# Age to introduce your Children?



## Dragonsm (Nov 24, 2015)

For those of you with children, at what age did you begin to introduce your child to snowblowers and lawnmowers or when did they start mowing your yard or blowing the driveway off?

Both my kids were outside the other night playing in the snow as I was snowblowing. At times, I could tell there was some curiosity in regards to what I was doing (mostly my daughter) and while I was putting it away, I asked her if she'd like to help me blow snow next time, which she smiled and said "yep!"

I remember growing up probably around her age and my dad doing the same thing with me.....letting me stand/walk in front of him while blowing snow. I believe it was around 5th grade, I was blowing snow on my own and also clearing my neighbor's driveway for $5.00....and in the summer time I want to think I was mowing both my own lawn and an adjacent property around 8 or 9 years old.

My son (who is 2 1/2) I had out in the garage with me this fall while changing the oil on the snowblower. He absolutely loves to work on any project with dad and figure out how things work....he is a few years out yet on operating it but he did also assist this fall on winterizing the outboard on the boat and getting it ready for the winter.

Anyway, the neighborhood I live in is full of kids of all ages from newborns on up to high school, and I never see any of them out there either blowing snow or mowing the yard. I've worked hard on getting my yard looking nice compared to what the prior owner left me 3 years ago, but if one of my children shows an interest in learning how to do something....I'll let them...and if the yard doesn't get mowed just right...oh well, It's like a bad hair cut...it grows back. 

Just trying to pass a little "dad" education onto them, to be able to think outside the box, never be afraid to try something new...and to live outside that "safety bubble" that some parents now seem to have their kids living in. I also feel growing up around items like that and an early introduction also teaches them to respect those items.

Everyone have a safe and happy new year!

Steve


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

I dont have kids, but I have a 8 year old niece who's father is into motorcycles and antique cars, so she (my niece) is interested in classic machinery already..

My opinion, 13 should be the age to first use mowers or snowblowers by themselves.
with a LOT of supervised training when they are 12! 

Scot


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## Loco-diablo (Feb 12, 2015)

I think I was around 12 when dad passed the lawn mowing job to me! 
We never had a snow blower as a kid, but always loving power equipment, I begged for one. With 4 sons, my dad kept plenty of good shovels in the garage!


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

But there are also conflicting issues to consider:

For safety, "the older the better"..you want the kid to be physically "grown" and strong enough to handle the machine safely..and mature enough to have good judgement..So in that sense, 15 years old would be "better" than 10 years old..

but! ask the typical 10 year old "want to help mow the lawn?" the reaction would probably be "yeah! cool!"

but if you wait until age 15, then ask a 15 year old "want to help mow the lawn?" the reaction would likely be "umm..no thanks Dad, that sounds boring, and hard work..I would rather sit here with my phone."



So yeah..I still say 13 is probably ideal..

Scot


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

I have been playing the game since I was 8 years old. for reasons that I WILL NOT discuss here.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

I was 9 when I started mowing the lawn with the lawn tractor (no brakes, no seat switch, no chute deflector) I can't remember how old I was when I started to use the snowblower, probably not too long after, I'm thinking about 11 or 12.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

All good points, but the maturity of the child comes into play as well. Heck, I've known people in their 30s who had no business operating a mower or snowblower.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

bwdbrn1 said:


> All good points, but the maturity of the child comes into play as well. Heck, I've known people in their 30s who had no business operating a mower or snowblower.


Kinda like that dude from you tube HUH????????????


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## jrom (Jan 10, 2014)

Loco-diablo said:


> I think I was around 12 when dad passed the lawn mowing job to me!
> We never had a snow blower as a kid, but always loving power equipment, I begged for one. With 4 sons, my dad kept plenty of good shovels in the garage!


Just about word for word, same here in my family. 12 was when we could ride a 125 Benelli motorcycle solo, but only in remote parts of the state, and only in fields...no roads at first. That was actually hard, keeping a street bike going straight in soft ground.

I let my son use our snow blower at 9 with me behind him, and somewhere around 10-11 by himself, but we would go over safety...a lot. He was a pretty tall and strong kiddo at 10 though...and the '91 Hondo had/has low handlebars.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> bwdbrn1 said:
> 
> 
> > All good points, but the maturity of the child comes into play as well. Heck, I've known people in their 30s who had no business operating a mower or snowblower.
> ...


