Would you trust a 14 year old to mow your lawn?

[CMF]

What would a TUGer do?

A week or so ago a nice young man in an electric scooter thingy stopped by my house to solicit business - he mows lawns. He was very nice and gave me a card that included a picture of him mowing someone's lawn, his number and e-mail address. I was very impressed and remembered how unindustrious I was at his age. I sent him an e-mail and I am now set up for a weekly mowing.

Here come the second thoughts: What if the kid hurts himself on my property? There is a bit of a slope towards the back of the house and I am worried that the kid will slip and hurt himself. What if he runs his mower into the section of the gas pipe that is exposed? What if he mows over my satellite cable?

I tend to be somewhat risk adverse, but I believe that I can't see paranoid from where I stand. Would you trust a 14 year old to mow your lawn?


Charles

 

[Spence]

I would certainly have adequate homeowner insurance to cover problems, the worst being that he hurts himself or someone else with an object thrown from his mower. You might ask this industrious young (small business)man if he carries insurance. Tip him well, I was him once. I mowed neighbors yards at a much younger age than that with very steep inclines.

 

[JeffW]

...You might ask this industrious young (small business)man if he carries insurance...

You're kidding, right? Find me the 14yr old who even knows what insurance is.

It's sort of a shame, 15+ years ago, you could give a 'kid' $5-$10 to mow your lawn, or shovel your walkway. Now you have to be concerned about whether they have insurance in case they fall on your lawn or slip on your driveway.

Jeff

 

[Keitht]

There are mature and immature 14 year olds and there are mature and immature 24 year olds. Physical age is only one factor. I would certainly check to ensure that his parents are aware of his entrepreneurial activities before he starts.
That said, he is certainly deserving of encouragement.

 

[rickandcindy23]

In Colorado, it is illegal to operate gas-operated machinery if you are under 16 years old. You might check your state.

 

[CMF]

His mom drives him around.

From what he explained, he schedules a cluster of houses in a neighborhood for a day, then his mom drops him off with his lawn gear and picks him up when he is done. So yes, his parents are aware.

Spence: you pay him for mowing the lawn AND you tip him? He is not much cheaper than the big pro outfits as it is. I want to encourage him and I am impressed by him, but I would not want to pay him more than what your standard landscaping company would charge.

Charles

 

[ctreelmom]

Since he's not working for anyone else, I wouldn't tip him either. My daughter of that age babysits and she just gets her hourly wage. However, if you find he does a really good job, is courteous, shows up on time, etc. and you want to be sure he'll come back next year, you might give him a little something at the end of the season like a starbucks card, movie tickets, an iTunes card or something like that, just to drive home how much you appreciate his professionalism at such a young age. It might also be nice to offer a cold soda once in a while, too. I know as a mom, I'd appreciate it if someone extended that extra little kindness to my child.

 

[Spence]

Spence: you pay him for mowing the lawn AND you tip him? Charles

I didn't quite say I do that as I'm still doing my own at 50. I have become a better tipper in later years though.

 

[Spence]

You're kidding, right? Find me the 14yr old who even knows what insurance is.
It's sort of a shame, 15+ years ago, you could give a 'kid' $5-$10 to mow your lawn, or shovel your walkway. Now you have to be concerned about whether they have insurance in case they fall on your lawn or slip on your driveway.
Jeff

I didn't say that you should really care what the answer is, I carry my own insurance to cover little stuff like this on my property.

 

[geekette]

I was certainly younger than 14 when I inherited this chore in our big yard and I've made it many decades with no incidents. Only rule I was given was "wear shoes".

I would suggest you point out the yard hazards to him instead of letting him find them. But, even this is not foolproof. At our first house, hubby always managed to crack mower parts on a rock in the back yard that never moved.

trusting a 14 yo that's starting his own yard business? No problem whatsoever. I would think that your liability insurance would cover incidents, but why not ask him? If he's considering running a business, he should think about what happens if he's hurt and whose equipment he's using when the injury occurs.

 

[mjs]

My son is 16 and in his second year of mowing lawns in our development. I let him use my equipment at no cost, he purchases fuel,bags, etc on his own. He also does beds, spreads mulch etc. Business is booming, and he has learned much about owning his own business. He is at the point of turning down some work.
He makes 4-5 times what his friends make per hour, sets his own hours, I dont think he will ever work for anybody but himself in the future.

So, go ahead and give this kid a chance. If you dont like the job he does, dont have him do it again. What do you have to lose.
Hopefully this 14 yr old knows, that us guys like our mowing lines straight.

