Your Butt is Grass and I'm Gonna Mow It

The question for today is: How young is too young to have your kid mow the grass? And do you pay for it?

Joel started mowing our yard a few weeks ago. I was freaked out at first, but we gave him the safety talk, and I'm always outside to watch him while he's doing it in case there is any problem. He likes to do it before Daddy gets home to surprise him. It's AWESOME because ...

1. Aron has more free time to fix stuff, play with the kids, kiss me and maybe even relax a little bit.
2. Aron can be less stressed when activities and other stuff comes up because his yardwork has been done for him.
3. When Aron is out of town I don't have to pay someone $20 to mow our grass.
4. When Aron is out of town I don't have to try to keep the kids safe while I mow the grass myself to save money. I used to mow with my youngest in a sling but Sam is too big for that now, so I couldn't watch him in the front yard and mow at the same time these days.
5. Joel gets to make some money. He gets $5 for the front and $5 for the back. So he's making HUGE money and we are SAVING money. We are essentially SPAVING money (saving while spending).

How old is too young? I know someone who had their son mowing at age 8. I wasn't cool with it until now, and he's almost 11. I guess it depends on the kid. Joel's a little small for his age, and a neighbor walking by was looking at us funny.

And do you pay or is this just part of being in a family? I didn't think Aron would pay him, so when he offered him $10 to do both front and back, I was surprised and glad. When he starts mowing in the neighborhood we'll make him save half for his savings account.