At 12, nobody at the mall or the burger place is going to hire you. Federal law in the US sets 14 as the minimum age for most regular jobs, so stores and restaurants can’t put you on the schedule even if they wanted to. But that doesn’t mean there are no jobs for 12 year olds.
That still leaves a lot of room. The law makes exceptions for work like babysitting, delivering newspapers, acting, chores around someone’s home and helping in your family’s business. Most of the jobs below fit into those gaps. They’re small, they’re local, and with a parent on board, you can start most of them this month.
Before You Start: Three Rules That Make Everything Easier
Get a parent involved from day one. They can help you set prices, drive you places and make sure the customers are people your family knows. Plenty of neighbors also feel better hiring a 12-year-old when they’ve already talked to mom or dad.
Stay close to home. Your best customers are on your street, in your building and in your family’s friend group. You don’t need a website. You need five people who trust you.
Write down what you earn. A notebook or a notes app is enough. Knowing that you made $40 last Saturday makes it a lot easier to say yes to the next job.
1. Vacation Plant Caretaker
When people leave for vacation, their plants still need attention. That’s where you come in. You can water their houseplants, flowers, or vegetable garden while they’re away.
This takes more care than just pouring water into every pot. Ask the owner to show you which plants need watering, how much water to use, and how often to visit. Follow their instructions so you don’t accidentally overwater anything.
What to charge: Agree on a price per visit before they leave. Consider how many plants you’ll care for and how long each visit will take. Have a parent help you set the price.
How to get started: Start with relatives or trusted neighbors, with your parent’s permission. Ask for a written checklist, and have a parent accompany you if you need to enter someone’s home. You can even send the owner a plant photo after each visit for a little extra peace of mind.
2. Youth Sports Referee
If you play soccer, you already know the rules better than most adults. Many youth soccer associations let you take an entry-level referee course around age 12 or 13, and then you can referee games for younger kids on weekends.
Referees get paid per game, and the money can be surprisingly good for an hour of work. You also learn to make calls with parents watching from the sideline, which is a confidence boost you can’t get from a lot of other jobs.
How to get started: Ask your club or league how their referee program works and what the minimum age is in your state. The course usually costs a small fee, so treat it like an investment you’ll earn back in your first few games. Basketball, baseball and hockey leagues sometimes have junior officiating programs too.
3. Pet Waste Cleanup Service
Here’s a job almost nobody wants, which is exactly why it works. Lots of dog owners hate picking up after their dogs in the backyard, especially busy families with big dogs.
You show up once a week with gloves, a scooper and bags, clean the yard and leave. That’s it. A route of four or five houses on the same street can turn into steady weekly money.
What to charge: A flat weekly price per yard, a little more for bigger yards or more than one dog.
How to get started: Start with neighbors who have dogs. Bring a parent the first time, agree on a day, and ask where the bags should go. Always wash your hands well afterward.
4. Bike Cleaning and Simple Tune-Ups
Kids in your neighborhood ride their bikes until the chain squeaks and the tires go flat, and then the bike sits in the garage. You can fix the easy stuff.
With a pump, a rag, some chain lube and a few YouTube tutorials, you can clean bikes, pump tires, oil chains and adjust seats. Spring and the start of summer break are the busiest times, when everyone pulls their bikes out at once.
What to charge: A small flat price per bike for a wash and tire check, a little more for chain cleaning.
How to get started: Practice on your own bike and your family’s bikes first. Anything that needs real repairs, like brakes that don’t work, should go to a bike shop. Tell the owner that honestly instead of guessing.
5. Can and Bottle Return Runs
If you live in a state with a bottle deposit law, like California, Michigan or New York, empty cans and bottles are worth money at a redemption center. A lot of people pay the deposit at the store and never bother getting it back.
Offer to pick up neighbors’ empty bottles and cans every week or two. Some people will let you keep the whole refund just to get rid of the clutter. Others might split it with you.
How to get started: Check whether your state has a deposit program and where the nearest return machine or center is. You’ll need a parent to drive you, and big plastic bags or bins to keep everything sorted. If your state doesn’t have a deposit law, this one won’t work, so skip ahead.