 

[teachingmyown]

I know some 14yo's whom I would trust with the task and others whom I wouldn't. Will it be feasible for someone to be at your house while he is there? That is the part that most concerns me. If his mom is "dropping him off" and there's no one home, who would get help if any of the things you are concerned about were to happen?

It also would make a difference to me what type equipment he would be using. Friends of ours allow their children to mow grass for hire but they use the non-motorized push mowers that are coming back into fashion. These appear to be much less dangerous than some of the big self-propelled equipment on the market.

I do hope it works out. I once had a young man in my class who had owned, operated and managed a thriving landscape business for several years. I believe he had grown it to the point where he had employees working for him and he was "only" a High School Senior at the time. He was very impressive, with great communication skills, interpersonal skills and self-confidence.

 

[CMF]

Maryland Law

I called the MD Department of Labor and they are faxing some material to me - they say it's not on the web. But the Maryland Code [not the model of clarity on this particular point] seems to say that I can not pay the kid to do my lawn. And that is also what the woman who is faxing the "fact sheet" to me said when I spoke with her on the phone. Thank you rickandcindy23 for nudging me into looking at the code.


Charles

 

[wackymother]

Charles, just a question--when you mention the "electric scooter thingy" in your original post, are you saying that the boy is handicapped and cannot walk? I'm just curious as to how he pushes the mower or if maybe he brings his own riding mower.

 

[CMF]

A picture is worth . . . .

Charles, just a question--when you mention the "electric scooter thingy" in your original post, are you saying that the boy is handicapped and cannot walk? I'm just curious as to how he pushes the mower or if maybe he brings his own riding mower.

He was riding this thingy.

Charles

 

[wackymother]

Ohhhhh. Got it.

Good luck getting your lawn mowed. We seem to have scared off yet another landscaper as our yard grows ever more similar to a tropical rain forest.

 

[camachinist]

But the Maryland Code [not the model of clarity on this particular point] seems to say that I can not pay the kid to do my lawn.

Sounds like "renting an exchange". I'm sure TUG'ers know how to handle such nuances

That from someone who was mowing lawns and repairing power equipment at 11 years old.... Guess I still have the same disrespect for government I always have

Edited to add that I'd have no problem with a adolescent doing the yards at any of our properties, as long as they did a good job. They'd be "compensated" adequately.

Pat

 

[AKE]

If you ask the government a question then you will almost always get an answer that "no, you cant do that... you can't pay him... you cant...etc .etc. Now all 3 of my boys moved a little old lady's lawn down the street starting 13 years ago when the oldest was 14 and the job just passed through the 'family'. Now my youngest is still doing it and the older ones fill in when he is not available... She used to pay them $20 for less than an hour's work (she set the rate... they tried to get her to make it less but she wouldn't budge) but once the youngest reached 20 I suggested that they do it for free (and the boys all agreed without hesitation). Also, every X-mas, they all chip in and buy her a pointsettia ... and they actually enjoy going to her house and dropping it off and she still knows all their names, etc etc ebven though she is close to 90 now.

 

[rickandcindy23]

It still goes back to the "what if he got hurt" question.

I know a kid who nearly cut off his foot with a lawn mower at his own house, with a mower he used every week. He was not paying attention and wore sandals instead of shoes to mow the lawn. It is a dangerous thing. The Flight for Life helicopter landed in front of our house!

Did we make our boys mow our lawn. Absolutely. Our daughter mowed her share too. Did I worry about the law? Not really. But paying a kid is different. The ingenuity is great, the kid is going to go far in life because he is willing to work for his money. That is a rare thing these days, unfortunately.

 

[Quimby4]

So nice to see a 14 yr old out trying to make money instead of sitting on his duff in front of the Nintendo or Playstation waiting for a handout from mom...

It is time to go back to investing in our youth if they are willing to put forth the effort. They need to learn what hard work is and the pay off. On our street, we are 1 of 2 houses that cut their own grass out of 17 homes, most with lots of kids. Our kids will be cutting the grass when they're big enough.

I used to wash neighbors cars, throw papers, mow lawns, watch pets, babysit etc. No free ride growing up for me in the 70's. I think I better stop here before I start getting into the details of the overindulged kids these days....

 

[Icarus]

Your first impression was "impressed". I would trust that first impression.

-David

 

[JLB]

Wow, how times have changed!!! The things we have to be concerned about now!!!!

I agree with Quimby

When I was 8-years-old I was mowing yards, shoveling that fun Iowa snow, pulling weeds, raising nighcrawlers for a list of clientele who took them to Minisoda to feed Walleyes and Northerns, raising and delivering fresh vegetables from my garden, going house-to-house collecting pop bottles and coat hangers for the dry cleaners, doing odd jobs, and had a paper route.

