At what age did you let your son drive/operate?

[ihookem]

My son started last year with a Simplicity 8 horse last year. This year he drives my Kubota 7510hst. I let him mow and roto till the easy stuff. He is 9 now. I watched him carefully for quite a while. When he did somthing not too smart, that was it for the day,or untill he was ready to pay attention.

 

[mikim]

My son was 28 when I bought my tractor - he's now 32 and I haven't let him on it yet! Darn kid breaks stuff....

 

[shovelhead]

I bought a NH TC35A less than a year ago. My 13 year old son has had more seat time than I have, and when it comes to FEL operation, he is probably better than I am. This is probably the only positive result of hours of video games! A couple of weeks ago, my wife asked him if she could drive the tractor. He told her "MOM! You can't drive a standard shift. You have NO business driving my tractor!" I turned around and left so they wouldn't hear me laugh.

All-in-all, he does very well. When we picked up the tractor, I told the salesman he would be on the tractor as much as I would. The salesman spent extra time going over everything on the tractor with lots of safety information. I just keep a close eye on him and give him pointers now and then. Since he cares nothing about my interests and hobbies, this tractor has been a good bonding and educational tool. I hope y'all have the same results.

 

[JasonMac]

I've always been around Backhoes growing up.. I was running them quite young age... mostly playing with them.

I believe tractors are like having guns. My dad taught us how to shoot guns at an early age.... after he taught us the guns, there was no more curiosity... and everybody knows, curiosity is what killed the cat...

sure, get them used to it, and teach them safety... they'll appreciate it, and they won't sneak around behind your back when you are not home, and steal your keys, and get hurt...

show them everything, more often than not, they will learn to be safe..

 

[schmism]

i was probibly 7 or 8.... had to be big enough to reach the peddels.

shortly after that (perhaps 10) we were plinking crap with the .22 with dad...

 

[TrippleT]

I would suggest that safety be of paramount importance. Do not let a child ride
with anyone on a tractor. I had a good friend who was letting his small grandson ride while he was using the rotary cutter, or as we say bush hog, regardless of brand, down here. The child fell off and was cut to pieces. His grandfather never got over it.
On the other hand I have known children who would go to the fields with their fathers and were driving a tractor at an early age. I think a childs mental and emotional makeup plays a lot in the age to operate a tractor. But make sure they know the safety rules and adhere to them.
There are a lot of very good suggestions on this thread. I have a grandson who is five years old, he drives a gocart. He looks like a sprint car driver, he can slide the thing around and make long sliding turns. However, for that reason, I don't think he should learn to drive the tractor to soon LOL.