That one came to mind.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

I was probably 7-8 when I first began to mow our lawn... Unasked, untrained and unsupervised. I just went out and did it. My mechanical skills were intuitive to a point. I just knew the machine had to have some oil and gas to make it go. We lived in a narrow valley and the dew wouldn't leave till afternoon. I can clearly remember mowing, *pulling * our old pushmower up some of the steeper hills when it was still wet and I was *barefoot. *in the late 50-60s there were no safety devices on anythig we owned. I'm tellin' ya I really, honestly should be dead. Our sleds, I'm not kidding, were tin sheets that we rolled up on one end and had baler twine in two holes in the front to keep the front edge bent back so it would slide. In later years I compared it to riding a giant razor blade. Our parents would be in jail if we were growing up today.
But back to the question of age. Each kid is different and matures differently. The main thing is to make them very aware of all the possibilities of how quickly things can go wrong. I'd even consider showing some pics of injuries of other people, who didn't follow proper safety precautions. Other then a tree or meteor falling on you every accident is preventable if you just *KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE TASK AT HAND.*


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

I'd agree with all the above. I'd also add that at 8 or 9, there probably should be some supervision. And of course to be there to restart.


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## Marty013 (Mar 14, 2014)

ive always thaught that when the kids were old enough to hold onto the handle bars WITH the adult.. if they show an interest (no point having a screaming fit right?) they can help with a few passes.. i remeber being 6-7 and doing this with my dad.. id let go before the turns so i wouldnt bang my head on the handlebars.. couple more years and he let me do a few passes.. dad would swing the machine around for me untill i could.. now i forget exactly how old i was.. but i know i was operating the blower before i was 13 by myself.. lots of suppervision leading up.. lots of.. lets call it coaching.. and some times i would walk back in and tell dad there was to much snow and i couldnt keep the blower steady so i stopped.. never once did that cause a probem.. safety first was always a priority and it will also be for me ( son aged 4.5 is already asking... daughter 2 is sure to fallow... )


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## Bolens93 (Nov 24, 2015)

I think age is less an issue than height, strength and competence. I bought a thrower for an apartment house because a new tenant wanted a break on the rent if he could throw instead of me paying for plowing......he has 2 masters but could not operate, I was informed via complaints he was running into building and damaging cars, that had to be 86'd straight away hahaha


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Bolens93 said:


> I think age is less an issue than height, strength and competence. I bought a thrower for an apartment house because a new tenant wanted a break on the rent if he could throw instead of me paying for plowing......he has 2 masters but could not operate, I was informed via complaints he was running into building and damaging cars, that had to be 86'd straight away hahaha


He's got an education but lacks common sense. I've seen his kind before. Couldn't pour water out of a boot w/o turning it over to read the directions. :facepalm_zpsdj194qh


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## SweetD (Dec 6, 2013)

Both my kids (older daughter / two year younger son) started mowing at 12. Husqvarna push mower, not self-propelled, small 1/4 acre lot, slight incline. They both handle it well.

They are now almost 15 and almost 13 respectively. I don't think either of them could handle the snowblower effectively yet. Maybe I underestimate them?

Not having to mow myself is awesome though!


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

I also had my kids doing the lawn when they were physically big enough and smart enough to handle the lawnmower. My daughter started at about 12 and she liked to mow the back yard in a pattern, so it looked like a baseball field. Kept an eye on both while they were working for the first few weeks, until I was satisfied they knew the ropes and kept their hands and feet out of harms way.

My son took over when he was 11 (6 year difference between them) but he was more like me, fewest steps, no pretty patterns, and done. I gave them both the speech about long pants, shoes, and stay behind the handle when the mower is running. Clean stuff off the lawn before you start, and if you hit something, let go of the handles, engine will stop wheels will stop and come get me. They never failed to come find me when the job was done because I paid them for their work.

My daughter never warmed up to the snowblower, but my son used to to it without asking to be paid. He seemed to be saying "take that snowdrift".

They are both on their own now, but son just bought a Briggs and Stratton 29" with all the bells and whistles for his new house. He's 30 now. I cannot figure out how these kids got to be 36 and 30, and I am still only 39 and some months...

I am waiting for the kid next door to grow up a bit more so I can ply him with money to mow the lawn. He's 10, but kind of scrawny so it might be a couple more years before he's physically big enough. I think he's smart though, and worried that if he does mine, his dad will make him do his too.


