Work for a 14 year old

ChilliBob

Hey guys, 

My nephew, 14 nearly 15, 6ft2 odd, is keen to find some work, mostly to save for a PC but also just to get out there and do something and get some experience.

I feel this is a good attitude to have - wanting to work and wanting to save for things.

I'm also aware that focusing on work, which all told, won't pay much, at the expense of exams is foolish and shortsighted - to the extent some grade based monetary rewards will be put in place. 

So, this takes us to work, I have looked around online and struggled to find much that helps... 

If you have a child of this age, or know one who works, what do they do?

I had a paper round for free papers! He he, he's asked the local shop, they said £5 a week for an hour before school Monday go Friday. Clearly this is ludicrous! 

I remember (I'm 40 now) some school mates used to do something like pot wash at local pubs but I think that's not allowed now. 

We have some jobs at our house he can help with, but obviously there are only a finite amount of tasks we have. 

We also have some sfuff he could sell on say Facebook, again, just a few baby items. 

Unique things about him - he's bilingual, speaking Polish and English, less unique but he's lanky, strong and not afraid to get stuck in! 

Suggestions most welcome, super keen to encourage a work ethic, but not at the expense of education, and not to be taken advantage of (too much!) 

strawb_shortcake

My older children used to deliver leaflets for a local shop, 1200 would earn them £60 worked out about 6 hours work. 

One local lad used to do car washing, his parents advertised on the local Facebook group. 

When I was 14 I used to pick up lots of babysitting work, sticking up at skittles, and shop work was easy to come by. Retail now seems to start at 16 rarely before these days.

Skittles might be an idea if there's a local league

Misslayed

A neighbour's strapping teenage son used to cut our grass, and did a good job, so other neighbours joined in. We gave him a set amount - £5? I forget, big garden - and he literally ran up and down to empty the cuttings, so completed the task in about 20 minutes! He also did one off jobs, such as emptying, cleaning and tidying the greenhouse and shed, and accompanying me to the recycling centre (tip) to help empty the car. 

ChilliBob

Misslayed said:

A neighbour's strapping teenage son used to cut our grass, and did a good job, so other neighbours joined in. We gave him a set amount - £5? I forget, big garden - and he literally ran up and down to empty the cuttings, so completed the task in about 20 minutes! He also did one off jobs, such as emptying, cleaning and tidying the greenhouse and shed, and accompanying me to the recycling centre (tip) to help empty the car. 

That's some of the sort of stuff he'd do for us. He helped me fit a seriously heavy fence a, few days ago, God send!

Sadly he lives in a more built up area where this probably doesn't work beyond us and perhaps my folks. 

ChilliBob

annabanana82 said:

My older children used to deliver leaflets for a local shop, 1200 would earn them £60 worked out about 6 hours work. 

One local lad used to do car washing, his parents advertised on the local Facebook group. 

When I was 14 I used to pick up lots of babysitting work, sticking up at skittles, and shop work was easy to come by. Retail now seems to start at 16 rarely before these days.

Skittles might be an idea if there's a local league

See the leaflets sfuff, that sounds alright, I used to get £10 or so a week for my local papers (25 years ago now!)

Skittles is lost on me? Sorry, I know it either as sweets or ten pin bowling, sorry, confused!

Whilst he's grand with my son and daughter, babysitting wouldn't be his thing. 

I keep wondering if there's some opportunities from a more 'digital' perspective - data entry, something else online, testing? Etc? 

Sarahspangles

My two were told at school that if they worked or volunteered they should look for something relevant to their university and career plans to help with their personal statement or cv.  I expect there's less call for Saturday astrophysicists than there is for Summer cover in garden centres but it's worth considering if there is some element that is relevant.

Misslayed

FYI - skittles used to happen in a long narrow room behind the pub, mostly in the West Country I believe. It was similar to ten pin bowling, in that you rolled the ball down the alley to knock as many pins as possible over. It consisted of one 'alley', with 9 wooden pins and three solid applewood balls that would fit in one hand. Sometimes it also had a bar, connected to the main pub area. Teenagers were engaged to stand in the pit at the end of the alley and replace the pins after each person's turn. No technology! A whip-round (and a sneaky cider) usually made it well worth their while. Local leagues were very common. I think most of the alleys have now been converted into dining rooms, function rooms, even a beer garden in one local hostelry. 

theoretica

Neighbouring teenager used to have an egg round - local organic farm delivered to him once or twice a week and then he 'low carbon' took them to the people who had ordered/subscribed.

Emmia

There are restrictions on children (he's 14) working, that you should consider...

https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/restrictions-on-child-employment

Savvy_Sue

Misslayed said:

FYI - skittles used to happen in a long narrow room behind the pub, mostly in the West Country I believe. It was similar to ten pin bowling, in that you rolled the ball down the alley to knock as many pins as possible over. It consisted of one 'alley', with 9 wooden pins and three solid applewood balls that would fit in one hand. Sometimes it also had a bar, connected to the main pub area. Teenagers were engaged to stand in the pit at the end of the alley and replace the pins after each person's turn. No technology! A whip-round (and a sneaky cider) usually made it well worth their while. Local leagues were very common. I think most of the alleys have now been converted into dining rooms, function rooms, even a beer garden in one local hostelry. 

There are still a few around Bristol, but we put our own pins up! 

DS1 used to deliver the local paid for paper after school, and DS2 (more of an early bird) did a weekend morning round. The pay might not have been great but the tips at Christmas helped.

ChilliBob

Emmia said:

There are restrictions on children (he's 14) working, that you should consider...

https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/restrictions-on-child-employment

Yeah, I read up on thay yesterday. It all makes sense, and aligns with our idea of incentives for good grades. But that does leave spare time still, which at the moment is spent gaming, keen to spend earning.