I'd say old enough depends upon the child and how trustworthy they are and how they follow instructions. Our daughters were helping with yard work by the age of 8 and around 10 or 11 we started letting them use the mowers. Of course at that age we kept constant watch on them, but as they proved to be responsible and they knew how the mowers worked we slowly started watching them less and less. One thing I made clear was how sharp the blades were and showed them where to never put their body parts at any time while the mower is running. One thing I did to prove my point was taking a nurf ball, one of the small ones, and while the mower was going took a stick and lifted the shoot dropping the ball into the turning blades. I then asked them what happened to the ball, of course we all know nothing was left of it. I told them that any part of their body that got under the blades would look just like that ball. I think that one of the most important things is to make sure that the child understands all the parts of the mower and how it works. Once they understand the mower, can manage the mower itself and can point out safety issues they should be able to use the tool effectively. As I said before, the age depends upon the child. Jimmy...KD5QHH... New home page, http://www.podsim.us MSN, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo, [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jennifer Jackson Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 11:49 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] tractors Maybe I could put one on my kid and make my turns based on how loud he yelps? :) Perhaps not.
On a more serious note, how old is old enough to start mowing the lawn? What kind of safety instructions should I be handing out? Jennifer ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan Rossi To: [email protected] <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 11:12 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] tractors Getting a Trekker or other GPS system for mowing the lawn is a bit extravagant. Might as well get a robotic lawn mower at that point. But it might work. Here's a much cheaper way, but doubt you will like the solution. Just do one of those invisible fences for dogs. Then where the receiver on your arm. Whenever you get close to the edge of the field, it would shock the hell out of you. They are distance modulated as well, so you could tell how close you are getting to the edge by the strength of the shock you are receiving. *GRIN* -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:dr25%40andrew.cmu.edu> Tel: (412) 268-9081 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
