Teaching a child

[boaty]

I bought a kid's safety knife for Ben from Dave Barker a while ago and have finally put a mini-review of it on British Blades.

Now I'd like your thoughts on what things to teach Ben (who is 7) to do with his new Christmas present. I've read the suggestions on here, but it never hurts to ask again in case more recently joined members missed the previous discussion.

 

[Nod]

I carved a knife for my 5 year old daughter out of a piece of wood.
I got an old leather sheath from a small knife and she carries it when we go out to the woods. One side is carved to provide an "edge" a bit like when you used to sharpen lolly sticks on the ground when you were kids.

I've been showing her how to do basic cut strokes. Showing her how to do it away from limbs, away from the body and not towards anyone else etc.

Thats all for now, as the knife can't really cut anything other than some fungi and removal of really soft bark from sticks etc. Keeps her happy though and she feels like she's being involved in our little trips out, and she's learning to be responsible with it.

 

[Sajuma]

I think you have good thing going on there. :-D
Kid's should be introdused to knifes with care and respect like other tools too. If one makes them tabu, then they just find an other way to find out about them.

Be sure that the knife is sharp, always!!! Make sure that he /she learns how to sharpen it too!
For starters, teach him basic stuff. How to unshead and shead the knife with safety. knife should be always kept in the sheath if not used. Ofcource no running or even walking with exposed blade...
For a beginner no cuts towards yourself.
He/she will get nicked, but sharp knife cuts heal quicky and kid's learn quickly not to make the same mistake again.
With in time you let him do more and more with the knife and there you have a child who knows how to use a knife with respect and skill.

Juha

 

[sargey]

i help out as an instructor at a scout survival course weekend. one of the highlights for me this year was seeing one of the other leaders little girl whittling in the classic safe manner off to the outside of her thigh. it occoured to me that many "grown ups" don't know as much!

cheers, and.

 

[Andy]

i got my first knife when i was 8 my dad put a shaving sharp edge on it so that i would respect it. i have yet to cut myself either using a knife in bushcraft or when shapening them. though i have done in the kitchen and when stripping a wire

 

[al]

use with a fire steel,food prep and making a pot hanger etc? and the first thing all children should learn sharp pointy sticks with the bark shaved off and a digging stick!!! boaty ,when i cook at home my little girl stands on a chair and helps to cut the veg up , i tell her to keep the point down on the block and feed the the veg in ,carrots are great for it,she uses a small kitchen knife that has about a 2.5 in blade on it and if she looks a bit concerned i just reasure her that daddy wouldnt let her do anything dangerous and to have respect for what she`s using(obviously you would too),its interesting that people get worried about children and knives but have no worries about handing over a large pair of scissors to them , on a shopping visit to canterbury i noticed a childrens adventure kit for sale so next time i`m there i`ll see if iits worth getting if not i`ll make one up for her,if its any good i`ll post the make etc,please let me know how you get on and share your ideas so all of us mums and dads can pass it on, someone once said to me "interesting parents make interesting people"which i think is pretty true, cheers al :-D

 

[alick]

I think there are two keys to encouraging the kids. (1) Doing it with them, because they all like attention and (2) Making sure their early attempts are a success so they build confidence.

I bought my girls a big (cheap) bundle of balsa wood, a couple of small sharp craft knives and a mini saw this Xmas. I'm going to help them make models and do some simple carving. I hope the soft wood and sharp tools will help them learn good technique instead of working at the limit of their strength where mistakes are more common.

Of course they're so keen they don't want to listen, just cut stuff ! Whether and how I manage to teach them without too many ear bashings off my sweetheart will be a whole new story. But at least I warned her in advance to stock up on micropore :biggthump

 

[Nod]

Al, just make a kit up, it's easier to get what you want in there then.

I use the side pocket of my old bergan (one of the pair that make up a day pack) put the shoulder straps on and then she has her own adventure pack. We load it with the things she thinks she will need for the exped. Food, water, her wooden knife, binoculars, torch, whistle, tree book, fungi book, coat, hat etc etc.

 

[boaty]

Thanks for the great suggestions - Ben's been having a lot of fun with his knife

We trekked out to the wood on Christmas day so he could find some wood to cut. I got him to make a digging stick first, pointy on one end, the other with a chisel end. He did really well - nearly always remembered to cut away from his body, and mostly put the knife back in the sheath when not using it.

