Are you a middle schooler and you want to know how to make money as a 12 year old? Or are you a parent wondering how your 12 year old can find suitable jobs that can earn them some income? If you fall within any of the categories above, we’ve got you covered. In this post, we explore various legitimate ways 12 year olds can make money.
According to the Fair Labor Standard Act – age 14 has been designed as the minimum employment age but interestingly, your ward can still make use of less traditional ways to make money as a 12 year old.
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More often than not, these jobs are mostly done on a part-time basis and this will make it easier for them to balance the demands of school, home chores, and other activities.
Therefore, without much ado – let’s dig into how to make money as a 12 year old in 2022.
How To Make Money As A 12 year old
The following are some ways to make money as a 12 year old. These money-making ideas have been proven, tested, and found to be easy ways to earn cash as a pre-teen. Check them out;
Crafts Selling
If you have a creative preteen that is good at making crafts like jewelry, home decors, hats, gloves, paintings, and drawing – they could sell these items and earn some money. The amount to earn here is based on creativity and the uniqueness of the crafts produced. Items can both be sold online on sites like ETSY and also offline by looking for clients around.
Tutoring Services
Academically sound kids can set up tutorial services to help their mates and earn some money in return. These can be academic subjects like Mathematics, Sciences, or teaching piano or baseball.
House Cleaning
This is another cool way to make money as a 12 year old. Some kids are neat, tidy, and pay attention to details – if your kid is one of such; they could offer cleaning services to friends, families, and neighbors just for a token.
Paintings
Starting a painting business is another way to make money as a 12 year old. Paintings can be done inside the house (walls, cabinets, baseboards, etc) or outside the house (fence, shutters, garages, etc). So, your creativity and expertise will determine how much you can earn.
Help To The Elderly
This is an in-home assistant to either an elderly neighbor or member of the family. So, your preteen could help with cleaning, organizing, and also keeping the company of the elderly. All these will attract a fee.
Creative Jobs To make Money As A 12 year old
Once you notice a creative skill in your preteen – you could help channel it properly, so they can make money from it. The following are some creative jobs for 12 year olds, check them out;
YouTubing
This is one amazing way through which your 12 year old can earn some cool cash. This can be short videos of your ward doing something which they love to do best. Some of the areas include; baking, crafting, unboxing of toys, fashion tips, etc
Mobile App Developer
If you discover that your kid is good at programming, you could help channel this ability to some money-making venture. You can learn how to become a mobile app developer online before creating your mobile app or working for different companies.
Logo Creator
Many people need logos for their businesses – you just pay attention to what they want and come up with a creative design that represents their business and they pay for your services. So, you can get clients on sites like Fiverr and also sell your logo on sites like Designhill and ETSY
T-Shirt Designer
If your preteen is good at drawing – he/she could make some money by creating designs, selling them online, and making some money. Also, Designhill is a good platform to sell your designs.
Online Jobs For 12 year old
Blogging
So, after getting the area of interest of your 12 year old – you could help set up a blog where they can earn money simply by placing ads, sponsorship, and embedding some affiliate links in their posts
Some niches they could try out include;
- Arts and crafts blog
- Baking blog
- Toy blog and some others
Creative Writing
If you have a child that loves to write – you could encourage him/her to write a book especially with the help of the internet, their creativity can reach several people while getting back some money in return.
The book can either be a long story that can be segmented into chapters or short children’s illustration books. After this, the book can be converted into an electronic book (e-book) before placing online for sale. A good platform where these books can be sold is Amazon
Online Auction
The internet can be used as a tool where a 12 year old can make some cash just by visiting auction sites and putting all their old toys, video games, clothes, and other things which are no longer in use for sale.
This is another amazing way of making money as a 12-year old that you might want to try out. Some of the online auction sites are Swap.com, Craigslist, Mercari, etc.
Photography
If you have a 12-year old that has an eye for good snapshots – you could help set up their images online or arrange a special photo session with friends and family. Some agencies buy photographs online and use them for web pages and help you to earn some money.
