Young Operators - How young is too young?

frank_f15 · Apr 5, 2005

Very tough call. it really depends on the child,and the type of work they will be doing. when i was 10 years old, my uncle would follow me down the road till i got to the hay field, then turn me loose with a jug of water and a tank full of gas to rake hay into windrows.. was a totally differnt mind set back then. that was a few years ago /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif well actually more than a few years, more like 53 years or there abouts /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

hudr · Apr 5, 2005

I don't remember when I started operating equipment. I started out on 2 Cyl JDs because I couldn't reach the clutch on the 'big" tractors, but I could yank on that hand clutch. I also remember the amazement I felt at 15 or 16 years old. I was in drivers ed in High School and could not believe the number of kids who had NEVER sat behind the wheel of anything! My kids (my boy is now 5) will start out with simple tasks in a large area and move on to more complicated stuff. But I think kids NEED to know how stuff works and what is safe and what can get you hurt. I have had people look at me with "that look" when I tell them I let my 5 year old steer the truck in the pasture and be around (at safe distances) when I am working with equipment. I think parents that don't teach their kids about this stuff are irresponsible since they grow up not knowing how things operate and in turn get themselves and/or someone else hurt.

ksmmoto · Apr 5, 2005

When I grew up in the 60's & 70's just about everybody operated tractors very young. We lived on an 80 acre farm that my great uncle and my dad farmed. I started operating a John Deere H at about eight years old with supervision while baling hay, etc.

Started disking and plowing on my own at 12. Worked for my uncle and grandfather's dairy farm at 16, operating large John Deere's up to 125 hp.

My neighbor back then started disking on his own at about 10! He rode snowmobiles at age 6, ran over one of the other neighbor boys who ran out in front of him. He was ok other then some cuts from the cleats. And this was a mid 60's Polaris Mustang that must have weighed 700 lbs.

My neighbor now across the road lets his son who is 8 drive all the tracors. I seen him disk the garden last fall with a Allis-Chalmers D-17 and a 15' disk. And he was solo, everybody else was in the house.

Depends on the person and cicumstances. Many kids don't drive anything very early now and I think it makes them gun shy. I have had all my kids drive our mini van on the gravel road starting at about 12. Also they all have run the riding mower from about 11 on.

ksmmoto

Jagmandave · Apr 6, 2005

I have 4 brothers, of them 1 is an aircraft mechanic, 1 an electronics engineer who flies Biz jets for a living, one is a mechanical engineer for a large maufacturing co and 1 is a high up muckity muck civilian in the defence dept. The first two I would trust with any piece of machinery I own, the other two would not be allowed in my potting shed with a trowel! It's down to personality and maturity, some people have an affinity for machinery, others are mystified by it - those are the ones that need to stay away! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

rdbrumfield · Apr 7, 2005

Never to young with good supervision. The only thing I would recommend is be sure to pull the keys when the day is done. My neighbor kid, which I can hardly start a tractor and he is out hollering for me to come over to ride with me, started his mothers car in the garage to go to Grandma's place. She just lives down the street, but thank god he couldn't put it in gear as he couldn't reach the brake releases the mechanizm for moving the gear lever. His mother heard the car start and of course didn't hit the ground until she got him out. Mind you, he is all of 3. Now I am sure to pull the keys. He surprised me when we were finished mowing the lawn and we got off the mower. I was talking to his dad when he showed up with the keys to give to me. He said "you forgot to take them out". Guess he learned his lesson the first time.

PhilNH5 · Apr 7, 2005

( I was in drivers ed in High School and could not believe the number of kids who had NEVER sat behind the wheel of anything!)
My daughter is now 17 and has been pulling a cart behind a lawn tractor since she was 10. She is close to being the primary operator of the BX2200.
She got her drivers license last fall. During the state mandated drivers ed she impressed her instructor with her very first 3 point turn. He asked where she learned to do that. She replied "driving a tractor" /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

But I must admit I am more scared of her driving a car on the road than of operating the tractor.

Phil

getut · Apr 7, 2005

I tend to go way towards the young end of the scale. It seems there is a "politically correct" movement out there in regards to safety.

To be "politically correct" there has to be 0% chance of injury. It just isn't going to happen. Some people tolerate a "chance" of injury much better than others. I don't even require my kids to wear a helmet riding a bicycle. To me some safety items are waaaaay too overboard EVEN if the thing they are trying to prevent happens to my or my family.

Life has to be lived, not hidden from and living life in near perfect safety isn't worth living anyway.

dholly · Apr 7, 2005

( Life has to be lived, not hidden from and living life in near perfect safety isn't worth living anyway. )

I concur, yet everyone's idea of 'safe' differs. I mean, really, you're flying around in a friggen' lawn chair! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

getut · Apr 7, 2005

<BLUSH> /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Ya.. maybe my statement would carry more weight if I didn't enjoy doing something that radical (to most people anyway).

hehehe

GerardC · Apr 7, 2005

Looks like we are getting a Bobcat and my 8 year old son wants to drive.... Will probably let him in the right circumstance. 

When I had my garage built one of the contractors 7 year old son was operating the Bobcat around the staging zone. He'll make a name for himself at a very young age.