15 rewarding and fun jobs for 10-year-olds

Ten is a great age to start earning money. Kids are old enough to follow through on a task, proud enough to want their own money, and young enough to think a lemonade stand or a pile of leaves to be raked is exciting when they're getting paid for it.

The best jobs for 10-year-olds are fun (not chores in disguise), fit their energy and attention span, don't require a car or work permit, and teach them something about the value of work along the way.

Whether it's walking the neighbor's dog, running a weekend bake sale, or teaching a younger kid to read, these small jobs put a little cash in a kid's pocket and give parents a low-stakes way to introduce the basics of earning, saving, and spending.

Top 15 jobs for 10-year-olds

Finding something your 10-year-old is interested in is a great way to start looking for the right job. It should also match their maturity level, skill, and attention span while being age appropriate in the eyes of the law.

Chore-based

1. Dog walking and pet sitting

2. Car washing

3. Yard work

4. Garage/room organizing

5. Mother's helper

Seasonal

6. Lemonade/hot cocoa vendor

7. Holiday decorator

8. Snow shoveler

9. Yard sale helper

10. Gift wrapper

Creative

11. Making and selling crafts

12. Baker

13. Teaching a skill

Tech

14. Phone/streaming helper

15. Photo organizing

Chore-based jobs helping neighbors and family

1. Dog walking and pet sitting

If your child already helps care for your family pet, they might be ready to offer pet-sitting to neighbors or family — simple tasks like feeding, playing, and letting the dog out. Dog walking is a step up: it requires keeping control of a dog outdoors, staying on a route, and reacting to changing conditions, so it's best suited to kids who show more maturity (and, depending on the dog's size, more physical strength).

2. Car washing

Your 10-year-old can grab a bucket, some soap, and a hose, and offer to wash cars for neighbors or family on a weekend morning. It's simple enough for a 10-year-old to do well, gives an easy way to see cause-and-effect, and can turn into repeat business if a few neighbors like the results.

You can help your child by gathering all of the supplies they need, like a hose with a spray nozzle, buckets, car wash soap, sponges or wash mitts, and microfiber towels. A hat and sunscreen are a good idea if they'll be washing cars in the sun. To make it even more fun, they can play music or team up with a friend to get the job done faster.

3. Yard work (raking, watering plants, weeding)

Yard work is hard work, but there's a lot of it to be done. While lawn mowing and landscaping could be a little advanced, plenty of people are willing to pay for smaller jobs. Great jobs for 10-year-olds could be raking leaves, watering plants, picking up dog poop, and pulling weeds.

4. Garage/room organizing

Kids this age can sort bins, clear clutter, and put things back in logical spots for a neighbor or family member. It's less physically demanding than yard work, plays to kids who like sorting and categorizing, and gives a satisfying "before and after" that makes the payoff feel earned.

5. Mother's helper

Different from babysitting, this job entails entertaining and keeping an eye on younger children while a parent is still home and in charge. They do things like reading, doing crafts, or just keeping little ones occupied so the parent can get things done nearby.

This is a great fit for 10-year-olds who like younger kids but aren't ready for the full responsibility of babysitting, and it works well as a stepping stone toward that job in a few years.

Seasonal and one-off gigs

6. Lemonade and hot cocoa vendor

Kids can run a simple drink stand by selling lemonade on warm days and hot cocoa once the weather turns cold, adjusting the menu to match the season. It's a classic first taste of running a business, teaches basic math and customer service in a low-pressure setting, and gives kids a reason to sell year-round instead of packing it in after summer.

7. Holiday decorator

Kids help neighbors hang lights (at ground level), set up yard decorations, or arrange indoor holiday displays like ornaments and stockings. It taps into the excitement of the season, works for kids who enjoy being creative or hands-on, and often leads to repeat requests once people see the finished look.

8. Snow shoveler

At this job, kids clear driveways, walkways, and porch steps for neighbors after a snowfall, using a kid-sized shovel and sticking to areas without ice or heavy drifts. It's seasonal, in-demand exactly when it snows, and pays well for the effort since most adults are happy to skip the job themselves. Kids can also expand their business to offer to bring in firewood.

9. Yard/garage sale helper

A kid helps set up tables, price and tag items, greet shoppers, and handle simple transactions during a family member's or neighbor's yard sale. It's a simple, low-key intro to customer service and basic math with change-making, and it usually pays in a flat fee or a cut of what sells since the work is short and one-off.

10. Holiday gift wrapper

Your 10-year-old can offer their gift-wrapping services to friends, family, or neighbors who need a little extra help during the busy season. To make it even more fun, set up a cozy wrapping station with holiday music, festive snacks, and different wrapping supplies. It's a great job for them to develop their creativity, practice neatness, and even earn a little extra spending money for holiday shopping!

Creative & skill-based jobs

11. Making and selling crafts (bracelets, cards)

If your preteen is good at design or crafts and shows signs of entrepreneurship, there are opportunities for them to create products and sell them online or at craft fairs. Most 10-year-olds won't be ready to independently handle product fulfillment, so you would need to help them with shipping.

Another option is to open an Etsy shop with products that customers print themselves from PDFs. Your child would only need to create the product once, and then it could be delivered via email, letting your 10-year-old build some passive income. Etsy doesn't allow anyone under 18 to have an account, so the account will have to be in your name.

