To not let my son use knives?

[BatmansWilly]

Bit silly thread title but bear with me.

My youngest son (just turned 8) has for the oast few weeks decided that he wants to be a chef when he is older. He has always liked helping me make dinner, bake, stir the pan etc so now its just that his interest is more "amplified". Now that he's realised he could actually do this for a living IYSWIM?

I love having him help me in the kitchen but I darnt let him use the knives. They're very sharp, he is dyspraxic ... the rest speaks for itself.

I don't want to dampen his enthusiasm and my MIL reckons I should stop being so over-protective or he'll never learn.

AIBU to not let him use the knives?

I assume you're talking about sharp ones! Would let him use the knives.

Okay, the dyspraxia is definitely going to make it more interesting and he probably will cut himself. But he'll learn - and the earlier he starts trying the more practice he will have at getting it right. You could always give him older blunter knives to start with!

I gave him a blunt one last night to cut an onion up with. The poor kid was sweating trying to force the knife through it and then I caught him whacking the onion with the knife to try and hack it open!!

, not quite that blunt then!!

Oh go on, he clearly wants to try it is a bit mean to not let him.

Hm yes I see what you mean. My dc all like to 'help' in the kitchen and I felt the same.

But actually I've noticed that if you give them a blunt knife they end up in a kerfuffle trying to bash through something. I was the same about them stirring hot saucapans and frying onions.

But as long as you're hovering nearby and issuing dire warnings to be careful I've found it's better all round just to let them have a go.

I've started to let them make their own lunches for school (with heavy hints about what needs to be included) That seems to be quite popular with them atm.

My DS2 has been dicing carrots and potatoes for me for the last couple of years (he is 8 today) I think if you do not give him the only just sharpened 22inch long blade and stay at hand he should be ok. Maybe get him started with things easier than onions, cucumber is quite easy to slice even with a normal table knife as long as you are not expecting very thin slices .

Depends on your definition of blunt really.

DP despairs of our knives complaining bitterly about how blunt they are. Since they still manage to cut stuff with minimal effort I'm not convinced.

A decent knife and very close supervision and see how he goes.

I would give him a sharp knife - as he'll have more chance of huting himself struggling with a blunt, or even "just sharp enough" knife than he would a decent knife that will cut easily.

I'm of the opinion that children need to learn sometime... But if he has definite difficulties, why not invest in something like [[http://www.flippid.com/item/1000264543/Zyliss_Food_Chopper_100mm this]? I remember using one as a child.

I agree with FAQinglovely . A blunt knife is more dangerous than a sharp

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_cookingwithchildren2.shtml

Slug your link didn't work do you mean ones like this. My MIL got one and they are quite effective.

If you look at Pampered Chef - they do a safety knife aimed at children. 6y DD had one of those in the past and used it to help in the kitchen. She now uses sharp knives under supervision.

TBH trying to do things with a bkunt knife is sometimes more dangerous than using a sharp knife, and certainly the cuts froma blunt knife can be nastier than a clean cut from a sharp knife.

ds2 is 10 and is a bull in a china shop, he also wants to be a chef.
I let him use my knives whick I keep very sharp. Blunt knives are more dangerous as they struggle and force the cut. a sharp on should slide through easily.

I stood behind ds2 , showed him how to hold ( weirdly the same) onion, held the knife with him, for the first couple of cuts.. and hey presto he got it.
obviously I am right there when he uses them, but he's okay.

I have a ds who also loves to help cook, he is given a 6" sharp knife , and allowed to go for it, and touch wood, he still has all his fingers. We tried initially with a blunt one, but rapidly decided a sharp one was safer.

He is 5 next month btw. DD1, who is 3, also helps occasionally, and uses the same knife (but not both kids helping on the same day!)

I am struggling with this as ds has joint problems that makes it very difficult for him to do these things safely. Am hoping we'll get to see an OT soon to assess whether he should be using some sort of safety knife. Can't hold it off forever...

Yes Skramble. They are fun if nothing else. Put the onion in and bash it a few times. What's not to like?

I would just make sure that he doesn't do it unsupervised.

BTW he is more likely to hurt himself trying to cut things with a blunt knife, than with a sharp one.

When you try to PUSH a blunt knife thru an item (like an onion), you have much less control over it. It's much more likely to slip and go into your hand or wrist.

A small knife, properly sharpened, would be safer. He may nick his fingers once or twice but he's VERY unlikely to cut off a digit.

I'd teach him to use a good knife properly, and keep a pack of plasters handy.

Okay, consensus = yes, sharp knife supervised.
(before anybody else points out that blunt knives are more dangerous)

Convinced yet?

Oh yes, also meant to say, I have very funny fingers (odd disability), and find slicing onions easier using a good sharp knife, with a fork pushed well into the onion to hold it. That keeps your fingers away from the blade.

Also make sure his chopping board is on a dmap cloth to stop it slipping about on the work surface.

Let him use knives. He'll never learn if you don't allow him to take reasonable risks, if you teach him now he'll learn how to handle them.
I'm dyspraxic and wish I'd learned how to handle kitchen utensils much sooner than I did. I might be far better in the kitchen than I am now if I'd started young.

IME blunt knives are more dangerous than sharp ones. Because you need to apply so much more force and have less control.

My DS likes to help in the kitchen and I have some scary knives. He is allowed to "use" them if I have my hand over his, otherwise he is stuck with a butter knife I am afraid, but he is 4.5yrs by 8 I expect he will be able to hand them.