Tasks for kid working at parent's business (sole owner)
Our oldest son is 8 years old and has asked to work at his dad's business to earn some spending money this summer. We don't pay for chores at home (only for special extraordinary tasks) but told him before he can earn money working at the business when he is ready; I just did not think the time will come so soon. He will do it on days he is already hanging out at the business with his dad during summer (usually 2-3 half-days/week) and has asked to do paid work instead of hanging out on his computer, reading, playing, etc. (not exactly sure what he usually does there). We are ok with the idea and believe we can pay him below minimum age so he is not getting too much free spending money since it is a business solely owned by my husband and is not incorporated (though will check on this with HR provider and can pay him minimum wage if have to and will deal with the paperwork for a minor working if needed). I'm looking for creative idea of what tasks an 8 year old can do in an office environment that will be helpful but also interesting for him. My husband just lost a part-time file clerk due to the clerk's move out of the bay area and is thinking that he can delay replacing him till the fall and see if our son can do the work first. It will basically involve filing, pulling and bringing files to my husband (a lot of errands like that around the office mainly serving my husband -- he will keep our son helping him and will re-assign other support staff to the other employees so as to not inconvenience them), creating index and table of contents, hole punching and putting documents in binders with tabs, etc. I'm sure he can do it. He is great reader, can type well (thanks to all his computer games), and has attention to detail but it sounds like really boring work. Anyone tried it and has thoughts on it? What type of work your elementary kid did for you? And, how did it go?
Parent Replies
My kid could have never done the tasks you describe at your son's age. In fact, I'm not so sure he could do that job now (and he's a teen). But, your child sounds exceptional, and if he actually wants to do this, I guess I'd let him try. I would not, however, make plans that depend on this working out, and if it doesn't work out, please don't make your son feel bad about that.
You might consider paying him minimum wage and putting some of his pay in a college savings account for him.
I remember fondly days when my mom would bring me to her job at the bank and have me do work in her office. I must have been in the 8-11 range because I was too young to stay home by myself all day but too old to go to daycare. This was also during the era when one could put their child to work without incurring the wrath of their employer due to concerns about violating labor laws.
Anyway I recall doing the following tasks: filing and alphabetizing, stuffing and sealing envelopes, dealing with postage, typing address labels at a type writer, making photocopies (and not with the ease of modern day copy machines), stapling and paper clipping things and generally putting together packets of information, using the binding machine to put together spiral books, baking cookies in their break room from a giant tub of cookie dough they always seemed to have there, and bringing my mom sodas. I think an eight year old that is generally mature can do a lot in an office.
Your husband has a need for a part time file clerk, your 8yo is likely skilled and detail-oriented enough to do it and is interested in doing it, and you ALSO want the job to not be boring? Trust me, no 8yo is qualified to do truly interesting office work. :) Earning real money should be interesting enough! However, your husband should consult an employment lawyer and tax advisor about this plan, because ordinarily, children under age 14 cannot legally work for pay, even in a family-owned business. (There are exceptions for the entertainment industry but I don't know of one for family businesses, unless of course you just pay your kid a boosted allowance and don't claim it as any kind of wages or other business expense.) And if I'm wrong about that and you can legally pay wages to your 8yo, you need to consider more than just minimum wage laws; there are all SORTS of special rules about withholding and taxes, and lots of things you can do with that money to make the whole thing very financially advantageous for your family, when you have a minor working in a parent's business.
I bet he could do the work. But could he focus on it for 4 hours at a time? That is asking a lot of an 8 yo.
My 10-year old wanted to work so we talked about how much and how long. Biggest goal was success! We started at one dollar per half hour and started with one hour per week. Over six months she has evolved to two 2-hr shifts per week. Good Luck.