Do you let your 5 year old or younger use the kettle to make hot drinks?

[nappyaddict]

Is it just me or is it too young?

Yes it is too young. Why would you take the risk?

Too young - I haven't let my 10 year old yet!

it's too young

i was just reminiscing to DH the other night that my mum and dad used to let me make them a cup of tea and coffee, put it on a trya and carry it through 2 rooms to them....................aged 6-7!!!

Too young. No idea when I will let 5 year old DS use the kettle but not for a while.

Too young

Too young IMO

Even if child is a 'sensible' one, or wildly independent, accidents happen... a %yr old or younger hasn't got the motor control yet

And have seen the results of scalds on little ones (nurse) It's awful

Nope. Too young.

My 5 year old quite often spills a cold drink as he is pouring it - so definitely no to boiling water!

Too young IMO, thats just dangerous.

I was burnt as a young child by boiling water from the kettle, I had to have a skin graft and now have 2 scars. The scar on my stomach covers my whole stomach and is horrible.

5 yr old, not %

That's too young IMO. I train mine to make tea and sandwiches at 7 or 8, which is the age they do it in Brownies and so on. Before then the only thing they are allowed to do in the kitchen is chop things with me supervising closely, and make juice and cereal for themselves, again with a bit of supervision.

5 too young imo, I know I had to make tea to get a particular brownie badge so I would have been 7+.

Blimey no. Agree with BoffinMum that they wouldnt be ready til 7-8 and even then there would be a massive variation.

4 or 5 is too young IMO, but 10 is not too young. By 11 they start secondary school= chemistry lab=bunsen burners.

(Also, I think it is desirable for a 10yo to have a little more independence. Dd has some friends who are not allowed to make themselves a piece of toast at 12: I am not looking forward to those youngsters arriving at my university in 6 years time.)

But 4 or 5- yes I agree with most other posters, too young. Manual control is often not that reliable at this age and scalds are horrible things.

Too young. 7 ish is a better age. I remember making tea when I was about 7 or 8 and I splashed a tiny bit of water on my stomach - still have a splodge there.

And I was well-used to doing stuff for myself by then, whereas my 5 year old dd has trouble pouring milk into her cereal let alone boiling hot water into small receptacle.

I burnt my hand about 4 years ago filling a hot water bottle...the pain of having boiled water over my entire hand was excruciating! Spent the whole night with it plunged in icey water and it was still sickeningly painful...the thought of how much that could have burnt a small child makes me feel queasy.

No
Ds has just turned 7 and despite him being very sensible there is no way hes allowed.

He can make pour his cereal in the bowl and add milk, make orange squash, and chop (with a dinner knife) and wash salad BUT hot is off limits.

I remember making tea for my parents, must have been about 8.

I made angel delight for my explorer badge

no

Far too young.

Too young to do it alone, but DS1 helps me make a cup of coffee

Too young IMO.

DD is 6 (7 in April) and is not allowed to make hot drinks using the Tassimo machine. She has also now been allowed to carry them through to the living room but only when on a tray. I wouldn't be happy with her usng the kettle though as I think there is more otential for a heavy kettle to be dropped and water splash out.

No. I do let DS (nearly 5) make toast in the toaster when I am nearby.

Cory - My 10 year old has plenty of independence thank you - regularly getting the tram and bus home from school alone (we are not in the UK). There has just not yet been an occasion where she has had to boil a kettle.

No 5 too young, would let dd aged 8 but my

nice looking kettle is completely

impractical, far too heavy and metal so gets

really hot. Now I know why my parents always

used a cheap plastic one.

No-5 is way too young.