Guest guest Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 My 10 year old, who has been mildly interested in the whole lighting adventure thus far, has been doing all she can to earn extra allowance...So yesterday she kiddingly mentioned "maybe there is some Christmas light stuff I can do to earn extra money..."...Guess who will be winding arch segments this weekend?...:DSo whats a fair price for a nicely-wound arch segment? A dollar? 2 dollars? More? Less? (who's thinking "geez Don, you're cheap", versus "call me, i'd wrap arch segments for a buck per segment all day long"...?...)I've got something like 21 to do, so even at a buck a segment, its pretty good money for a 10 year old.And, as I see it...if the lighting bug bites her how, the value long-term is priceless...:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Minimum wage? :shock:It depends on how much it's worth to you. :] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I'm not even sure what minimum wage IS these days.Somehow I see myself financing another of her Lego or clothing shopping sprees...she'll double whatever I offer, and I always get "outsmarted" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Is that a "Captain Obvious" statement? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberson Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I'd never pay our kids minimum wage (by the hour). LOL I know how they 'work'. I could see one segment costing me $5.00 to get installed.:shock:If I were doing it I would have to do it like you mention by the "nicely-wound arch segment". I think a dollar or 2 per segment should be plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUTTHEMUSIC Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 When I was a kid my dad would pay a few dollars an hour as long as I was working hard. He made sure to remind me that money wasn't free and I didn't get paid for standing around. That said, now that I am a father I think I'll pay my kids just for taking an interest in something I have interest in. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shfr26 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 How about you give her a percentage of what you spent on your display this year?Never mind, I seem to remember you saying how much you are redoing this year. I guess it all boils down to, how much is quality time with your daughter doing Christmas light stuff is worth to you?:D I will never let my kids see this post because I tell them, If you eat here, you help me work. Actually I think a buck or two per section is good, just make sure she doesn't talk you into more arches to make a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 DonFL wrote: And, as I see it...if the lighting bug bites her now, the value long-term is priceless...:cool:Way to break her in with the dreaded arch wrapping task! She may start to hate you, need therapy for years to recover, and might even stop celebrating Christmas altogether for years to come due to the abuse her father caused her. :shock: And when she has her own kids she will frequently tell them stories about how grandpa used to make her wrap tens of thousands of energy-wasting, radiation-emitting, seizure-causing blinky lights around cancer-causing PVC pipe during the recession of 2011---all for a buck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Surfing4Dough wrote:DonFL wrote: And, as I see it...if the lighting bug bites her now, the value long-term is priceless...:cool:Way to break her in with the dreaded arch wrapping task! She may start to hate you I am with surfing on this one. Everyone around here b!^@#3s about wrapping arches. If that is her first experience with helping Dad decorate is wrapping those dreaded things, instead of the lightning bug biting her..... lightning may completely zap her interest in this hobby forever.You need to outsmart her by starting her off with a 'fun' task to get her hooked. Then gradually work up to dreaded tasks like arch wrapping. At that point, she will be so addicted to the money that she won't notice the agony she has to go through to get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKSedg Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 shfr26 wrote: I will never let my kids see this post because I tell them, If you eat here, you help me work.This is basically what I used to tell my kids; however, for special projects I would pay them a little. This is probably a special project, so a few dollars wouldn't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 LORi P wrote: Surfing4Dough wrote:Way to break her in with the dreaded arch wrapping task! She may start to hate you I am with surfing on this one. Everyone around here b!^@#3s about wrapping arches. If that is her first experience with helping Dad decorate is wrapping those dreaded things, instead of the lightning bug biting her..... lightning may completely zap her interest in this hobby forever.You need to outsmart her by starting her off with a 'fun' task to get her hooked. Then gradually work up to dreaded tasks like arch wrapping. At that point, she will be so addicted to the money that she won't notice the agony she has to go through to get it. I agree with both statements above, wrapping arches is not easy you might have to rewrap them all your self, give her some thing real easy to do you will be amazed at how she will help you out when you really need it, and as to paying her only you have the answer to that quality time with your daughter priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug petschke Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I thought i saw a guy write a thing on how he does his segments..... first he hooks the thingymabob up to the doohicki stretches it out pulls the trigger n wraps em up No seriously estimate how many you can do in an hour then half that. this how many you should expect per hour from her then figure minimum wage at least to be fair explain how you determined the pay to herthen if she makes half of what you can do in less then an hour she is actually making more then minimum wage!She'll eat that upMy kids did LOL:shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shfr26 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Well I know Donfl is doing the sleeve method. I can do a sleeve in about ten minutes at the most, so 21 sleeves would take about 3-4 hours, give or take, a buck a sleeve,$21.00, or about $5.25 hour. Pay by the hour, work goes slow, pay by the sleeve, get it done faster. Just my opinion. Give her $20 or so and have a good time doing it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitusCarnathan Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Lets not forget the cancer causing lights because of the prop 65 warning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 So with all the great suggestions (well, ok, mostly all great suggestions..), I figured an update was due.Arches didn't work out so well...small hands makes it one of those tasks where it will just be easier for me to do them myself.But all is not lost...I now have working with me an official "mini-tree ty-rapper and tester", who does the ty-raps on the minis, and then evaluates the tree to make sure she is happy with the tree and how it looks, all lights are lit, no gaps, etc.We agreed on 2 bucks per tree...(no bonus or stock options offered at this time).And, I swear this is true, and I was worried for a minute that my wife would fall off her chair laughing hysterically...after we agreed on 2 bucks per tree, and she completed the first tree, she actually said "can I have a raise?..."...I have to say, as nutty as I have been with crazy work hours and the pressure of a major project deadline, being wayyyyy behind on Christmas stuff, and just overall "there isn't enough time to get it all done unless I give up sleeping", the whole adventure of finding her something cool (in her eyes..), and helpful (for me..) to do, made my day...:cool::cool::cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKSedg Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Sounds like a win-win, as you wanted. Give her a bonus for the good work, after they are all completed.By the way, I would want more than $2 each---she deserves a raise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 CKSedg wrote: Sounds like a win-win, as you wanted. Give her a bonus for the good work, after they are all completed.By the way, I would want more than $2 each---she deserves a raise!I would stick with the $2 each and blame it on the economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 DonFL wrote:.... the whole adventure of finding her something cool (in her eyes..), and helpful (for me..) to do, made my day...:cool::cool::cool:I'm glad it is working out! Thanks for the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 DonFL wrote: So with all the great suggestions (well, ok, mostly all great suggestions..), I figured an update was due.Arches didn't work out so well...small hands makes it one of those tasks where it will just be easier for me to do them myself.But all is not lost...I now have working with me an official "mini-tree ty-rapper and tester", who does the ty-raps on the minis, and then evaluates the tree to make sure she is happy with the tree and how it looks, all lights are lit, no gaps, etc.We agreed on 2 bucks per tree...(no bonus or stock options offered at this time).And, I swear this is true, and I was worried for a minute that my wife would fall off her chair laughing hysterically...after we agreed on 2 bucks per tree, and she completed the first tree, she actually said "can I have a raise?..."...I have to say, as nutty as I have been with crazy work hours and the pressure of a major project deadline, being wayyyyy behind on Christmas stuff, and just overall "there isn't enough time to get it all done unless I give up sleeping", the whole adventure of finding her something cool (in her eyes..), and helpful (for me..) to do, made my day...:cool::cool::cool:Sounds like she's worth it LOL glad its working out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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