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## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

I have 2 kids, a son who is 13 and a daughter who is 11. Needless to say my 11 year old daughter is much more mature than my 13 year old son......and more coordinated. She's the one picked first for the team while my son would prefer not to play at all. Read between the lines there fellas.

Over the past several years I have taught my son slowly but surely how to use the push mower. This past summer the stars aligned in several ways and I "allowed" him to cut my parents' 1/3 acre once per week. He got off to a slightly rough start, but he did a great job. I'm very proud of him.

My 11 year old daughter on the other hand, who is 6" shorter and weighs 35lbs less, mowed the lawn this summer with only a few words of instruction from me and did a great job. Granted it was only one time, but my son at 11 would never have succeeded like she did.

This winter, if it ever snows here in southern New England, my son will learn how to use a single stage. I purposely went out and bought a $20, 30 year old Bolens that I brought back to life (several times) in order for him to get his first taste of blowing the white stuff. If he shows some maturity and does a good job, I might let him use my 24" Ariens Deluxe. It's a bit heavy and difficult to maneuver, so I am still a little hesitant. Safety first, second, and third.

So, in the end, it all comes down to truly knowing your children. You have to be completely honest with yourself when answering those questions Are they physically able to handle the machine safely? Are they mature enough to make safe decisions? Can you trust them? For my son, it's been a slow road to where we are now at 13. For others it might be a bit older or younger.


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## Koolmoose (Jul 11, 2013)

I'm 65 yo. When my son, who is now 32 was little I had my uncle's '68 Airens snowblower and a '76 Sunbeam push mower with no safety features on them. Those blowers from that time would grind a careless person in a cocaine heartbeat! Because of the character traits of my kid when he was little I never trained him on the machine. (I was 18 when I learned how to run it)
Steve


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## SlowRider22 (Oct 17, 2013)

I don't have any of my own little munchkins just yet, but I can certainly comment about my pops and how he instructed me with everything...

Probably around age 10 or 11 is when he first started having me mow the lawn with our 21 inch push mower. Naturally, he taught me the basics of using it, safe operations, and how to effeciently use it to save time. A few years later we received a lawn tractor from a neighbor, and with that, was upgraded.

As for the driveway, we didn't have a snowblower until I was an early teenager, but I was made to go out and shovel since probably 7 or 8 years old. And even when we did get the snowblower, my pops had me continue using just the shovel for a year or two because he wanted me to put in the effort and realize the work ethic that goes into maintaining the property...so he claims, but I think he just didn't want to give up having fun using the darn thing 

Then when I was 16 or so I really became interested in tinkering with mechanics and how things worked, etc. To which brought me on the path that I am now: performing all my own work on my equipment, the occasional repair for a friends' equipment, and learning as much as I can about the subject and pass it on to whoever wants to benefit from it


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Bolens93 said:


> I think age is less an issue than height, strength and competence. I bought a thrower for an apartment house because a new tenant wanted a break on the rent if he could throw instead of me paying for plowing......he has 2 masters but could not operate, I was informed via complaints he was running into building and damaging cars, that had to be 86'd straight away hahaha


Education is no measure of intellect, it just shows who has deep pockets. 

I've worked in hospitals, with all sorts of educated "individuals." And very few impressed me, but often thought they had something owed to them. 

I now work in education, I teach at a vocational high school. Half the school are lab "vocational" instructors, the other half are academics. Albeit, I am an academic, I feel much more akin to those in the shops. Part of it, are my interests and desire for always learning something new in the vocational arts. Part of it, I was one of these kids, taking every shop class I could. And another, my natural curiosity of how and why things worked. The education, just paid for my hobbies.


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## alleyyooper (Sep 12, 2015)

A lot depends on the kid. My son is 40 and even today I would not let him any where near any type of mower I own or a snow blower.
Sorry to say it but I think he was born with his head where the sun doesn't shine and a book in his hand.

Tried to get him to help out in his mid teens and he ran the lawn tractor into a 25 inch in dia. tree, said he didn't see it. At 40 he still doesn't wear glasses either.

At 8 years old my dad had me plowing farm fields and even got me my own tractor to use that I could reach the pedals on.
Yes I am a antique, so old I have moss growing on the south side even.


I blame it on my *CITY SLICKER, *says she isn't a city slicker but you can see the towns water tower from her child hood home that sits on 2 acres.

 Al


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## Bolens 1000 (Dec 23, 2015)

All depends on your upbringing , Grandpa put me on the Bolens when I was 3 years old and was pretty much driving and using the equipment on my own at age 8


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