Reviewed by the Penny Time editorial team
Part of our Earning hub.
Jobs for 12 Year Olds: What Pays and What Is Legal
A 12-year-old can't work at a store or restaurant yet, because federal law sets 14 as the minimum age for most jobs. But they can legally pet sit, walk dogs, do yard work, help a parent at home with little kids, and start babysitting for families you know. Babysitting pays the most: the average teen sitter earns $11.79 an hour (Payscale, 2026), and a new 12-year-old starts nearer $8.
TL;DR: At 12, the money comes from neighbors and family, not payroll. Expect $5 to $10 per dog walk or pet visit, $8 to $10 an hour for early babysitting, and per-job prices for yard work. A steady week earns about $20 to $45, a busy summer week $60 or more.
What jobs can a 12-year-old legally do?
The federal child labor law is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It keeps kids under 14 out of most non-farm jobs. Some work falls outside it at any age. The US Department of Labor names delivering newspapers, acting, working in a business owned entirely by a parent, and "minor chores around private homes or casual baby-sitting."
Farm work has its own rule, and 12 is the age it starts. A 12- or 13-year-old can work on a farm outside school hours if a parent consents in writing or works on the same farm (29 U.S.C. 213(c)(1)). Hazardous farm tasks are still off limits.
States can add stricter rules. Where state and federal law differ, the stricter one applies, so check your state labor department before your kid takes anything beyond neighbor jobs.
Jobs for 12 year olds that pay: rates at a glance
These are the jobs most 12-year-olds actually do, with a fair kid rate and where the number comes from.
| Job | Typical pay at 12 | Legal at 12? | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babysitting, short daytime jobs | $8 to $10 an hour (typical range) | Yes, exempt at any age | Payscale teen sitter average $11.79, bottom 10% at $7.96 |
| Mother's helper (a parent stays home) | Less than a babysitting rate | Yes | Less responsibility than solo sitting |
| Dog walking | $5 to $10 a walk (typical range) | Yes, informal neighbor work | Care.com: dog walkers start at $16.43 an hour on average |
| Pet feeding and plant watering visits | $5 to $10 a visit (typical range) | Yes, informal neighbor work | Same Care.com rates, shorter visits |
| Raking, weeding, shoveling | Per job, at least $7.25 x hours | Yes; an adult supervises power tools | Federal minimum wage as a fair floor |
| Extra paid jobs at home | $2 to $5 a job | Yes | Our chore price chart for ages 11 to 14 |
| Parent's business | Set by the parent | Yes, if not hazardous | US DOL |
| Farm work | Varies | Yes, with parent consent, outside school hours | 29 U.S.C. 213(c)(1) |
| Store, restaurant, fast food | Not yet | No, most open at 14 | US DOL |
"Typical range" rows are our estimate for a 12-year-old, set below the adult and teen rates cited. Kids charge less than pros, and rates swing a lot by city.
What a 12-year-old can earn in a week
Here is how those rates add up over three realistic weeks.
| Kind of week | What they do | Weekly total |
|---|---|---|
| Home only | 3 extra jobs at home at $2 to $5 | $6 to $15 |
| Steady school week | 3 home jobs, plus 3 dog walks at $5 to $10 | $21 to $45 |
| Busy summer week | One 3-hour sitting job at $8 to $10, 5 pet visits at $5 to $10, one 2-hour yard job at the $7.25 floor | About $64 to $95 |
A busy summer can put close to $100 a week in your kid's hands, so agree how much goes to savings before the first payday.
Pet sitting and dog walking
For most 12-year-olds this is the best first job, because the work repeats and stays close to home. One neighbor who wants a daily walk can mean five paid walks a week. Adult dog walkers on Care.com start at $16.43 an hour on average, so a 12-year-old at $5 to $10 a walk can pitch themselves as the cheaper option.
Start with families you already know and dogs your kid can handle on a leash. Big or reactive dogs can wait a year or two.
Babysitting and mother's helper jobs at 12
Twelve is a common age to start. The Red Cross builds its in-person Babysitter's Training course for ages 11 to 16, and its online Babysitting Basics course for ages 11 and older. A course teaches basic safety and care, and it gives your kid a reason to ask for a better rate. See our guide to babysitting for 12 and 13 year olds for a readiness checklist by age.
Most 12-year-olds begin as a mother's helper: they play with the kids while a parent works from home or cooks dinner. Next come short daytime jobs alone, then evenings. Payscale's teen range runs from $7.96 to $19.77 an hour, so a new sitter starts low and moves up. To get a fair hourly rate your kid can quote with confidence, try our free babysitting rate calculator. It adjusts for age, experience and the number of kids.
