Hiring Your Own Teen Child to Work?
 

Has anyone done this? Are there any reasons I should/shouldn't consider it. I don't want a giant red flag with the IRS.

I am legally unlicensed, my dd is 16 and since I can't drive her anywhere during the day to get to a job I was thinking of maybe using her a few hours a day as my assistant.

I have a family (teachers) who wants to switch dcb to part time for summer but another who wants their spot so I was thinking if my daughter was my assistant I could still take the teacher's child and basically have my daughter work the hours he's here (only 4 hrs/day 2 days a week).

Is this a good idea or no? I've never had any type of assistant before so no clue how it all works.

Originally Posted by Crazy8:
Has anyone done this? Are there any reasons I should/shouldn't consider it. I don't want a giant red flag with the IRS.

I am legally unlicensed, my dd is 16 and since I can't drive her anywhere during the day to get to a job I was thinking of maybe using her a few hours a day as my assistant.

I have a family (teachers) who wants to switch dcb to part time for summer but another who wants their spot so I was thinking if my daughter was my assistant I could still take the teacher's child and basically have my daughter work the hours he's here (only 4 hrs/day 2 days a week).

Is this a good idea or no? I've never had any type of assistant before so no clue how it all works.

My dd worked for me, and I was registered then went to being license exempt - no matter what, you still have to stay in licensed exempt ratios for your state even with a helper... 8 hrs seems like so little, but if something happens even in one of those few hrs, you could lose everything for being over the limit... And yes, when you pay anyone as a helper it must be at least minimum wage, plus you take out taxes etc etc.

I would check with licensing to see what the rules are. I have pretty clear cut rules for a 'helper' that is under 18. I can't leave them alone with the kids and they aren't even allowed to pick up a child or change them, etc. There are also training requirements as well.

Ugh, sorry, read your post and realized you are unlicensed!

I would definitely consider the ages you are caring for and the threshold of stress you son can handle. I wouldn't leave him alone with the kids just for liability reasons. And be aware of the fact that teenagers don't manage stress as well as adults and can act out even if they don't mean to. Also, is it something your child wants to do? I would consider that.

Check out Tom's article on this topic. http://tomcopelandblog.com/how-to-hi...n-under-age-18

I am so glad you posted this! I have been having my neighbor's dd come down to do some chores for me for childcare and I wasn't even thinking deduction! I use to deduct my kids....
It is amazing what an extra set of hands can get done!

If there are too many restrictions for her to do care as a helper maybe she would be interested in doing clean-up, dishes, floors, etc. That wouldn't help with you having an extra child, but could give her a job.

Just be sure to stay within your ratio. Having the helper likely won't change the number you are allowed.

She would be my assistant, never left alone with the kids. I can't figure out if my numbers are allowed to change when I have an assistant. What's really the point of having an assistant if it doesn't mean you can take more kids??? :confused:

Originally Posted by Thriftylady:
Just be sure to stay within your ratio. Having the helper likely won't change the number you are allowed.

Originally Posted by Crazy8:
She would be my assistant, never left alone with the kids. I can't figure out if my numbers are allowed to change when I have an assistant. What's really the point of having an assistant if it doesn't mean you can take more kids??? :confused:

Having a helper in my state does allow you to have more kids than you could have if you worked alone.

I'd check the links on the front page of this site and see if a helper affects your ratios.

Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Having a helper in my state does allow you to have more kids than you could have if you worked alone.

I'd check the links on the front page of this site and see if a helper affects your ratios.

Thanks, I am re-reading my manual (even though I am no longer registered I still have it) and it has always been confusingly worded - I THINK what it is saying is I can only have the 3 additional kids if they reside with the assistant. I was thinking I could have 3 additional as long as I HAVE an assistant. We can only have 5 kids on our own, not like I'd need an assistant for that so I really was thinking having an assistant meant you can have the 3 additional kids.

Also in thinking about it I'd probably have to pay my daughter more than I'd be making for having this one child come for the summer. My daughter loves the kids and always helps out and plays with them anyway but I thought it would be a good way for her to earn an income to do it officially.

My 16-year-old works for me a couple hours each day, I pay $10 per hour. Under licensing rules he is allowed to work as a staff member but cannot be alone with the children until he is 18. Also, because he is not 18 I am not allowed to increase my enrollment. In my state the rules say that in order to increase enrollment the assistant must be 18.