Playing With Fire

[FantaIsFine]

Literal title; no idea where I should post!

Fire is fascinating and I always as a child (can't for the life of me remember at what age, to do with my question) loved playing with melted wax/poking things into the fireplace/fab when you throw sugar on a fire or transition metal salts that make a nice colour.

I'm a scientist by background and do stuff like fish dissection, vinegar/bicarb lava and the like with Godkids etc, for fun. I'm not a teacher.

This may be an incendiary - see what I did there? - question but: at what age do you feel it's okay for a child to be allowed to experiment with fire/lighters/matches, under supervision and in a curious way with an understanding of hazards, not freestyle pyromania? Safety is paramount but I don't feel like that's my actual question, I think there's more to it (?)

I ask because of doing some experiment stuff with a child who wanted to try out some fire stuff. I would never of course do so without parental approval, just interested in any thoughts on this point.

Should I prepare for a flaming...? I might be WAY overthinking and overcautious.

Thanks in advance

My OH by contrast, never had open fires as a child, I keep having to shout at him not to throw plastic etc. on the fire incase he starts a chimney fire. Best to learn young!

We have a Woodburner. We allow our 4yr old to hold the match to the paper whilst we are also holding it and to blow the match out. We also light candles for her sometimes because she likes to watch the flame and blow it out. We always explain how it must always be with a grownup. Better to take away the mystery, I think.