The knife holds a good edge, and is very easy to get scary sharp (as I discovered when I "accidently" stropped it). I showed Ben how easily it would shave the hairs off my arm before he first used it - he said "Oookaaay!", I replied "So be careful!" Still, being so sharp means that he requires less effort to make a cut, giving better control.

I showed him how to make a notched tentpeg which meant that he had to get used to doing cross-grained stop-cuts - he was a little nervous about that to start with because it wasn't a slicing cut, but is getting the hang of it.

We've been looking at the various grips and cuts illustated in Mear's Essential Bushcraft book, and he wants to have a go at making a fancy pot-hanger - I hope we'll get a chance next weekend to get out and about and do that. He also reckons he can do a better job of a spoon than I can (I wouldn't be surprised!!). Unfortunately the knife won't work with a firesteel - it's a laminated blade and the outer laminates are soft (though tough) and won't produce sparks.

I'm surprised by how responsible he's being - he treats his knife differently to the plastic swords/daggers/bowie knives that he terrorises the household with. But I still don't let him have it when I'm not around!

boaty ,when i cook at home my little girl stands on a chair and helps to cut the veg up

My two year old does this except I only let her hold the end of the handle while I control both veggie and blade. She gets very cross with me for not letting her hold it on her own

 

[Tony]

My boy Thorin does most of the veg and meat when I am cooking curries, which is about every week! It's a great skill for the kids to learn and you're right that they treat real knives differently. It does amaze me though how many people frown upon me letting him loose with a knife.

 

[Colin KC]

Just thought I'd poke my nose in this one too

From the stage of my daughter asking "what's daddy doing in the workshop?" to "I'm going to make rainbow handles for my knives when I grow up!" she has learnt respect for knives (even as far as not trying to catch a dropped knife, passing a knife to someone in a safe manner, never putting a knife in your mouth)

She's four now & Peter (espy) will tell you that I have every confidence (though I do keep a careful eye on her ) that she will treat sharp things with the respect they deserve.

 

[al]

we have a child phsycology (if thats how its spelt!!) book at home and it states that if you are going to buy children tools etc to get them real ones made for children rather than pretend ones, we have a catologue at home of wooden toys and it has a cool lil tool set in it which are real, all about brain development etc in the same way that if you have a musical instrument in the house to make sure its tuned corectly ie to pitch as otherwise they wont develop senses properly which is a chore if you have a house full of guitars like we do!!! . Nod i`ll do that then , she has most stuff but i was thinking of a treat to keep interest up but the side pouch idea is a good one specially as the barbie pink one stands out a bit !! cheers al

 

[Keith_Beef]

we have a child phsycology (if thats how its spelt!!) book at home and it states that if you are going to buy children tools etc to get them real ones made for children rather than pretend ones, we have a catologue at home of wooden toys and it has a cool lil tool set in it which are real, all about brain development etc in the same way that if you have a musical instrument in the house to make sure its tuned corectly ie to pitch as otherwise they wont develop senses properly which is a chore if you have a house full of guitars like we do!!! . Nod i`ll do that then , she has most stuff but i was thinking of a treat to keep interest up but the side pouch idea is a good one specially as the barbie pink one stands out a bit !! cheers al

Sounds good... but I think that my boy was better off with a wooden or plastic screwdriver and spanner (with wooden or plastic nuts and bolts) that with metal stuff. The fact is, I could never, ever find real tools that were designed to be oversized in the right way for a two year old. For an experiment, I gave him a mallet I'd made (lighter than a hammer, and the striking face in a bit bigger), and some big-headed 2" nails and an offcut of a soft pine plank. For a good hour, he was knocking the nails into the wood. One whole hour at a single game!

The year before last, I gave my nephew a set of real tools for his Christmas present. I got him a plastic toolbox, some stubby screwdrivers, 8mm, 12mm spanners, steel rule, adjustable spanner, small hammer, pliers and some other bits and bobs. Real, adult's tools from the DIY shop. I engraved his initials on them, so his dad couldn't pinch them, and put in some screws, nuts and bolts the same size as his spanners.

Last year, for his seventh birthday, I gave the same nephew a SAK. I think that a boy should have a pocket folder by the time he's seven.


Keith.

 

[Sajuma]

Hear hear!!
:-D
Juha

 

[JakeR]

I have started a new topic on the technique of teaching children.
I hope it is clear(ish).

Thanks.
JakeR