With the economy in a slump, it is becoming more difficult for teens to find summer jobs. Teens need to start thinking of new ideas to make money this summer. Here are a few ideas they may not have thought about:

1. Childcare: Kids are out of school for the summer, but their parents still need to work. A teen can make a lot of money taking care of their neighbors kids for the summer. And they can have fun doing it. They can take them to the pool or the park. They can play games. It’s a fun job.
2. Day program counselor: Our city offers day programs for younger kids. Check your city recreation department to see if your city offers similar programs. We have half day programs and full day programs. The counselors plan kid games and keep track of the kids. One day a week they take the kids to the local pools too. I had a friend who did this every summer and she loved it.
3. Camp counselor: Similar to day program counselors, there is also camp counselor opportunities. Many parents send their kids to the YMCA day camps or to one of the weekly overnight camps. Being a camp counselor can be a lot of fun. And it looks great on a resume. Plus you can also meet a cute camp counselor of the opposite sex.
4. Camp worker: Is working with kids not your teen’s thing? There are still plenty of jobs available at camps. They could work in the kitchen or on the maintenance crew.
5. Construction worker: Summer is the time for new home construction. Construction companies are often looking for helping hands. And it pays pretty well.
6. Landscaping: Summer is also the time for landscaping. Your teen could either work for a landscaping company to gain some great experience. Or he/she could just advertise in the neighborhood for mowing, weed control and gardening.
7. Lifeguards: If your teen is a good swimmer this is a great opportunity. They can take a training class at the Y and spend their summers looking at hotties at the pool. Oh and saving lives.
8. Hotel staff: A lot of people vacation in the summer months and hotels are looking for additional staff to keep up. Your teen could work in dining, in maintenance or as a housekeeper.
9. Amusement park/Water park worker: Again, with vacations the amusement parks and water parks are looking for additional workers. Teens could take tickets or work at concession stands.
10. Temp agency: With workers out on vacation many companies are looking for temporary help. Have your teen sign up with a temp agency for placement. This is a great opportunity to learn a bunch of different skills. And temp agencies have all kinds of jobs, from factory to office jobs.

There are a lot of jobs out there for teens if teens get creative. There are even jobs out there that will help them with their future jobs. If your teen is thinking of becoming a teacher working as a camp counselor is a great start. If your teen wants to major in business working for office jobs through a temp agency will let them know how office work feels. If they dream of owning their own hotel chain they can start at the bottom as a housekeeper. The opportunities are endless.

Post from: Blisstree

10 Summer Jobs Your Teen May Not Have Considered

The best way to avoid drugs is to not avoid them, but instead to educate your teen about them.

With the declining economy it may be more difficult for teens to find summer jobs this year. Now they will be competing with unemployed workers.

College admission letters are starting to come out and teens are starting to feel the stress of it all.

Post from: Blisstree

Sunday Reading

But what about tweens and younger teens who aren’t yet sixteen? What can they do to make money? These young entrepreneurs have a lot of options. They can start their own business.

Here are a few ideas:

• Babysitting: It’s an oldie, but a goodie. A teen can earn quite a bit babysitting for families in the neighborhood or for you friends and co-workers.
• Pet Sitting: Are you kids not your teens thing? Would they rather watch pets? Summer is the time many families head out for vacation. Your teen could offer to feed fish, dogs or cats, change cat litter and take dogs out for daily walks.
• Cleaning Service: They may not want to clean at home, but when somebody else is paying them for it they’ll find a whole new interest. An elderly neighbor may need somebody to scrub their kitchen floor. Or a working family may need somebody to dust and vacuum. Or maybe your teen will want to specialize in garage cleanups or toy room organizations.
• Maintenance Service: Last summer my oldest helped a guy down the street who was doing some renovations on his house. He paid really well for the help. It turned in to a great idea for a summer job. Summer is the time when a lot of people choose to renovate. Teens can pull nails or paint or even help hang drywall.
• Lawn Care: Let you teen use your mower (as long as he pays for the gas) and have him mow lawns in the neighborhood. This is something he can do during the day while people are at work. It can also go beyond mowing. Your teen can also offer to weed the yard. Or help in the garden. Maybe set out sprinklers and turn the water on and off at set times. This business could continue on in the Fall where he/she can rake and bag leaves and in to the winter where they can shovel walks.
• A Car Wash: With our busy lives many people just don’t have time to keep their cars clean. Your teen could wash and wax cars, vacuum the carpeting and wipe down the interior.
• PC Tutoring: Kids are whiz with the computers these days. And some of us adults aren’t. Your teen could put an add in the paper to help people learn how to use the internet or set up their email. If they know about hardware, they can offer to help people set up their new computers or replace their hard drive, memory or video cards.
• Web Design: If they are pretty good with web design they could spend the summer designing websites for people. There are a bunch of people looking for blog designs. A web design business is something they can do online and get paid through Paypal.
• Cooking Service: Does your teen love to cook? Maybe he/she can cook meals for busy families. I would love to have somebody cook us dinner a couple times a week.

What other ideas do you have? What has your teen for money in past summers?

Post from: Blisstree

Summer Jobs For Tweens