OT.. At what age did you/your child start working for pay?

jamblessedthree wrote:
I am not a big proponent of kids having jobs during the school year...

I think it depends on a variety of factors, for me it would depend on the kid, the job and the entire situation.

My kid turned her church service babysittting (13-15) into a paying gig, including taxes, at 16. She worked about 24-30hrs a week last summer (16.5yo) as a mother's helper/catering assistent and about 10hrs a month during the school year. She will work mostly the catering gig this summer for the same people and she got a raise from $8 to $10 an hour. She loves having her own money which lasted all year, she is looking forward to her tax refund (she filed April 17th) to splurg for the end of year prom.

DD15 started babysitting at 13 or 14. She spent all day yesterday washing dishes at her friend's family's restaurant, which may be something she'll do sporadically. She doesn't have time for a real job during the school year, but I've already told her that we expect her to have either a pt job or regular volunteer gig next summer (a year from now). DD12 and her friends are very entrepreneurial & are always holding yard sales or jewelry sales to make money. They're counting down the days until they can start a babysitting business (taking the Red Cross training this summer). I think part of working at a real job is figuring out how to get one, so if I were you, I wouldn't do the calling for her.