How young is too young ?

[wv311]

My 10 year old has begged me all year to try running a saw so today I let him play with my ms170. He made several cuts and was very respectful of the dangers running a saw posed. I'm super proud of him and look forward to time we'll spend in the woods in years to come.

 

[chucker]

? it all starts with mentality, first off yours then theirs... at 10 your child may be able to cope withy a dangerous machine where as the next persons may not at 15! just remember the early introduction of power equipment to a young mind has side affects!!! "CAD" is a worry some drug addiction??? there's no hope for them that are afflicted! LOL

 

[Gavman]

MY middle son was running the excavator, bobcat and lots of other equipment at 10 years old, he is very wise, handy and smart when it comes to tools and equipment, you should see him reversing a trailer, over 300' easy without overcorrecting... (everything he has ever owned from tricycles, bicycles and pedal cars has had a trailer on it ha ha)
I still have not let him run a saw (hes 14 now) and likely wont till he is stronger physically. Hmmm actually I think he has little interest running it for now because he knows the danger...
I think 10 is too young...

 

[stihlguy]

My son started @ age 12 w/ an 031(no chain brake), he is now 32. His son likes to use my 024 Super when ever possible, but his dad is right there with him showing him the correct posture etc., applying the chain brake while walking with the saw and so forth.

 

[Sagetown]

Some children are more adapted to operating machinery than others. My 10 year old was feeding cattle, large round bales of hay, with a Massey Ferguson 1100. One time a friend wanted to borrow the tractor, but the key wasn't in it. My 10 year old took a screwdriver to the starter, and fired it up for him. He gave the boy a dollar.

 

[Jed1124]

I think 10 is fine is the boy is responsible and can handle the saw. Your in Virginia so it probably won't be to bad if he messes up and cuts himself. In CT you would be looking at 25 to life letting a kid run a chain saw.

 

[svk]

My kids made cuts with me helping them already. My 10 yo will start soon and my 9 yo is bigger than he is so they will probably start at the same time.

Fellow member @Locust Cutter hooked me up with a nice 350 for them to work with when the time comes.

I started at 11 with a Husky 41

 

[Big_Wood]

i started cutting at 6. my dad was a mad man so he didn't even really supervise me. never a cut in my life. started with a husky 32 top handle.

 

[CWME]

My Grandpa left his xl12 in my Moms shed. I was 12 and my Mom wanted a tree cut so I did it for her. He was mad but that saw was somehow left in the shed with gas and oil from then on. He burned wood and I didn't kill myself so I got my start from there.

 

[lindnova]

My Grandpa left his xl12 in my Moms shed. I was 12 and my Mom wanted a tree cut so I did it for her. He was mad but that saw was somehow left in the shed with gas and oil from then on. He burned wood and I didn't kill myself so I got my start from there.

I was the same way. My dad wasn't into pushing me into doing anything. I had to push him to let me try and run any equipment. Usually grabbing the keys and trying out for myself without permission! I did earn his respect and was responsible with any of our equipment. I also learned to fix stuff since we ran junk lawn mowers and cars.

We never owned a chainsaw so the first time I ran one I was over 20. I was quite proficient on a bow saw though. One time my brother and I took down a 12" box elder top down with bow saws. It took a whole day.

I was mowing the lawn on the old JD 110 tractor at 10 years old and could back a trailer then too. Plenty of other experience at a young age. My dad was weary of chainsaws and handguns so we only had shotguns and hand saws. He grew up around handguns and such and didn't want anything to do with them. The shotguns were in the closet unlocked and we knew better than mess with them.

Guess what I have now. Locked in a safe...

My dad took me along to work and service projects he had; I spent as much time with him on work projects as recreation. I guess that is what I am doing with my 6 yr old now as I am busy with work, but he comes along for site visits on weekends and evenings.

I am working at exposing my boy to all I can, but he will have to want to do something dangerous before I would push him into it. Hopefully he becomes a good firewood stacker, but as far as saws or guns he will have to prove himself that he wants to and has respect for them before I will hand one over to try. I am guessing 15-16 yrs old for chainsaws. I don't want him to get hurt and will be a nervous nelly when he does start using a saw. I guess I do have some of my dad in me.

 

[Dogsout]

I may be in the minority here but I would never have let my 10 year old son run any chainsaw. He was reasonably smart (Software engineer now) and responsible then but IMO things can go south way to fast running a chainsaw so I wouldn't allow it. Heck all of us have seen way older people running a saw that probably shouldn't be. For the record I did give him my Husky 235 to trim branches when he was 16 years old. He wasn't really in to manual labor then or now so he makes a living with his fingers.

 

[Whitespider]

With my kids it's never been about how old they are... I've made the calls based on how old they act.
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[Iska3]

My son was 10 years old when he was pulling wagon loads of hay home from the field. He was learning how of fly a Cessna 150 when he was 15 yeas old. On the other hand, his son is in the air force, came home from a year in Korea and he shot up the muffler on my old tractor. I have to agree with Spidy... Bucking logs is one thing and knocking down trees is another.. I started out using a Mini Mac 6 bucking logs next to dad. I think I was 11 years old at the time..

