How Young is too young

A.W.Stovall

Well-Known Member
My kids in the shop with me Alaina 3 Lucas 6 Alaina practicing safety
 

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Thats how my friend Len lost three fingers to a table saw. Kids should never be in a shop as far as im concerned until they are old enough to run a table saw . THat would be about 12 years old. The reason is that they will be less likely to distract you while doing something. My friend was distracted by his 3 year old boy that had come into his shop and was grabbing dads tools .Len looked away from the table saw to scold his son and tell him to leave things alone that could hurt him when his middle and next and pinky finger went through the table saw . I have a rule when someone comes in my shop I stop working till all the questions are done being asked. Then I know I wont be distracted. kellyw ps forgot to mention great looking kids AW
 
Cute kids. I don't think I would want children in my shop while I was actually working. Aside from the potential safety hazard hellpgap mentioned. I think about how much of the stuff is bad for our lungs. A kid isn't going to have a respirator that would fit their face correct at a young age so it's likely doing them no good to have one on. I like the idea of getting them involved but not sure what's the best way to go about it.
 
Don't know how the laws are in your state, however, I got fined 4K for having a 15 year old in my shop. He turned 16 the next week, but they did not care. Children and working equipment is a no go. Your insurance company would probably cancel you out if they found out they were in there.

Just my experience and opinion,
Cute children BTW,
Jim
 
Don't know how the laws are in your state, however, I got fined 4K for having a 15 year old in my shop. He turned 16 the next week, but they did not care.

By "They" Im assuming you mean gov.co . That really burns my arse... where do they get off? If the parents allowed it its none of their business. Anyway, Ill shut up about that since I know I have to :p. I agree with the previous posts. I have a 13 year old brother and hold reservations about letting him come over to my place and work on his first, it will happen this year but he will be watched very closely. Good looking kids though, I have a 2 yr old and one on the way, nothing like it.
 
I wasnt working they are not allowed in the shop, I went in to get something and they were looking at the knives so I took their pic,
Anthony
 
Cute kids!!
Better to teach them instead of them getting into trouble on there own. My kids listen to what I teach/tell or their banned. Simple.
 
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I let my children in my garage/shop when they seemed curious about what was going on in there.
!Not while I was working!
My children were very curious and an instructional tour
satisfied the "forbidden fruit" aspect. We hammered and sawed bird houses
made them cars, wooden armour all while teaching them safety issues. None
of my boys were interested in the loud, noisey power equipment till they were teens. I may be off kilter but I think a shop is a great place for children! Power
tools on the other hand a different animal all together
 
I agree with Tom, work on a craft project with them if you can keep there interest. Unfortunately my child is only 16 months old. When he is old enough I plan to do exactly what Tom suggests and take time to show shop safety with hand tools.
Chris
 
It was really a thread to show off my kids I would never let them in while I'm running power tools, too noisy , and I do not want them breathing metal or wood dust, I'm 40 and my how things have changed my son doesnt have a knife yet but I had a .22 rifle at age 8 and acess to a shotgun by 10 , used use power tools to build stuff, heck me and my freind used to ride bikes 8 miles away to another friends house when we were 10 My parents would probably goto jail today . All that and I have never shot anyone, been arrested, or did drugs , mainly cause I knew what would happen when Dad got home Guess they were not so bad afterall . Anthony
 
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AW I had a 22 single shot when I was 8 and went out hunting when i was 10 by my self. 40 years ago things were way different . I use to ride my bike to the edge of town and hunt gophers till near dark every day in the summer.
 
When I read this I did not think you had them in the shop while you were working.I also think it is great that you are spending time with your kids,and teaching them.The good ole USA would be a lot different and a lot better place if more kids had someone that cared about them to spend time with
My kids know they are not allowed in the shop,when I am cutting or grinding.I was in the shop grinding on Sat.,when my daughter,stands about 10 feet from the door and yells,DADDY!I was in the middle of grinding and moved liked I had been shot.I dropped the knife,and my hand hit the belt,I was using 400 grit,so no damage done.We did have a talk,and all is well.
My wife done the same thing,about a year ago,with the same thing happening,except I had just started with a fresh 60 grit.The results were a little different.

I say all this,just to say I agree with Kelly,we don't need any more distractions,than necessary.
Again,Good on you for spending time with your children.

