’t have the skills for some of these jobs, you may have to teach them first, but you’ll both be satisfied in the long run: You’ll have taught your children a new skill and the value of a dollar, and they’ll be able to pay for some of their own toys and activities with their own money.
译文:
治愈"给我":自己动手
图片来自Digital Sophia
关于小孩总是想要东西这件事已不是秘密,而这些东西大多数并不是他们真正需要的.做为父母,你希望你的孩子能有责任心,懂得感激并且不要总是认为他们就是宇宙的中心.因为你根本不可能把孩子们每一次的怪念头都变成现实.
一种常见的解决"给我"的途经就是让孩子通过工作得到他们想要的,而非只是冲出门买下他们所想要的或是简单地说声不行.通常,这是想要通过工作获得额外零用钱的孩子们想到的伎俩.如果你在家找不到足够多的工作,那就让他们在家附近测试看看他们的创业技能如何.当你想要给予帮助时,你可以配合他们以使得他们比较快得接近目标.
以下是给孩子们的一些赚钱主意.
礼品包装:节假日是理想的时段让孩子通过包装礼物来赚钱.这可是令许多大人都感到恐惧的活儿,所以他们会很乐意地允许孩子为他们来做这件事.这项业务还可以拓展到创造客户礼品篮的领域.
摄影:无论是用数码相机还是即时拍相机,照相一定是一个赚钱的好方法.孩子可以变得极具创意,如为宠物、家园、花园、家人拍照,或仅仅是出售他们自己随即拍的照片,或设计并出售客户定制贺卡.
打扫:孩子可以完成各种各样的家务劳动,诸如打扫车库、清洗窗户、洗车、吸尘器打扫、洗衣服和当妈妈的小帮手.负责的部分还是扩大到照看小孩、给更小的孩子讲故事、帮忙准备排队、帮忙装卸杂货、整理橱柜,情节户外家具和教授如电脑、乐器、手工和学校辅导之类的技能.
照顾宠物:提供如宠物散步、洗澡、刷毛和训练宠物之类的服务.
后院工作:尝试修剪草坪、打扫车道和人行道、铲雪、花园除草或翻捡树叶.这些工作也可以扩大到照料室内植物或农场助手.
贩卖工作:孩子们可以出售如玩具、衣物、国产珠宝和手工艺品之类的物品.当气温升高时,他们还可以出售饮料和冷饮.孩子们也能提前计划种植盆栽或是剪下后花园里的花朵用来进行销售.他们可以贩卖焙烤产品、种植并将由种子成长出来的室外植物用花盆包装后来出售.
打字:孩子们在键盘上表现出来的快速和精准可以帮助那些没有时间或设备完成学校论文或是信件的人.
研究一下当地有关检查或许可的法律法规或许是必要的.如果你并不想在家进行这些销售活动,介绍孩子通过委托机构或是易趣网来实现.如果你的孩子还不具备这些工作所需的技能,你可能不得不先教会他们,而从长远看,你将也会在其中得到满足感:你将教会你的孩子一项新的技能和一美元的价值,而他们将能够用自己的钱购买玩具和支付参加活动的费用.