 

[JeffHK454]

My sons will run a saw when they're out of the house and buy they're own equipment. I didn't run a saw until I bought a clapped-out 024 at the age of 20, my dad doesn't even let me touch his saws to this day!

My father was nearly killed by a saw when I was 10 while doing storm cleanup , I was the only person around for miles and was forced to drive him to a local fire dept. with only a couple minutes to spare . Once you see what a chainsaw does to flesh you'll know it doesn't belong in a child's hands .

 

[Zale]

I think 10 is too young IMO. Could you live with the consequences if something were to happen? Would your wife let you?

 

[flotek]

I was running a saw at 12 I was responsible and tried to be careful but that wasn't enough to make up for inexperience . I was strong and a bit above average in size for my age. I had to get 13 painful stitches in my leg after I touched the bar down on accident .ive got a nice long scar to remind me some things are simply too dangerous for kids .it takes time to mature into a man! I would personally never give a 10 year old a chainsaw to run then again I wouldn't give them a high powered rifle to shoot or a tractor to drive at that age either . I would not judge another man if he decided to though . Sure Some kids could probably do a mans job but I know if one of my kids was badly cut or injured I'd probably be blaming myself for being foolish and rushing them to grow up too soon and for what ? As a dad I must say its Not worth the risk not worth the consequences in my humble opinion

 

[MechanicMatt]

@JeffHK454 , I cant imagine my 10 year old driving a car or truck to save my life...... Had to be a crazy experience for a child.
Im not weighing in on this one, I was 15 at my moms parents, my pops was going to wring my neck. It wasn't till I was out of my house and owned my own toys before Id go cutting with him. I guess if the kid realizes that its as deadly as a gun and had a good head on his shoulders.

I know a local firewood guy that son is 19 and a moose. The dad will NOT let his son run the saw or splitter, he knows the boy doesn't have the mentality to run equipment. He just stacks and drags.

 

[JeffHK454]

@JeffHK454 , I cant imagine my 10 year old driving a car or truck to save my life...... Had to be a crazy experience for a child.
Im not weighing in on this one, I was 15 at my moms parents, my pops was going to wring my neck. It wasn't till I was out of my house and owned my own toys before Id go cutting with him. I guess if the kid realizes that its as deadly as a gun and had a good head on his shoulders.

I know a local firewood guy that son is 19 and a moose. The dad will NOT let his son run the saw or splitter, he knows the boy doesn't have the mentality to run equipment. He just stacks and drags.

I've told my story and voiced my opinion on kids running saws many times and I'm not looking to preach. I don't think a child can comprehend at 10 years old how dangerous a saw is, he or she is more than likely emulating dads motions without really knowing how fast stuff can go south.

My dad retells his version of that day and remembers the couple mile drive being more scary than nearly cutting his head off with a saw!

 

[Stihlbillie]

My dad handed me the stihl at 13 years old. I made him a nervous wreck because if i got cut then he was gonna get cut by my mom.

 

[Whitespider]

I was driving at age 10... I was also carrying a firearm and hunting alone at that age...
I had free reign on the lake with the motor boat at age 9... wearing a life jacket was not required...
I had my first mini-motorcycle at age 7... no adult supervision was required when I rode it...
I rode my bicycle on the streets of the neighborhood, several blocks out'a sight of the house, before I even started school... weren't no bicycle "helmets" then neither.

My oldest son has never shown any interest in saws and such, but he was shooting a .44 Magnum with a modified handle at age 6, I gave him his first rifle at age 7... he practiced with it on our shooting range unsupervised.
My youngest son hasn't shown much interest in firearms, but he's all about power equipment. I gave him his little ATV just after his 5th birthday, and he's been riding it all over the property for three years... including in the woodlot out'a sight of the house. He "helps" with any maintenance or repairs to it... if he didn't "help", it wouldn't get done, that ATV is his responsibility, not mine. He's been running the log splitter since well before that, and even taken a few turns on the old grass cuttin' machine. He has a keen interest in the saw, but at age 7 he just don't have the strength to hold it yet... maybe next year.

So-called "maturity" is more about personal responsibility than anything else. I teach my kids that they are, first and foremost, responsible for themselves. Actions have consequences, it's your actions, not your parent's decisions, that determine if those consequences are positive or negative. Show me personal responsibility for your actions (including the bad actions)... and I'll allow you more rope. As a kid I was held personally responsible for my actions, no matter what they were... I was never allowed to make excuses, and no one ever made excuses for me. The "heroes" I looked up to were an example; I provide that same example to my kids, and I hold them to the same standard... but, now-a-days, I appear to be the minority. I really get tired of the blaming something other than the person... the excuses... and saying something like, "You can't blame him, he's just a little boy", does a huge disservice to the man the little boy eventually becomes.

There ain't nothing wrong with allowing kids to be kids, they need that also... but there's a time and place for everything.
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