Six year old and a pocket knife

[AnxiousPixie]

DH thinks it's ok for him to have one at six, I don't and have said no. DH had one at about the same age and doesn't see the problem. I think times have changed and knives just aren't an acceptable thing to 'play' with. I'm the bad guy.

Am I being unreasonable to say he is too young??

@bookh I do think people tend to immediately think the worst, like PP here referring to knife crime.

Kids need to learn to use dangerous objects safely. I could crack a coconut with a machete at age 6/7. Mine now see me use all manner of tools, and of course I show them how to use the tools safely. Weather it’s a drill or a saw. It’s all part of learning, it boosts confidence too.

@Kralia that’s very interesting reading.

Depends what for. Tehre is simply no nee for a pocket knife just because, but if he is into nature, camping, scouts etc, then yeah I had one at the same age. So did my brother. But only supervised.

@Lilypansy Guess the thought of her using a real saw with actual sharp, metal teeth at 3 would be enough to call social services? What about learning how to light a 🔥 at 4? Too much?

Handing a child a sharp knife and walking out the room? reckless.

Teaching a child how to respect tools, learn independence, build confidence, contribute to the family in a meaningful way, develop life skills and a joy in their own abilities from a young age in a child-led and supervised manner? Excellent parenting.

@EleanorOlephantisjustfine there are different types of being sheltered. One of them is being horrified about something that is common practice in a whole variety of countries included many who have far better outcomes both for children and society than the UK.

Our next door neighbour is in the police btw. His 5 year old goes to forest school and does bushcraft stuff. They were doing fire lighting the other day, cant imagine he'd be shocked at the idea of her using a pen knife under adult supervision. I know she uses saws and hammers.

If he takes it to school and it's discovered he will be permanently excluded.

My DS got a pocket knife for his 6th birthday this year. It has a safety catch so he accidently open it but it is very sharp. His cousin got one about the same age. He doesn't "play" with it any more than he plays with the readily available kitchen knives, matches and tools. He has learned to whittle, carve and safely cut string and such like with it and he is generally supervised. He also has a real tool set including saw, chisel, hammer etc. He loves wildlife and camping and knows that the knife is a tool, not a toy.

I would argue that children being taught how to safely use any adult equipment, including sharp knives, at primary age has absolutely no connection to the problem of knife crime in teenagers. I would in fact suggest the opposite is true.

@LivingLaVidaCovidI used to take it to school!??!! to "fix things" like some unpaid child janitor and also ostensibly to "whittle wood" (What? Why?)

Haha, you’ve just reminded me. In primary school I used to unscrew the blade from pencil sharpeners and spent break time whittling pencils. Regular pencils weren’t great, but there were some waxy/MDF-type ones which carved beautifully!

My 11 year old was threatened with one of these on Friday and is now too scared to go to school. Just no. I don’t know if the boy who has it was joking or serious but he should not have had it!

@Wellpark

If he takes it to school and it's discovered he will be permanently excluded.

Why on earth would he take it to school? And no, I am confident that an otherwise well behaved and settled 6 year old wouldn't be permanently excluded for taking a pen knife in their bag to school unless there was a lot more going on.

Some of you have absolutely no faith in your children's ability to learn about safety rules and risk.

I never said I was horrified. I just don’t agree with it. That doesn’t mean I’ve had any kind of sheltered life. It’s ok, we can have differing opinions 😀

I had one a six. Cut myself. Learnt a valuable lession.

Seriously why does he need his own knife. How often will be be camping, woodworking etc. I would provide the tools he needs as and when he needs them

I'd have thought a child that was taught to use a knife responsibly, for good reason (camping etc) would actually be a hell of a lot less likely to be involved in knife crime than some twat who thinks knives are a status symbol.

But yy to pp. Locked away other than when in use with adult supervision.

"My 11 year old was threatened with one of these on Friday. Just no."

Presumably not by a 6 year old though!! And if someone is not buying their child a penknife because they are worried they will take it to school and use it to threaten another child, that suggests they have quite a serious problem child on their hands! All my children own penknives and I can categorically guarantee that they will not be either taking them to school or threatening another child with it. They are neither disturbed nor stupid!

