Day Care Jobs For Kids

[Margarete]

How many of you hire your kids to do some of the daycare work. What are their ages, jobs, and how much do you pay them.
Right now my daughter 2.5 yrs old helps pick up the backyard daily, daycare dishes daily, and daycare laundry weekly, and sometimes extra tasks here and there (some days I do the jobs on my own). She gets $1-2 a week. I may be a bit on the low side based on time, but she is young and not able to do everything on her own quite yet, so I want to make sure I'm not going to get in trouble for overpaying.
I'm starting up a Roth IRA for her this year, and half is going to go in, which I will match, and half is going into another savings account that she'll have access to as she starts to learn about handling money.

[kelsey's kids]

Is that even legal. In my state you cant hire anyone under 13 and I believe even then they are a volunteer. They have to be 16 to "work"

[Margarete]

Yes it is. There are actually a lot of businesses that you can hire your own children (and your own children only) without the same standard 'employee' requirements, other examples are family restaurants, and farms (there are still some rules). Here is an article from tom about hiring family members.

http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/hiring-family-members.html

[Margarete]

Part of the rules for my state California for children under 12 can be found on page 14 of this link, there is no 'minimum age' listed for the type of work I'm talking about.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ChildLaborLawPamphlet.pdf

This may vary a lot in different states... so I'm not sure what restrictions are in other states.
Here is some of the basic federal age requirements http://www.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/026.htm . Age minimum does not apply to businesses owned by the children's parents (in non-hazard environments) or jobs like acting, and delivering newspapers.

[Margarete]

repost

[Margarete]

Why did my responses with links to toms article get moderated... I don't know, let me try this in another way. Here is a thread that asks about 'paying children' with a response and article from tom.

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59264

[jenboo]

I do not have children of my own yet but if I wanted their help, I would just make it part of their household chores. The daycare is part of the house so it makes sense to me...I wouldn't have them do it during daycare hours, only after and I would give them an allowance for all their chores.
I personally don't like the idea of "hiring" a child under 15 years old or paying them a wage.

Yes, what you are describing is almost the same thing I am (as long as she isn't washing the dishes while dc kids are still there) but the terminology is throwing me off

[Margarete]

This is the paying kids thread I meant to post https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60335
So I know it's legal, including paying under minimum wage for family members, I don't think I could justify to the IRS paying her the minimum hourly wage for these tasks, at the level of help she gives.

I/ We get two benefits from separating out daycare jobs vs. household chores. I get to deduct it 100%, and she pays no taxes on the income for the amount paid. (This benefit is minimal for the amount we are currently talking about) and I can open up a Roth IRA for her because she has "earned income". This is one of the main reasons for me personally to start this now. It's something I can use as a tool to help teach and encourage her about long term savings, the power of matching, and compounding. By the time she is old enough to start understanding, it will show some of the results, and I can teach it to her on a personal level.
Just to be clear, I don't 'force' her to do any of the jobs, in fact she is the one who initiated wanting to help in these tasks. I want to continue to encourage helping =)

I'm looking forward to hearing from others.

[jessrlee]

This is the paying kids thread I meant to post https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60335
So I know it's legal, including paying under minimum wage for family members, I don't think I could justify to the IRS paying her the minimum hourly wage for these tasks, at the level of help she gives.

I/ We get two benefits from separating out daycare jobs vs. household chores. I get to deduct it 100%, and she pays no taxes on the income for the amount paid. (This benefit is minimal for the amount we are currently talking about) and I can open up a Roth IRA for her because she has "earned income". This is one of the main reasons for me personally to start this now. It's something I can use as a tool to help teach and encourage her about long term savings, the power of matching, and compounding. By the time she is old enough to start understanding, it will show some of the results, and I can teach it to her on a personal level.
Just to be clear, I don't 'force' her to do any of the jobs, in fact she is the one who initiated wanting to help in these tasks. I want to continue to encourage helping =)

I'm looking forward to hearing from others.

I think this is an awesome idea! I pay my 12 year old $5 an hour to do daycare chores. I hadn't thought about the Ira but she does have a savings account and pay tithing

[AcornMama]

I do not hire my children.