I got to my jobs riding my doodle-bug (little homemade motorcyle made using a reel-type lawnmower engine. If you were anything, you had one.)

There was pretty strong competition among us kids to get and keep customers. One kid could pretty much handle the odd jobs of three or four families, and we were happy to have them. None of us felt it was demeaning or subserviant.

I still found time to go to school and make good grades, serve on student council, play little league baseball, football, and basketball, and bowl in two bantam and junior leagues every Saturday morning in the winter. Oh yeah, I played the drums in band and orchestra, and had those lessons to take, from a real drum player who went to Drake.

[Of course, Bandaids came in a metal can, coffee cans really were (and had keys on the lid to open them), the only size Coke was those 6-ounce bottles and we were lucky when we could have one, and Koolaid was made in a colored aluminum pitcher and served in colored aluminum glasses that did funky things to your teeth when you drank.]

When I worked at the grocery store I remember calling home whenever pop went on sale--$.39 for a 6-pack--and Dad would come to the store with a metal bar about 5 feet long. We would string it through the handles in the six-packs and take about a dozen of them to the car.

No one questioned whether I was mature enough, or trustworthy, or carried adequate insurance.

Now some folks seem to insist on being in everyone else's business.

How sad.

 

[CMF]

You're hired!

Wow, how times have changed!!! The things we have to be concerned about now!!!!

I agree with Quimby

When I was 8-years-old I was mowing yards, shoveling that fun Iowa snow, pulling weeds, raising nighcrawlers for a list of clientele who took them to Minisoda to feed Walleyes and Northerns, raising and delivering fresh vegetables from my garden, going house-to-house collecting pop bottles and coat hangers for the dry cleaners, doing odd jobs, and had a paper route.

There was pretty strong competition among us kids to get and keep customers. One kid could pretty much handle the odd jobs of three or four families, and we were happy to have them. None of us felt it was demeaning or subserviant.

I still found time to go to school and make good grades, serve on student council, play little league baseball, football, and basketball, and bowl in two bantam and junior leagues every Saturday morning in the winter.

No one questioned whether I was mature enough, or trustworthy, or carried adequate insurance.

Now some folks seem to insist on being in everyone else's business.

How sad.

JLB, you can do my lawn anytime!

But I cut the kid loose.

Charles

 

[JLB]

I still am not stereo equipment but I would enjoy doing it.

Here at the lake, and at other retirement areas, it seems that we come full circle, back to the things we did as kids--mowing lawns working at the golf course or the amusement park or shows seating people and parking cars, to occupy our time and get us out and about (away from the home without an escort as I tell the folks at Wal*Mart). Or just hanging out and being a bully.

You know, the way we were as kids.

The other day after league play I went into the pro and thanked him for letting me work there. He was astounded that anyone would thank him for that. So I said no, I really mean it. I really enjoy being here, around all these nice and normal people for a change. I really needed this.

I think most of us do and we feel much better with a place to go to and belong to.

Then there's the money part. We all have to do something to gather it up in the first place, and then some of us have to do something to be able to keep it, to be able to do the expensive things we have grown accustomed to, in our case lakey things like boats and docks, maybe because we find out we have not gathered up enough of it or that we quit gathering it too soon.

Much of the same applies to kids, that they feel much better about themselves with responsibility, a place to go, the interaction with people in a grown-up way, and having their own money to spend.

Now, if we could get the OFs around us to behave in the same manner, at least as nicely as most 8-year-olds!

JBL, you can do my lawn anytime!

But I cut the kid loose.

Charles

 

[wackymother]

Last winter it snowed one day and I discovered our snow shovel had been stolen. I was using a push-broom to push the snow into the street, which was okay because it was pretty wet snow, so it was working, but it was slow.

On our street, guys go door to door with snow shovels looking for work. One of them came along with a shovel and said, basically, "Where is your snow shovel?" I said I thought it had been stolen but I was okay. He shook his head and said, "I'll help you." I said, "Thank you, that's very nice, but I have no money!" He said, "Don't worry, I just want to help."

It ended up that I went into the house and scrounged up $20 and brought it back to him--that was all I had in the house. He tried to turn it down and then, when I went back inside, he shoveled our walk, our driveway, and our car...and the next time it snowed, I was working upstairs and the kids were downstairs, and the dog was barking, and when I came down and asked why the dog was barking, the kids said, "Because a strange man came and shoveled all the snow and then left!"

Just wanted to share a story of a kind person. I wish he would come back and cut our grass!