Yard work and seasonal jobs
Yard work follows the seasons: raking in fall, shoveling in winter, weeding and watering in summer. Price it per job, not per hour. Help your kid guess how long it will take, then use the $7.25 federal minimum wage as a floor: a two-hour leaf job is worth at least $14.50, so call it $15.
Rakes, shovels and hand tools are fine. Mowers and trimmers need an adult's OK and an adult nearby.
Paid jobs at home
If your kid isn't ready to work for neighbors yet, start at home. Bigger jobs at home, like washing the car, mowing your own lawn or cooking a simple dinner, can pay $2 to $5 each. Keep everyday family jobs unpaid and pay only for the extras. Our chore chart with prices lists what each job is worth by age.
Safety rules before the first job
- Only work for families you or another trusted adult already know. No strangers' homes, and no jobs found through public online posts.
- You know the address, the hours and the client's phone number before your kid leaves.
- Your kid has a charged phone and texts you on arrival and when leaving.
- The price and the payday are agreed before the work starts.
- No power tools, ladders or pools without an adult there.
What changes at 13 and 14
Not much changes at 13. The legal rules are the same as at 12, but most kids can take on more solo babysitting and more clients. At 14, regular jobs open up. Federal rules cap 14- and 15-year-olds at 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Our guide to jobs for 14 year olds covers that step. For younger kids, see jobs for 11 year olds and jobs for 10 year olds.
Turn the first earnings into a money lesson
The first real money your kid earns is the easiest time to start saving. Agree a split before the first payday, like half to savings and half to spend. Then let them spend their half how they like, even on things you'd skip. A $15 mistake at 12 costs far less than a paycheck mistake at 17.
If you also pay an allowance, decide now whether it stays the same. Our middle school allowance guide has the numbers by grade.
Penny Time is a free app built for this age. Your child sees their own balance and takes on money quests on their own phone or tablet. You set an automatic allowance and can add what they earn from a job, with a note, so the money they worked for shows up next to the rest.
Educational only, not legal advice. Child labor rules vary by state; check your state labor department for the rules where you live.
Sources
- US DOL Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions for Nonagricultural Occupations
- US DOL: State Child Labor Laws
- 29 U.S.C. 213(c)(1): agricultural employment of 12- and 13-year-olds
- US DOL: Federal minimum wage ($7.25)
- Payscale: Teenage Babysitter Hourly Pay (updated February 2026)
- Care.com: How much does a dog walker cost (updated February 2026)
- American Red Cross: Babysitting and Child Care Training, ages 11-16
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Not a regular job at a store, restaurant or office. Federal law sets 14 as the minimum age for most non-farm work. A 12-year-old can still legally babysit, do odd jobs around private homes, deliver newspapers, act or perform, work in a business their parent owns, and do some farm work with a parent's consent. Your state can be stricter.
-
The common ones are pet sitting, dog walking, yard work, mother's helper shifts, short babysitting jobs for families you know, extra paid jobs at home, and selling crafts or outgrown things with a parent's help. All of these fall outside the federal child labor rules for under-14s.
-
Payscale puts the average teen babysitter at $11.79 an hour, with the bottom 10% near $7.96. A brand-new 12-year-old usually starts near that low end, around $8 to $10 an hour. For dog walks and pet visits, $5 to $10 each is a fair kid rate. For yard jobs, use the $7.25 federal minimum wage times the hours as a floor.
-
Yes. Babysitting is exempt from federal child labor rules at any age, and the Red Cross in-person Babysitter's Training course is built for ages 11 to 16. Most 12-year-olds start as a mother's helper or with short daytime jobs for a family they know, then move to solo evenings as they gain experience.
-
Pet sitting and plant watering for families on vacation, regular dog walks, mother's helper shifts for parents working from home, and yard work. Summer is when neighbor demand peaks, so two or three regular clients can add up to $60 or more in a busy week.
-
Most platforms that pay people set a minimum age in their terms, so read them with your kid first. Safer options are selling crafts through a parent's account or paid tech help for relatives, with you handling any payments.
Raise kids who understand how money works
Download the app, add your child, and connect their phone or tablet by scanning a code. About a minute, no email needed for kids.
How setup works for you and your child →
No ads. No data selling. No credit card.
Put this into practice this week
Add your child in Penny Time and, on their own phone or tablet, they can watch a real balance grow, take on quests, and ask for cash-outs you approve. Free for the whole family.