Cutting up vegetables and fruit: what age?

[FanjoFanjoWhosGotTheFanjo]

DS1 is suddenly very interested in helping out in the kitchen, particularly using knives. What age do people let their (reasonably careful) kids help out with sharp knives?

Ok, I'm lying, he got out a sharp knife and tried to cut into a horse chestnut this morning, and didn't cut off his finger. So now he's chopping up rhubarb in the kitchen. He's got my best knife, as I find dull knives are trickier, and some of our knives swerve randomly.

He's almost 5.

Well, I've been letting DS use a small sharp kitchen knife to cut up carrots etc since he was about 2.5

Obviously under close supervision and with very strict rules. I'm pleased to report he still has all his fingers and no lumps missing . He also knows kitchen knives are not toys and even now (4.5) I'm reasonably certain I'll never find him playing with them.

(NQC again) I'm glad to hear others do this. I don't think DH will be very cheerful about it. I didn't supervise very closely, but I didn't ask him to shred cabbage or anything tricky like that, anyway.

He seemed to enjoy doing it, anyway.

I found a very clever knife which can saw through hard veg, eg raw carrots, but is completely blunt and safe for little fingers. IIRC the company that makes it is called Pampered Chef.

Unfortunately, since getting it, ds has totally lost interest in helping in the kitchen! Perhaps it ws the sharp knives he wanted, rather than to help out .

regular table knife works v well on melon, cheese, strawbs etc and may fulfil temporary knife-lust, but agree with proper knife under supervision as suggested.

weird-looking knife mentioned by PrettyCandles is here