How children of all ages can help financially struggling parents.
If you are a single parent, two parent household or a low-income family that is struggling to make ends meet. It can be challenging to manage work, keeping up with the bills, rent and supporting your little ones. Having your kids, no matter their age, help out at home or a part-time job can be a win-win outcome for both parents and kids.
Children can help a financially struggling household in many ways, whether it is to assist the parents with saving money, pick up small chores or hobbies, do some errands and much more. Single mothers, maybe more than anyone else, often need the support from their children. They can also look into free grants for single moms.
You might be thinking that "kids should be kids,". Yes, that is true, but they can still assist. Whether by chores to save you time or financial help which can also help them to gain important life skills that will benefit them throughout life. Below are some ways in which kids can help to contribute to the household while learning valuable skills at the same time.
Saving Time
Life can be chaotic if you have multiple jobs, household chores, and other responsibilities. It can be a hassle to stay organized and keeping up with commitments. By assigning your kids some of those chores, you can save time by focusing on other important tasks like getting to work on time, learning a new skill, and feeling less stress and more relaxed, which will help to improve your circumstances in the long term. Depending on their age, your children can help you save time by performing small tasks around the house.
For Preschoolers: Preschool children should be assigned very simple chores like putting stuff away, sorting out laundry and putting away their dishes. A reward system as effortless as a reward chart with stickers can help to motivate your child for a job well done.
School-Age Children (Ages 6-12 years old): At this age, your child can help you save time by performing personal and family chores such as taking care of their hygiene, choosing their outfits and getting dressed on their own, assisting in the kitchen with supervision to prepare food, emptying trash cans and waking up on their own. You can reward your school-age child by allowing sleepovers, staying up an extra 10-20 minutes past bedtime, allowance or cheap family activity like visiting the museum, swimming, movies or sports activities.
How Teenagers Can Contribute To The Household
It is common for teenagers to show interest in the latest gadgets, clothing, and hobbies of their own that will cost money. That expense can be difficult to pay for single moms or even two parent households. As a teenager, your child should be able to perform all household chores, personal hygiene, and homework. They can use these valuable life skills to start earning money on their own to cover their expenses and even pitch in to cover some bills. They can even help parents cut back on expenses, and find a list of tips of how to save money which can benefit the family.
Teenagers are typically very energetic and motivated to make some extra cash. If your child is under 18, federal law regulates the number of hours and type of work that can be done. Teenagers are not allowed to work during school hours and are limited to 18 hours per week during the academic school year. As a parent, this an opportunity to help your teen understand the importance of work and managing money.
However, getting a real job as a teenager can be difficult but with their modern-day tech-savvy skills and some persistence and creativity, your teen can money in many ways, such as:
Service Job Examples for Teenagers
People need help with all sorts of tasks and are willing to hire teenagers. Service type jobs may include the following, listed below. There are also online tools to monetize as well, and find how teens can make easy money online.
Pet sitting/dog walking: Companies like Rover.com or WagWalking.com offer flexible schedules and all types of pet care services like doggy care, dog boarding, house sitting and dog walking. There is an age requirement of 18 and older. If your teen is below 18, they can ask neighbors or market their skills online to pet owners. Sitters typically make $8- $85, depending on services involved and location.
Babysitting: This is a great first-time job for teenagers. If your teen has helped to take care of younger siblings, their experience can be very. Teenagers can start off by babysitting for relatives, family friends or member of the community. There are also many online babysitting platforms and apps that can be used to find a babysitting job. Below are some websites that will help you to get hired as a babysitter.
- Care.com
- Sittercity.com
- Sittingaround.com
- GoNannies.com
- Urbansitter.com
- Babysits.com
Babysitting kids require patience, understanding, and training. Children and Infants are typically at high risk for accidents. It helps to be certified to be prepared for different situations. First aid classes and CPR can be found at community centers, YMCA, and Red Cross. Teens can also become a mommy's helper to observe, practice and gain experience.
There are also a wide variety of paid youth apprenticeship programs. Many corporations, non-profits, and small businesses bring on teenagers, high school students, and other younger workers to both (1) teach them skills and (2) give them an income. These programs and opportunities can allow children, teens, and young adults to help their parents out. Read more on paid youth apprenticeships.
Kids Can Monetize Special Talent and Abilities
Every child is unique and gifted in their ways. If your teen is displaying special traits and characteristics, you can nurture their talent while helping them to earn money.
- High grades: If your teen excels in a particular subject in school, they can tutor their peers and make money. There are even a number of online tutoring platforms.
- Cooking: If your teen has always been independent in the kitchen and enjoy fixing themselves snacks and food, they can use their talent to sell cookies, smoothies and other food items and snacks.
