3 ms·

Meh. I don't really want to drink potentially contaminated, lukewarm fluids served up by a child at the side of the road. I'm reminded of the horror story of

Meh. I don't really want to drink potentially contaminated, lukewarm fluids served up by a child at the side of the road. I'm reminded of the horror story of a coworker's husband who bought a coconut cream pie from a roadside vendor in the Philippines... A kid will learn much more by doing odd jobs for older people in the neighborhood. Mowing, yard raking, hedge trimming, window cleaning. The only thing you learn at a lemonade stand is that being cute earns handouts, and very basic change-making. That said, local licensing and business registration needs a special < 18 category. Oregon, for example, has a minimum incorporation fee of, I think, $250. It should be $40 or $20 if you're under 18.

shabble 15y ago
Then...don't? If you were genuinely concerned, you could always ask them how they made it, and if anything seemed fishy (improper cleaning, ingredient prep, etc) you can always walk away. The existence of the stall isn't in itself a hazard, and in the majority of cases, there won't be any problems at all. The problem is in the 0.1% of cases where someone didn't wash their lemons, or has been snacking on peanuts near an open container or something similar, and there's a major incident. Risk/benefit analysis suggests you should avoid it and go grab a coke instead, but there's nothing stopping you picking up a cup of lemonade and tipping it down the drain if you wanted to encourage some neighbours children to pursue their business ideas. I agree that there's less to learn, but also there's much lower risk to the children (gardening work will often involve pointy things and/or power tools), and it could well be a good place to start. I'm not sure how the licensing issue could be dealt with, since AFAIK a minor can't enter into the majority of contracts that might be necessary to obtain permits/handle licences.
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  If you were genuinely concerned, you could always ask them how they made it, and if anything seemed fishy The number of cases of food poisoning in the US food service industry each year leads me to believe that it's not so easy to detect contaminated food sources. And yes, you can buy a cup and throw it out, but we're really back to asking what lesson you're teaching. I maintain you're teaching "be cute, get handouts, ignore costs" early with a lemonade stand.
fr0sty 15y ago
I'm certain that there are similar legal questions surrounding children doing manual labor. I guarantee you someone would have a fit if they caught an 11 year old cleaning windows. The only difference is that someone in a chair with a sign is a really easy target.
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  I guarantee you someone would have a fit if they caught an 11 year old cleaning windows. That's pure, baseless FUD. I did plenty of side work cleaning windows, mirrors, sweeping garages, and various other tasks that the elderly people on my paper route didn't feel comfortable doing. Contrary to the ridiculous rumors I've seen floated on this site's comments, it's not an employer/employee relationship.
bzbarsky 15y ago
If you read the article, it's talking about a lemonade stand run by a 4-year-old. Learning basic change-making is about the right thing at that age. Mowing, yard work, window cleaning are all still years away from being feasible.

shabble 15y ago

Then...don't? If you were genuinely concerned, you could always ask them how they made it, and if anything seemed fishy (improper cleaning, ingredient prep, etc) you can always walk away. The existence of the stall isn't in itself a hazard, and in the majority of cases, there won't be any problems at all. The problem is in the 0.1% of cases where someone didn't wash their lemons, or has been snacking on peanuts near an open container or something similar, and there's a major incident. Risk/benefit analysis suggests you should avoid it and go grab a coke instead, but there's nothing stopping you picking up a cup of lemonade and tipping it down the drain if you wanted to encourage some neighbours children to pursue their business ideas. I agree that there's less to learn, but also there's much lower risk to the children (gardening work will often involve pointy things and/or power tools), and it could well be a good place to start. I'm not sure how the licensing issue could be dealt with, since AFAIK a minor can't enter into the majority of contracts that might be necessary to obtain permits/handle licences.

georgieporgie 15y ago
If you were genuinely concerned, you could always ask them how they made it, and if anything seemed fishy The number of cases of food poisoning in the US food service industry each year leads me to believe that it's not so easy to detect contaminated food sources. And yes, you can buy a cup and throw it out, but we're really back to asking what lesson you're teaching. I maintain you're teaching "be cute, get handouts, ignore costs" early with a lemonade stand.

fr0sty 15y ago

I'm certain that there are similar legal questions surrounding children doing manual labor. I guarantee you someone would have a fit if they caught an 11 year old cleaning windows. The only difference is that someone in a chair with a sign is a really easy target.

georgieporgie 15y ago
I guarantee you someone would have a fit if they caught an 11 year old cleaning windows. That's pure, baseless FUD. I did plenty of side work cleaning windows, mirrors, sweeping garages, and various other tasks that the elderly people on my paper route didn't feel comfortable doing. Contrary to the ridiculous rumors I've seen floated on this site's comments, it's not an employer/employee relationship.

bzbarsky 15y ago

If you read the article, it's talking about a lemonade stand run by a 4-year-old. Learning basic change-making is about the right thing at that age. Mowing, yard work, window cleaning are all still years away from being feasible.