God bless,Keith
 
I saw it as a "Show You Kids" thread. I didn't assume they were really working in the shop. The thread title was tongue in cheek.

Showing them the shop, letting them hear it directly from you that it is off limits unless you take them there, and doing fun things with them that are age appropriate is the ways to keep them safe and happy.

If you Northern rustics think things are different today.....
I live in a fairly large city. In the 1950's and early 60's the trash dump was actually in town. They would bulldoze a long trench behind the cemetery, dump in the garbage, and set it on fire. There were always lots of big rats there.There were houses about 1/4 mile across the creek.
At age ten, my friends and I would ride our bikes over to the dump . We rode down Tidewater Drive, a major street, with our .22 rifles slung on our backs. We would stop at the hardware store on the way, pool our money, and buy a box of cartridges for $0.40. We would then go shoot the rats. The police would hear the gun fire, and come to see what was up. When they realized it was not a couple of gangs having a war, they would take the time to help us learn to shoot better. Once we were almost out of ammo when the cops came, and the cop ( that is what they were called then) went to his car and brought back a couple of boxes of ammo for us to shoot.
A very different thing would happen today.

Keep your kids safe, and remember to spend time with them.
BTW, cute kids!
 
It depends on the child as well. I was about 8 years old when I started welding, bending pipe and working on cars. Now my dad was close by and preached safety every couple of minutes. My son began about 9 working in the shop and still in and out today. However as a senior in high school he is sure that college and computer engineering will be a cleaner quieter field to be in. LOL Now on the other side of the coin my 14 year old daughter is not ready to be in the shop. Her mind wonders and focus on one project is a skill she has not developed yet. So until she does she can stay in the office. Who knows she may stay there only time will tell.
 
It was really a thread to show off my kids I would never let them in while I'm running power tools, too noisy , and I do not want them breathing metal or wood dust, I'm 40 and my how things have changed my son doesnt have a knife yet but I had a .22 rifle at age 8 and acess to a shotgun by 10 , used use power tools to build stuff, heck me and my freind used to ride bikes 8 miles away to another friends house when we were 10 My parents would probably goto jail today . All that and I have never shot anyone, been arrested, or did drugs , mainly cause I knew what would happen when Dad got home Guess they were not so bad afterall . Anthony

Great kids and great they have an intrest in what Dad does. I am not going to get into the shop thing, cause I feel that wasn't where you were headed with this post.
I know exactly where you are coming from. I am slightly older than you but I know my parents would have been jailed in today's world. Funny thing is; I am no worse off for all the things that they would have jailed them for and most probably a better person.
By the time I was 14 I had been hunting with Dad for several years and I was working for him in the summers and part time during school. Not because I had to because I wanted to! There is not much I can't do these days and I attribute that to my Dad in part, and the other part the school of hard knocks, and the military service I put in.
We often forget in this busy world to spending a little time with our youngins can bring dividends that can't even be meassured in our lifetime!!!!!!!!!
 
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AW, I commend you for stopping and taking quality time to spend with your little ones. They are very cute and adorable.

I loved it when my kids came into the shop to see what dad was building. I would stop what I was doing and invite them in and explain what I was doing and what the tools were for and how to use them. Then I would send them on their way and go back to work.

When my kids turned 12 they were allowed to come in the shop and learn how to use the equipment as their ability progressed, never moving to the harder more dangerous machines until they proved they were ready. My one daughter at 12yrs operated the forge well enough to make logging chain and a hook and forge her own knife. My son is 31yrs now, at 15 he could do about anything I could in the shop.

My children have grown up to know that hard work produces great rewards.But that was yesterday.

Today my kids would probably be taken away from me for teaching them the way I did even though safety was always foremost in their training.

One thing for sure our children need our time and love...lots of it.

Larry
 
Great looking kids! I think it's great to have kids in the shop when the power is off and they are under constant supervision.

I have the some of the grandkids in the shop when I have the power off and I never take my eyes off them.

It was a lot different when I was a kid many years ago. We were working on stuff right along side our dad in the shop, but he kept an eye on us. We also were allowed free run of the shop when he wasn't home and had common sense drilled into us about the tools and equipment, including the outdoor forge.
 
Having such young kids in a shop with sharp knives around is a recipe for disaster as far as I see it. Much too young too understand the dangers in the shop.
 
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