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Woman Tells Parents On LinkedIn Their Kids Should 'Get A Job' To 'Earn Their Keep' From The Age Of 10

Photo: Ami Parikh / wong yu liang / Shutterstock
boy watering plants, family saving coins

With hustle culture being advertised as the sole way to get ahead in the world, it’s becoming more and more difficult for kids to stay sheltered these days.

By the time kids can understand language the pressure to perform is on and the time to simply be a child is becoming more and more limited. But those concerns did nothing to stop one woman from making some stunning suggestions about how kids contribute.

An admittedly childless woman by the name of Jennifer Welsh recently posted about her thoughts on when children should join the workforce and how they should spend their earnings. That post has since been shared on the r/LinkedInLunatics subreddit.

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In a viral LinkedIn post, the working woman suggests kids as young as 10 should be working.

Right off the bat, Welsh shares that if she did have children, they would be working by the age of 10 so they could ‘earn their keep.’

The woman did clarify that the money her kids earned from working would go toward a Roth IRA, a pre-tax retirement account that her kids can access when they are 59½ years old.

What starting seemingly as a ‘joke’ quickly morphed into Welsh dishing out advice to parents on the ins and outs of retirement contributions for children. She advised that the kids could contribute $6,500 annually of the income they earn to a Roth IRA.

Photo: Reddit

Welsh also warned parents about making sure the income was 'legit' and wasn't an allowance for doing normal household chores.

She went on to suggest that kids do odd jobs like pet sitting, washing cars, and mowing lawns to generate enough money to fund their retirement accounts and that they should keep ‘employment’ records related to all of the jobs they had done.

The feedback from Redditors was mixed with some upset that the woman was expressing her ‘capitalist’ beliefs and ‘selling her soul’ for attention. Others thought paying your kids to work and dumping the money into a pre-tax retirement account was a savvy tax loophole, though they questioned the legality.

Many people were uncertain that a 10-year-old could have a legitimate job or legally make contributions into a retirement account.

The idea that kids can start saving for retirement before they even hit their teens might not be so bad after all. It is totally possible for a minor to have a Roth IRA for Kids opened on their behalf and contribute earned income.

The minor’s retirement account would remain under the control of a parent or guardian until they reach the age of 18 or 21 years, depending on the laws governing the state they live in. The key is, the contributions can only come from earned income your child has received.

One thing to be aware of is that many people that reach their expected retirement age find that the money they have saved is not enough. Inflation, taxes, fees, and costs can eat into the savings, leaving people who have worked hard their entire lives living paycheck to paycheck.

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The best way to ensure your kids have enough money to live a good life when they retire, is to create multiple streams of income and pass them down.

Those might include investments, real estate, family businesses, royalties, or intellectual property. But most importantly, teach them how to manage, keep, and grow the money they have. Families who pass down generational wealth give their descendants a head start in life.

Another consideration when thinking about sending your kids to work. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) dictates pay, hours, and safety for minors on the job. It also sets a minimum age requirement of 14 for kids wishing to make a living.

There are also many requirements and rules that have been put in place to ensure kids are working in safe environments and not getting overworked. So, it’s important that any parent who wants to follow Welsh’s guidance know the child labor laws in their state and be aware of the risk. But for most parents, our kids are already growing up much faster than we ever imagined they would. We want to give them the time and space to just be a kid.

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NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.