Kids Ages 5 to 17 Run Their Own Booths at St. Louis-Area Markets

Jessica Cromer sold her first painting at age 4. Six years later, the 10-year-old runs Baby Jessica's Accessories Collection and sells squishies and slime — and she is not the youngest operator on the circuit.

Dozens of young entrepreneurs displayed their businesses at a recent Kids Markets event at Eckert's Farm in Belleville, held Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. Kids Markets is an international nonprofit initiative funded by grants and donations that teaches children the mechanics of running a business in real time. Every booth at the market is run entirely by kids ages 5 to 17, with hands-on instruction for all participants.

The program draws a hard line between parents and the business. "We tell the parents right from the beginning, 'Sit back, relax, hands off, and let your kids run the show,'" said Alyssa Becker, the St. Charles-area market coordinator of Kids Markets.

Becker said the results speak for themselves. "[I see] how hard these kids work and what they can create when they're given the freedom to do it," she said. "[I see] ideas spark, the confidence, and the light in the eyes of these kids when I have conversations with them about what they're making and how they came up with their ideas."

The product range is broad: slime, jewelry, baked goods and a sustainable firestarter. Lydia Eckelkamp, 13, and her 12-year-old brother Noah run Fantastic Fire. The siblings spotted expensive firestarters on the market and built an affordable version from recyclable materials at home.

"We take egg cartoons, fill them up with sawdust, shredded paper, dryer lint, and then top it off with old candlewax," Lydia said.

The pair have since expanded into s'mores kits. Noah said running the business has taught him skills school has not.

"[Like] how to do taxes," he said. "How to get people's attention. How to run a business. How to stay on task. School can teach you that, but this definitely secures it and locks it."

Their mother, Kate Eckelkamp, said she is proud of what they have built on their own. "It shows a lot of their work ethic," she said. "I love to see them interacting with people and learning and understanding how business works, and I feel like they're way more advanced at this age than I was."

3D-printed products were a hot commodity at this market. Dalton Fann, 14, filled his Fizzy 3D Printz booth with dozens of colorful printed reptiles, dragons and gigantic dinosaurs.

"I think it's fun," he said. "I like how I can print stuff and then make money from it so I can print more stuff."

Ten-year-old Carlie Payne runs TuTu Cute Prints, an offshoot of her parents' business, from a hot pink booth where customers design custom 3D-printed fidget clickers. "You get to create your name, colors, [and] just some stuff," Carlie said. "It's really cool to be here and making some money, because I need chang-chang."

Carlie is a Barbie collector. She brought some of the dolls to the market and said part of her profits will go toward the growing collection.

For many participants, entrepreneurship runs in the family. The elder Jessica Cromer — the 10-year-old's mother and namesake — runs a clothing boutique and, as a homeschooling parent, said she instilled the value of entrepreneurship in both her children early.

"They can get the reward for their efforts and they can go through the process, and sometimes see that as an entrepreneur it's taking a risk," she said. "You don't always get the reward for your effort, but when you do get it, it's usually really great to see and feel that whatever you contributed you're getting a reward for it."

Community support has been part of the payoff. Mim Goree came to buy from her colleague's granddaughter and left with a bag full of goods from other booths.

"To let them know that they're seen and they matter," Goree said of why she shows up. "It makes a difference. They're taking their time out to do something positive. So why not show up as an adult and let them know they mean something and we care. This is our future. We're going to be buying from them in the future. So why not support them now."

Jessica, for her part, values the creative control her business gives her. "The thing I like the most about [painting] is you can have creative freedom, and you don't have to do a certain thing," she said.

Kids Markets events are scheduled across the region through the rest of the year, with the next market set for Oct. 3 in St. Peters — a pipeline of young operators getting their first taste of pricing, selling and, in Noah's case, taxes.