We as a country are aping pretty much about everything from the West, Be it food habits, culture, lifestyle changes, work ethos. Somethings conveniently ignored is making our children independent.
We encourage fast food, western lifestyle of partying etc., but we have note looked at how teens in the west are working to make their pocket money or how at the age of 18 they have moved out and are independent.
Bringing up teens in this era, we must encourage them to work and be independent. Here are some ideas on how your child can be independent and productive
Social Media Influencer
Every teen today is tech savvy and even savvier when it comes to social media.Be it Facebook or Instagram, it is at a point where we can pick up a thing or two from today’s teen. Social media is widely used for marketing and companies are on-boarding people with large number of followers to promote their products. Who said social media can have only a bad influence? Get your child to explore this option.
Blogging / Video blogging
This is a tough one since teens these days have pretty much lost touch with writing. Gone are the days when we had pen friends, write letters to friends and family. Today everyone is just one whatsapp message away and that too in short hand. We do not realize that there is a big demand for written content. Content which a teen can generate and it can be about anything of their interest, clothes, make up, music, food, cars, gadgets, books, etc.
Clothing designer
Teens have ample exposure to fashion and can even give us a tip or two about styling a look. Teens interested in fashion can pick up a free-lance course in fashion sketching and can easily submit designs to various online brands who are looking for fresh designs.
MC / game organizer
What does your teen do during weekends & vacations? Encourage him / her to freelance with event companies or be a game organizer at kids party. Event companies are always on the look out for smart man power and what better if your child can learn and earn at the same time.
Freelance graphic designer
On sites like freelancer and upwork anyone can sign up and take up small graphic design jobs to gain some experience and build their portfolio.
Part time employee at kids activity centers
Summer vacancies at kids play centers, summer camp centers are dime a dozen. These are places where teens can work as part time employees .
Software development (websites)
For the nerds and geeks who have a thing for software, any lay man can now put together a website with free tools (Look up WordPress). Again these projects can be got using freelancer and other similar sites. Start off by setting up a site for the family business or relatives business.
Affiliate marketing for Amazon
Well this requires a little bit of intervention from the parent for setting up an online account for receiving payment. Fairly easy to do is to write a blog about “Gift ideas for mothers day“, find products on amazon that are apt for this and list them on your blog with a link back to amazon and promote your blog page. With every click that amazon gets from your page, you make a buck ! Look up Amazon Affiliate marketing program.
Give tuitions
Wondering what those extra hours in front of the tv over the weekend can be put into? How about tuitions to young kids ? What better than teach someone in the same fun way that you understood that Pythagoras theorem.
Freelance photographer
Smart phones come with so many features these days that teens understand better stuff about lighting and angles etc., All that time put in taking that perfect selfie can actually be put to use. All you need is a good cam and click away at a relative’s party and hone that skill. Tie up with an event company and you get a steady supply of events to shoot at.
Model for products
Modelling is something that will require close monitoring as a parent to keep the pressure of the industry at bay. Small brands selling online are always looking at low cost models to showcase their products. This can be for clothing being sold at amazon for kids, toys or a new gadget. Tie up with a photo studio and curate products to your liking.
Work at an animal shelter / store
All pet lovers out there can actually do what they are passionate about . Be around animals and at the same time take care of them.
Apart from setting up their own small venture, teenagers can lookup sites like DoPartTime and get part time jobs in the neighbor hood .Being under-aged it needs to be curated by parents and would be better to get employment at an acquaintance business.