- Singing: Teenagers can earn money if they have a gifted voice. They can use their talent to sing at weddings and other social events.
- Writing: There is no age limit when it comes to writing. If your teen has a love for writing, books, and words, they can start blogging and earn money.
- Woodworking: If your child has always enjoyed building things, assembling pieces of furniture, or treehouses, you can nurture their talent by encouraging them to do fun projects and earn money through woodworking. They can make wooden chairs, wood boxes, picture frames, and other items that can be sold to neighbors, friends, online.
Many other skillls and even hobbies can be monetize by children. The extra income can help the single parent or married couple with their bills. Find a list of hobbies that can help pay the bills.
College Students Helping at Home or in Workplace
If you are supporting your son or daughter in college, you may know that it can be expensive. With their busy schedules and internships, college students generally do not have time to turn into earning power. It is important for your child to receive a college education. This will make a difference in their lives, their family and future.
A college degree is a ticket out of poverty for low-income students. And, if you are a struggling parent, money can be tight if you have to contribute to their education. However, there are many ways college students can earn money to cover their expenses while reducing their student loan debts.
- Earning Cash to Learn: College students are eligible for many grants and scholarships that are offered within and outside of their school. With a little extra research and hard work, they can be awarded free money, simply for being enrolled in college. Below are some websites that will provide funds to help pay for school, without accumulating thousands of dollars in debt. Scholarships and grants can be earned by completing essays, research, or projects.
- Scholarships.com: This is website has the largest databases of scholarships. While the volume always changes, there are over 2.5 million scholarships that are valued at 15 to 20 billion dollars. Scholarships.com is updated on a daily basis with various categories to choose from based on interest. In a competitive job economy, listing scholarships awards and grants on resumes are great ways to stand out from the crowd when securing a paying job.
- Cappex.com: If your child is considering a higher education, Cappex is has a helpful tool that will calculate the possibilities of getting into a certain college before applying. This will help save money on application fees. Cappex also offers $11 billion dollars in scholarships opportunities to help your child attend college.
- Unigo.com This is a more specialized website for scholarships. College can search by types including, athletic scholarships, minority scholarships, state-funded scholarships, and many others. Unigo also offers regular sweepstakes and contests.
There are dozens of other private as well as public assistance programs out there. Corporations, charities, and many others help with education expenses. Find a list of free scholarship and grant programs.
Employer tuition reimbursement programs for college students
In addition to grants and scholarships, there are other ways your child can afford to attend school and support themselves. If your child is employed in college, they can receive tuition reimbursement from their employer. Also as a parent, you can check with your employer if there are tuition benefits for dependents. Below are some companies that offer tuition reimbursement for college students while earning a paycheck at the same time.
- Starbucks: Among other benefits, they offer flexible schedules and unlimited coffee. If your child is interested in attending college, without having to worry about gas money, commute or rent, Starbucks offers free tuition coverage from Arizona State University until graduation to all employees working 20 or more hours per week. Arizona State University has a top-ranked online degree program.
- Wells Fargo: If you are a working parent at Wells Fargo, each of your children enrolled in college is eligible for $1000- $3000. In addition to that, they offer $5000 per year to employees to further their education along with eligible expenses.
- McDonald's: It is very easy to be employed at McDonald's with little to no work history. The company has partnered with "Archways to Opportunity," if you are a store manager or supervisor, you can be eligible to receive up to $5,250 in tuition assistance while earning a college degree and a paycheck. Part-time employees at McDonald's are eligible for $700 per year, which can be helpful to cover gas, cell phone bill, and other minor expenses while studying.
- UPS- Employees are eligible to receive up to $5,250 per year and a lifetime maximum of $25,000.
- Other companies like WalMart, AT&T, Chipotle, Fidelity, Bank of America, Verizon and Chipotle offers tuition assistance for those attending college. Contact your company's HR and ask about educational assistance to ensure you receive most of your benefits.
Conclusion - Kids can help their low-income parents
Life can be expensive, especially with children. As parents, including single mothers or fathers, it is your responsibility to provide shelter, clothing, and food. However, to instill the value of money and independence at an early age, it important for kids to contribute to the household, regardless of age.
Children under 12 can save you time by performing simple tasks at home so you can work extra hours. This will allow the parent time to get another job to save up for a better apartment or home, a car a or even further your studies for a better paying job to improve your family life. School-aged children and teenagers can earn money by using their talents and babysitting. This can help them to earn money to cover their school supplies, toys and other items they wish to have. Meanwhile, college students can use scholarships and traditional part-time employment to support themselves. As you can see from above, there are many things that kids do to help a financially struggling household.
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