6. Newspaper Delivery
This is one of the few jobs federal law specifically allows for kids under 14. Paper routes aren’t as common as they used to be, but many towns still have a weekly local paper, a church bulletin or a community newsletter that needs to land on doorsteps.
The job teaches you to show up on time every single week, which is the habit employers care about most when you’re older.
How to get started: Call your local paper and ask if they use youth carriers. Shoppers’ guides and neighborhood newsletters are worth asking too. Go with a parent the first few times to learn the route.
7. Gift Wrapping Service
Tons of people buy gifts and then dread wrapping them. If you can make a neat corner with tape and paper, you have a business, especially from Thanksgiving to Christmas and around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Offer to wrap at the customer’s house or have them drop gifts off at yours. Bows, tags and nice ribbon make your work stand out.
What to charge: Per gift, with a higher price for big or awkward boxes. If the customer supplies the paper, you can charge less.
How to get started: Wrap a few presents for your own family and take photos of the best ones. Show those photos to neighbors in early December, when their pile of gifts is getting bigger and their patience is getting smaller.
8. Photo Scanning Helper
Almost every grandparent has boxes of old printed photos they keep meaning to “do something with.” You can turn those boxes into digital albums.
Free scanning apps let you take clean copies of printed photos with a phone. You scan them, name the folders by year or event, and upload them to a shared album or a flash drive. Families love this, and it’s the kind of job that leads to “Can you do my sister’s photos too?”
What to charge: Per box or per 100 photos.
How to get started: Practice with your own family’s old photos first. Handle every picture carefully, keep them in order and give them back exactly as you found them.
9. Leaf Raking and Weeding
Mowing needs a big machine, but raking leaves and pulling weeds only need gloves and energy. In the fall, every yard with trees turns into a job. In spring and summer, flower beds fill up with weeds faster than people can keep up.
This is simple work, but neighbors notice a kid who does it carefully. Bag everything, sweep up after yourself, and you’ll get asked back.
What to charge: By the yard or by the hour. Agree on the price before you start so there are no surprises.
How to get started: Ask neighbors before the busy season hits, and make sure you know which plants are weeds. Pulling out somebody’s new flowers is a quick way to lose a customer.
10. Helping in a Family Business
If your parents own a business, this might be the easiest job on the list. Federal rules allow kids to work in a business owned by their parents in a lot of roles, as long as the work isn’t dangerous, like operating machinery. (A business owned by a grandparent or an uncle is treated differently, so check first.)
That could mean folding boxes, labeling products, cleaning up at closing time, answering simple emails or helping at a booth on busy weekends. You get paid, and you get to see how a real business makes money.
How to get started: Just ask. Offer a set number of hours a week and treat it like a real job: show up on time and finish what you say you’ll do. Your parent will still need to check your state’s rules on hours and duties.
Which One Should You Start With?
Out of all these jobs for 12 year olds, pick one, not five. The best first job is usually the one where you already have a skill or a customer. If you love soccer, look into refereeing. If your street is full of dog owners, start the cleanup route. If the holidays are coming, wrapping gifts can earn you money in just a few weekends.
Whatever you choose, do it well for a month before you add another. One happy neighbor who tells three friends about you is worth more than any flyer.
Not ready for a job yet? Our guide on how to make money as a kid covers selling, saving and small projects you can start at home.
If you’re a bit older or have a friend who is, check out our list of 10 jobs for 13-year-olds and these 7 ways to earn money as a teenager for even more ideas.
Jobs for 12 Year Olds: FAQ
Not at most companies. Federal law sets 14 as the minimum age for most non-farm jobs, and states can add their own rules. But 12-year-olds can legally earn money doing things like babysitting, delivering newspapers, working in a parent’s business and doing chores for neighbors.
It depends on the job and where you live. Most 12-year-olds who work steadily earn somewhere between a few dollars and a few hundred dollars a month. The kids who earn the most usually have regular weekly customers instead of one-time jobs.
For informal jobs like the ones on this list, usually not. Some states require work permits for minors in certain jobs, so a parent should check your state’s labor department website before you start anything more formal.