Rockton River Market: Kids Turn Hobbies Into Profits August 7

Are your kids obsessed with making friendship bracelets? Hosting lemonade stands? Turn their hobbies into cash this August in Rockton, Illinois.

When I think back to being a kid and wanting to earn a few extra bucks, I land on a memory of my friends and I creating some sort of dog's baby-sitting service.

Yes, this was in the Baby-Sitters Club era and we were modeling our business after Kristy, Mary Ann, Dawn and Claudia. I know we had a business model and flyers, but did we ever actually take care of pets and make money? I have no idea.

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Kids these days have more than Ann M. Martin guiding them in their first entrepreneurial attempts. No dig at Ann, those books has me reading at least two grade levels higher than I should've been, but they didn't help me earn cash.

In 2024 we have kids creating actual products and looking for a place to sell them in person and on August 7 they can do just that at the Rockton River Market.

You might have to loan your kids the $15 entry fee, but chances are they'll make that back in the few hours they're learning the art of selling their products IRL. (That means 'in real life,' if you're my age or older...)

There's no deadline to get your kids involved in the market, but there is a cap at 20 businesses, so get to it! You can request a spot here.

Erin Strum from Stateline Kids explained everything parents need to know about this event this week on Good Day Stateline.