“then I earned money helping the neighbors.”
If you hire a kid for cash to help you and he gets hurt you’ll be sued for everything you own. When he wins that the state will step in and charge you with labor law violations. You can lose everything you have by hiring somebody with no insurance. (That’s the law around here.)
This is exactly why I won’t hire the kids from the local college that my wife says are looking desperately for any income. I need the help to clear the property and put up a couple of buildings. But I just can’t take the legal risk.