Toy tools or real tools for children? Thoughts?

[rsanter]

My daughter used to play with the rubber mallet, ratchets, extensions, sockets....etc when she was little.
I selected stuff it would be hard for her to get hurt on. (No pointy or sharp things like needle nose or screwdrivers)

She seemed to like them so much I went and bought her her own ELMO tool set.
When she first handeled then she lookat me like “what the hell is this ****? These aren’t tools. Why would you give me this?

 

[PCMusicGuy]

This would be my plan: Once they obtain enough dexterity and communication ability, I would say real hand tools. Once they are strong enough to handle power tools, start with simple stuff like hand sanders and lower powered screwdrivers. Work up from there.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Real tools all the way, IMO. 5 or 6 might be a bit young for power tools, but some kids may be ready by 9 or so. I think I was 10 when I bought a Black & Decker jig saw and 3/8 drill with my savings and the next year I bought a circular saw.

Chances are if you're reading or posting on GJ, you may be an outlier...

I like the earlier suggestion on layout tools at an earlier age - stellar idea.

 

[kazlx]

My 5 year old routinely helps me using the cordless drill, hammers and other basic hand tools. Both my 5 and 2 year old love to use the shop vac and actually clean the floors. I've been working with my 5 year old loading parts in the CNC mill. He gets bored after a little bit, but I expect both my kids to learn how to run it. My nephew is 8 and seems interested and is pretty sharp with technical stuff already so I'm going to start teaching him CAD and CAM and setting up the machine.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

What exactly are those pliers for I've had a set in a drawer for 15 years but was never sure of their actual purpose

the parallel nature of the jaws makes them well suited for nuts and sheet metal.

 

[Boofer]

The youngest daughter in high school came home, got a floor jack, lug wrench and hubcap tool and went back to school and changed a flat tire for one of the members of the football team. He didn't have a clue how to do it.

Good for her. I hope she pulled his man card when she was done, lol.

 

[larry_g]

My children are 35-40yo, they give me real tools! My oldest at age 3-4 would find a hammer and be happy the whole day. He now owns a successful construction company. He gave me a 12v Milwaukee grease gun this year.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[mikebaker1129]

Real . I gave my 4 year old a craftsman box for Christmas last year and gave him to 1/4 drive SK tools and ratchet to put in there.
Oh and a tape measure little kids just love a tape measure.
My son thought he was big stuff with real tools!

 

[scdealer]

One of my favorite gifts ever was a little toy tool set when I was 4ish. They were "real" tools, but kid sized. A little hand saw, hammer, screwdriver, metal tool box and a couple of other things. The saw cut and I used to love cutting little pieces of wood with it. And driving nails with the hammer. Stuck the screwdriver in an electrical outlet to see what would happen and burned off half the tip. Good times. I still have the saw and screwdriver somewhere.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I got toy tools at the age of 2, real tools at the age of 4. The rest is history now

 

[Tynee]

My cousin, as a 10 year old, had a .22 shell chucked up in a vice, hitting it with a hammer, trying to discharge it. I wouldn’t have trusted him with a rubber mallet as a teenager.
My son, at 11 just got his first cordless drill for his birthday, and has a pretty decent little set of tools. My daughter, at 8 has the basics, and my 6 year old son has a cheap homeowner grade bag of tools. They all also own their own pocket kinves...

 

[unknownroad]

I once attempted to "fix" a record player. Like dad, I fixed things. Before long, I had that thing completely taken apart and spread out on the floor when dad walked in. It was not a broken record player when I tried to fix it, but it never worked again.

I'm surprised there weren't more stories like this. Real tools may seem like a natural choice for a kid who is curious and likes building stuff (legos, model cars, etc), but that curiosity is eventually going to extend to taking stuff apart and needs to be balanced with guidance and supervision.

As a kid I was intelligent enough to completely disassemble a broken coffeemaker, but dumb enough to plug it in while disassembled to see what functions the parts would perform. Fortunately I grounded a hot line with a screwdriver and tripped the breaker before I got around to electrocuting myself

 

[Hytekrednek]

I'm surprised there weren't more stories like this. Real tools may seem like a natural choice for a kid who is curious and likes building stuff (legos, model cars, etc), but that curiosity is eventually going to extend to taking stuff apart and needs to be balanced with guidance and supervision.

As a kid I was intelligent enough to completely disassemble a broken coffeemaker, but dumb enough to plug it in while disassembled to see what functions the parts would perform. Fortunately I grounded a hot line with a screwdriver and tripped the breaker before I got around to electrocuting myself

Same here. After that, Dad let me help take some things apart to fix. That helped curb my desire to disassemble stuff, for a while anyway.
Yes, you were lucky to not get shocked. Once, and once only, I thought steel jig saw blades should be put into an electrical outlet. I am not sure why, maybe just to see what would happen? It happened alright! I never tried that again.