12. Baker

Your child can bake goods to sell, from cookies and cupcakes to homemade dog treats, either for a bake sale or as standing orders for neighbors and their pets. It's a good fit for kids who like being in the kitchen, lets them get creative with flavors and packaging, and doubles the potential customer base by covering both people and their pets. Since it involves an oven or stove, this one requires parental oversight.

13. Teaching a skill to a peer or younger kid

A 10-year-old can share something they're already good at, like drawing, playing an instrument, a sport, or reading, in short informal lessons for a younger child or a peer who wants to learn. It works well for kids who enjoy explaining things and being looked up to, and it builds real teaching and patience skills while paying for what they'd likely do for free anyway.

Tech helper jobs

14. Helping grandparents/neighbors with phone or streaming setup

A tech-savvy 10-year-old can help a grandparent, neighbor, or family friend get comfortable with a new phone, app, or streaming service, showing them how to text, video call, or find their favorite shows. It's a natural fit for kids who grew up with this tech and can explain it patiently, and it's often genuinely appreciated by adults who'd rather ask a kid than call customer support.

15. Photo organizing

In this job, kids sort, label, or digitize a family's photos, whether that means organizing camera roll clutter or helping scan and file old printed pictures. It suits kids who like tidy systems and repetitive, detail-oriented work, and it tackles a task most adults keep meaning to get to but never do.

What safety rules should a 10-year-old follow when earning money?

Earning money brings up a few real-world details worth thinking through before the first customer shows up. A few ground rules keep these first jobs low-stress for everyone involved.

• Always work with a parent's knowledge and approval. They should know where the job is, who it's for, and when it'll be done.

• Stick to jobs for people the family already knows. Do work for known neighbors, relatives, and family friends, rather than strangers found online or through flyers.

• Have an adult present or nearby for anything involving tools, ovens/stoves, ladders, or leaving the house alone.

• Don't go inside a customer's house alone unless they are a family member or trusted friend. Keep interactions in yards, driveways, or with a parent present.

• Handle money carefully. Count it in front of the customer, and hand cash off to a parent to hold or help track rather than carrying large amounts around.

• Be able to reach a parent right away. Know a way to reach a parent at all times via a phone, walkie-talkie, or working within sight/earshot of home. The Greenlight app and GPS tracker† can also send one-tap SOS alerts†† and help you keep track of where your kids are for extra peace of mind.

• It's okay to back out or stop a job at any time. No paycheck is worth staying somewhere that feels uncomfortable, even without a clear reason why.

• Ensure the job is age-appropriate and doesn't require handling hazardous tools, like power equipment, sharp blades, or anything that needs real strength or training to use safely.

Is 10 years old too young for a job?

Whether your 10-year-old is ready for a job depends on a number of factors like their maturity level, their ability to follow instructions, and their interest in taking on new responsibilities. Some kids may be eager to get to work and earn their own money handling small jobs independently, while others might need more guidance and supervision from you.

If you're thinking maybe they aren't ready for this, that's okay. Doing regular household chores is a great way to help them build skills and confidence. An app like Greenlight makes it easy to reward doing regular chores with an allowance, or pay them for specific extra tasks right through the app.

What about child labor laws?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets 14 as the minimum age for formal employment, but it makes exceptions for casual work like babysitting, minor chores for neighbors, or a kid running their own small venture like a lemonade stand or dog-walking. Most states follow the same approach, treating this kind of informal, neighbor-to-neighbor work differently from being hired by an actual business.

A handful of towns have rules about stands, sales, or door-to-door activity, so it doesn't hurt to check local regulations before setting up a lemonade stand or holding a yard sale. Beyond that, these jobs stay firmly in the realm of casual, family-supervised earning.

Help kids sharpen their money skills as they earn

Ten is an exciting age that brings so many dazzling opportunities to grow, learn, and even make money. Jobs for 10-year-olds can be fun and give them a sense of accomplishment. It can teach them skills they'll use through their lives but still be light enough to let them continue being a kid.

Greenlight gives you the tools to teach your kids money management skills. Through the app and with parental oversight, they can learn to budget, save, give, and invest their money while you monitor their activity. Chores and allowances are also a breeze with chore lists and payments right through the app.

Ready to teach your kids about earning and managing their money? Sign up for Greenlight today!

FAQ

What FLSA exceptions allow work under age 14?

The FLSA doesn't cover casual babysitting, minor chores for neighbors, delivering newspapers, performing in radio/TV/film, or working for a business solely owned by a parent. Kids under 14 can do these without running into federal restrictions.

Are agricultural jobs allowed for 10-year-olds in some cases?

Yes, 10- and 11-year-olds can hand-harvest short-season crops for up to 8 weeks a year if their employer has a special Department of Labor waiver. Kids of any age can work on a farm owned by their own parents.

Do state child labor laws add restrictions beyond federal rules?

Yes, states can set stricter age minimums, work-hour limits, or permit requirements than federal law, so it's worth checking local rules in addition to the FLSA baseline.

††Requires mobile data or a WiFi connection, and access to sensory and motion data from cell phone to utilize safety features including family location sharing and driving alerts and reports. Messaging and data rates and other terms may apply.

†The Greenlight Safe Family device, for Kids, Seniors, or Pets, requires the purchase of the device and a monthly data plan for connectivity. Existing Greenlight customers must be on Core, Max, Infinity or Family Shield plans to use the device. Device is not available for use with Select or Greenlight+Invest plans. See Terms for more details.