I do pay them an allowance for household chores. These are chores typical of any house. I didn't have the extra cash to pay them an allowance before starting this business, but now I can. But it's strictly allowance, not employment.

I'm not an expert on this, but I think that if you do choose to hire your own children in your own business, that age requirements do not apply (this is only for parents employing their own children). There are also differences in taxes when employing your own children. That changes when they hit 18.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[momofboys]

How many of you hire your kids to do some of the daycare work. What are their ages, jobs, and how much do you pay them.
Right now my daughter 2.5 yrs old helps pick up the backyard daily, daycare dishes daily, and daycare laundry weekly, and sometimes extra tasks here and there (some days I do the jobs on my own). She gets $1-2 a week. I may be a bit on the low side based on time, but she is young and not able to do everything on her own quite yet, so I want to make sure I'm not going to get in trouble for overpaying.
I'm starting up a Roth IRA for her this year, and half is going to go in, which I will match, and half is going into another savings account that she'll have access to as she starts to learn about handling money.

Your 2 1/2-year-old does laundry?

[MsLaura529]

Your 2 1/2-year-old does laundry?

I'm hoping this was a typo and she meant to put 12.5. Otherwise, I need some tips on how to get your 2.5 year old to do laundry, haha.

[butterfly]

This is the paying kids thread I meant to post https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60335
So I know it's legal, including paying under minimum wage for family members, I don't think I could justify to the IRS paying her the minimum hourly wage for these tasks, at the level of help she gives.

I/ We get two benefits from separating out daycare jobs vs. household chores. I get to deduct it 100%, and she pays no taxes on the income for the amount paid. (This benefit is minimal for the amount we are currently talking about) and I can open up a Roth IRA for her because she has "earned income". This is one of the main reasons for me personally to start this now. It's something I can use as a tool to help teach and encourage her about long term savings, the power of matching, and compounding. By the time she is old enough to start understanding, it will show some of the results, and I can teach it to her on a personal level.
Just to be clear, I don't 'force' her to do any of the jobs, in fact she is the one who initiated wanting to help in these tasks. I want to continue to encourage helping =)

I'm looking forward to hearing from others.

I do this with my oldest too. For the very reason that I wanted him to be able to start a ROTH IRA too. By the time he's able to retire he should very easily be a millionaire due to the compounding interest - even if he chooses not to contribute another penny when he's older.

I pay $5/hour and keep a log of the hours worked, jobs performed. I even had him sign a contract stating his job duties. My son is school aged, so he doesn't have a lot of opportunity to put in a ton of hours with other after school activities.

I have 2 sons, but only my oldest one has the desire to help me. Hopfully in a couple years I can get them both working and earning.

At the end of each month, we figure out his hours and total wage together. (great math lesson too). I give him the option as to how much he wants in cash for spending money and how much he wants to put in his college fund. At the end of the year, I'll be putting the total amount earned in a ROTH IRA for him - this would be the total amount allowed by the IRS (can't exceed total earned income).

[Margarete]

Yes, we have a front loader washing machine which is why this is possible. She loves to help with this! If she sees me start, she is running to help, so she helps with most of the household laundry too. She will put them in the washing machine, then after I put soap in and do the settings she pushes start (and waits to watch it start spinning); helps me switch them over, and push them in the dryer; and also helps unload them from the dryer into a basket. Pretty big job for a little girl, but like I said she initiated, and wanted to help, and does quite a lot of helping on that job.
With a top loader washing machine she could only help with the dryer part I guess, which is still a good chunk for her age.

[Margarete]

I'm hoping this was a typo and she meant to put 12.5. Otherwise, I need some tips on how to get your 2.5 year old to do laundry, haha.

She's 2.5, so she is still at the age where she wants to help with EVERYTHING I am doing, including things she can't help with. I try to allow her to help in any capacity she can to continue to encourage it. She also loves to help pick up the toys, and scrub, she has her own water spray bottle to clean with. It would probably take a bit more convincing to have a 12.5 year old to help. Occasionally she is busy and isn't interested, and I don't push it, just allow her to help when she wants, which is most of the time.