The ultimate cure for boredom – how kids can earn money during the holidays

Analaura Luna

Muuuuuuuuuum … I’m bored! It never fails. No sooner have the holidays started than the same kids who couldn’t wait for school to finish are clamouring for something to do. Kids never seem to run out of energy in the holidays, but they run out of money all the time. That’s unfortunate, because most holiday entertainment (the stuff the kids have their hearts set on anyway) costs a bundle. Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealed that an estimated $20 million worth of pocket money is doled out to Australian children every week, and they’re doing less to earn it than they used to. But with the must-have range of toys and games for kids becoming ever more expensive, even the generously deep pockets of Australian parents are starting to shrink a bit so it’s time for the kids to start paying their way. Older teenagers can get part-time jobs – but what about younger kids? Well, there are ways for kids too young to work at Maccas or Woolies to earn money, so the next time your kids are nagging you for something, why not suggest that they get themselves – dun dun DUN – a job?

If your kids are in their early teens, you can suggest that they ask neighbours and your adult friends for odd jobs. Babysitting is a popular option – according to the NSW Commission for Children and Young People 21 per cent of all children who work are babysitters. But the commission also offers guides and resources that will help kids get started in other jobs including delivering newspapers, walking dogs and mowing lawns. If your kids are too young for you to be comfortable letting them work outside the home, they can start doing chores around the house to earn their pocket money, especially during the holidays. Try drawing up a list of jobs that your kids can do and give each task a price tag. A school-age child can start to take responsibility for feeding pets, hanging out washing, doing the dishes and even the vacuuming – and they’ll probably be a lot more enthusiastic about their chores if they’re getting paid. You don’t have to pay them a lot – even a small wage is a good way of showing them that work is valuable and that their contribution to the family is appreciated.

Now that your kids have earned all this money, what are they going to do with it? Well, first of all they’re probably going to want to buy that thing they were nagging you about. And that’s good – up to a point. They’ve earned the money so they ought to get to spend some of it on things they want, but this is also an excellent opportunity to teach them the value of savvy spending and smart saving. Kids should be encouraged to save part of their income rather than just spending the lot on the first cool toy that catches their eye, so before you let them part with their hard earned cash ask them if they’re really sure that this is what they want to spend it on. Another great option is to sit down with them and help them work out some savings goals. Ask your kids to name something they really want and take them window shopping in order to find the best price. Once they know how much money they’ll need to buy what they want help them calculate how many hours of work they’ll have to put in to earn it. Then, whenever they’re tempted to dip into their savings, you can point out that they’re making a choice between a small thing they want a bit and a big thing they want a lot.

Finding odd jobs to do over the holidays will help kids understand money. If they’ve had to earn every cent in their moneybox they’re likely to value it more – and that will help make anything they buy more special. When they bring home that toy, video game or gadget it will be theirs in a way that something you bought for them won’t. And if the toy itself isn’t enough to keep boredom away for the rest of the holidays, well, there’s always more vacuuming …

If you liked this article you might also be interested in these other articles about kids and money:

Teaching kids about good money management

Back-to-school ideas for beating the budget 'gremlins'

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Author's Biography

Analaura Luna is an author, wealth adviser and founder of Your Family Your Money. Your Family Your Money’s goal is to simplify traditionally complex financial strategies, demystify financial jargon and debunk common financial myths, becoming every family’s first stop for financial advice, information and inspiration

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