I think I got my first penknife (which I kept rather than my parents keeping) at about the age of 9. But then I was also allowed out to play in the woods a couple of miles away around the same age and needed it for cutting things while I was out and about.

We lived in the countryside all my childhood so a multitool was a totally normal part of my life: fixing bikes, cutting brambles if someone got really caught up, whittliy, den building. They were always legal carry and I still carry one today. Suspect that the countryside alters my perception though: my brother was given his first air rifle at the age of ten (his own so he didn't need to use my parents any more). Obviously that was for supervised use!

@Kralia

"My 11 year old was threatened with one of these on Friday. Just no."

Presumably not by a 6 year old though!! And if someone is not buying their child a penknife because they are worried they will take it to school and use it to threaten another child, that suggests they have quite a serious problem child on their hands! All my children own penknives and I can categorically guarantee that they will not be either taking them to school or threatening another child with it. They are neither disturbed nor stupid!

Presumably the pen knife won't be removed at 11 years old. If you think kids who carry and end up using knives are all the disturbed, evil ones you're very naive. Kids threatened one day will often carry for protection the day after. If they already own one, and let's face it if 11 year olds made great decisions we'd give them the vote, they'll likely make a stupid decision to just pop it in their pocket, just in case. And from that, we know kids die. That doesn't only happen with "bad" kids

Sorry but completely disagree. Those who actually know the damage weapons can do are much, much less likely to use them recklessly. Not necessarily 'bad' kids, but definitely not kids that have learnt how to use dangerous tools/weapons safely.

DS was allowed one when he went to cub camp at 9. I kept it locked up and he wasn't allowed it unsupervised. He learned to use it safely for whittling etc. 6 is a bit young though.

If a child is minded to take a knife to school, they'll find one. I don't think the rounded Swiss army knife (specifically designed for use by children) gifted to my son at 7 is a very likely choice for either defensive or offensive purposes! And honestly, if knife crime were an issue locally, then you might have a point. But in 15 years of parenting, I have never heard of a single incident of knife crime at our local secondary school. I am not naive, but knife crime is really not one of the worries on our radar here.

Sooner he learns to treat potentially dangerous tools with respect, the better.

@Comedycook

Of course he shouldn't have a knife. No need at all for one...It's the modern world, I can't think of anything bar cooking that you'd need a knife for

DH uses his Swiss Army Knife for a load of things - scissors, screwdriver, cutting string...

6 is a bit young though.

No one should be carrying one, regardless of age.
No one needs a knife on them.

I had my first one about that age, as long as he supervised to use it as a tool doing whittling, camping related stuff etc and learns that it can't be taken anywhere and the rules of what not to do, I don't see the pribkem

@MinnieMountain

I’ve got a little Victorinox on my key ring. Our 7yo loves using it. I’ve promised him a child’s version for his 8th birthday if he’s sensible enough.

He knows it will be mainly kept at home and only used under supervision for at least the first year.

I have one too. The scissors come in very handy at times. I was in the guides and we used to build things using sticks lashing them together with string and a knife and handy. My DH thinks it's a right of passage to have a penknife for a boy and my dad always had one but I think 6 is a bit young to have his own.
My dsis wasn't impressed when DH showed my dn how to start a fire using a magnifying glass and the sun. I still have a very fancy swiss army one an ex bought me many moons ago in a drawer somewhere.

My Dad gave me one when I was six, I 've still got it and carry it in my handbag (blade length is under legal limit) . He also taught me to use it safely. So far, I haven't killed anyone.

We bought our seven year olds swiss army knives for Christmas. They have been fine with them. Mostly used for whittling etc. We do a lot of outdoor stuff. We did talk about knife safety a lot with them before handing them over. They had already been using sharp kitchen knives under supervision for a couple of years.
I think I am in the minority though. I'm also a scouter and we let our oldest beavers (7-8 years) chop veg at camp (one on one supervision). For many it was the first time they had used a sharp knife. A lot said it was a camp highlight for them.