To do this, you need a good camera and access to the internet. Sites to sell photographs online are Alamy, Getty Images, Stocksy, etc
Traditional Jobs For 12 year olds
These are conventional jobs that are readily available and guarantee a regular flow of income for your 12 year old. So, the following are some of the traditional jobs where your ward can make money as a 12 year old;
Plant Sitter
This is quite simple to do as no experience is required for this. Here they help to watch over indoor plants while the owners are away and they earn some cool cash. Their assignments will include trimming, tendering, watering, among others.
Office Assistant
This is another great way through which your 12 year old can earn some cash. Some local businesses around your neighborhood might require the assistance of a ward in the office environment. Their tasks include filing, shredding, organization, and sorting
Dog Walking
If your 12 year old love dogs or other pets – it could be a source of making money for your ward. Interestingly, they will find joy helping neighbors walk their dogs when back from school (because dogs need to exercise daily) or help to take care of the pets when they are on vacation. Here, you are sure of earning up to $10 hourly
Garage Cleaner
This involves coming into the garage to sweep or help to reorganize things in the garage. It can be done daily, weekly, or depending on the agreement reached. So, cleaning the garage is another good alternative when thinking about how to make money as a 12 year old.
Car Washer
To do this, you will need sponges, car soap, a vacuum (for cleaning inside the car), and access to water. All you need to do is advertise your services in the neighborhood, get cars to wash, and get down to business. Once your services are good, you can be guaranteed a regular flow of services. This in turn translates to more money for you. You can earn up to $10 washing each car
Landscaping
There are several jobs to be done around the yard as a preteen to earn some cool cash. These include weeding, watering, bush trimming, and spreading mulch. Also, you can earn up to $10 as a landscaper.
Baking Services
Bakers enjoy making desserts for parties and other forms of events. So, if your 12 year old loves baking – it can be a good way of making some money.
Baby Sitting
If your preteen loves to watch over small kids, babysitting could just be the avenue through which your 12 year old can make some money. It involves paying attention to little kids, feeding them, and ensuring adequate care for the kids. A babysitter is sure of earning up to $12 every hour.
Winter Jobs For 12 year olds
The following are some winter jobs for 12 year olds, check them out;
Car Snow Remover/Shoveler
All that is required for this job is a car brush and a snow shovel. You can advertise your services in your neighborhood so that at the beginning of the winter season they can subscribe. So, whenever it snows – you can help clean up cars and garages to help your clients get to work early. A car snow remover can earn up to $10 per hour.
Hot Chocolate Delivery
During the winter, your 12 year old can find a suitable location where people can come in and have some hot delicious chocolate to keep warm. However, your earning will be based on your patronage and how delicious your chocolate is.
Winter Clothes Designer
This will require some creative skills in sewing, crocheting, or knitting. Some of the kind of clothes that can be designed are; hats, scarves, sweaters, and mittens. So, once these designs are well-made and unique – you can have enough patronage and earn more money.
Gift Wrapper
The holiday season is a great time for your preteen to make money. How? They could help neighbors, families, and friends to wrap Christmas gifts. This is quite easy to do – just stock up supplies like wrapping papers, ribbon, tapes. Also, creativity is needed to land more clients and earn more money.
More Job Ideas For Your 12 Year Old
- Delivering newspaper
- Yardwork
- House cleaning
- Voiceover specialist
- Lemonade salesman
- Shoe shiner
- Window washer
Frequently Asked Questions
- How Can A 12 Year Old Make Money Fast In 2022?
- Blogging
- Create a YouTube channel
- Sale of used items
- Crafting
- Take online surveys
- Babysitting
- Photography
- Can A 12 Year Old Work At McDonald’s?
The minimum age to work at McDonald’s is 14 years old. They can either work as a kitchen crew, maintenance crew, or counter crew.
- Can A 12 Year Old Babysit?
The kid must be mature enough according to the local Children’s Aid Society. Also, the law guiding your province must be consulted. But in general, it is usually put between ages 12 to 18
- Can A 12 Year Old Work At DollarTree?
No, the minimum age to work at DollarTree is put at 16 years old
Final Thoughts
Though there are restrictions to the type of job a 12 year old can do – you can still find many jobs to make money as a 12 year old. However, you must ensure that these jobs fall within the local, state, or federal guidelines.
