My New Shop Helper

[crokett]

My daughter came down to the shop yesterday and wanted to help Daddy. We put her name on a spare tack hammer and a screwdriver. She spent the next several minutes banging away on some scrap wood with her hammer. Today I was doing some painting and she wanted to help so we painted her piece of scrap. She is still afraid of the noise from the power tools, but it's a start.

[Ed62]

How old is she? She sounds pretty young. Probably just the right age to gradually break in.

Ed

[onedash]

i wish my 3 year old was scared...I can't keep him out of there when im working. its doesnt matter how cold it is either. so he gets his socks all covered in sawdust and i get him back in before he gets hurt on anything. I tried to get him to whack on a scrap while sitting on a bucket. That lasted 30 seconds before he wanted to explore...

[crokett]

Ed, She is 2 and a half. So far the rules are she has to wear shoes in my shop and she can't touch anything I don't give her. She is pretty good about both. I will say that having kids forces me to keep a cleaner (and safer shop).

[TB Roye]

My Grand Kids ages 5, 3 1/2(twins) and 2 1/2 come out to the shop and allowed to use certain tools, All the power tools are off limits and are deactivated while they are in there. They are have the bottom two shelves in one cabinet to have their stuff, jars of sawdust, small cutoffs and some tools. They love it. LOML watches the youngest one so she is out there all the time but she is good she loves for me to drill holes in scrap so she can put screw in them with a phillips screwdriver. The oldest Justin now we do small projects and is allowed to use the small cordless drill and he makes airplanes that are pieces of wood screwed together and painted. I have couple of birdhouse kit for him the next time he comes out. Kids love the workshops. and of course that were Papa keep the treats. I do think it helps with the hand/eye coordination.

Tom

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Mark usually has a helper out in the shop also but he will sit and build for hours and he is almost 11 now. He is getting ready to make his Pinewood Derby car for Scouts and will be doing most of it by himself with Mark supervising. When Richard was younger we found him a tool set complete with hard hat, safety goggles, tool belt held up by rainbow suspenders, chalk line, hammer, level and a square, oh and I think that it came with some gloves. He would wear those around for hours and play and beat on wood and he still has that today and when he is in the shop uses it all the time.

Now we are going to have to find something like that for Thomas because I am sure that he is going to want to be in the shop with his dad and big brother when he is old enough to realize that its where the fun is.

[scmhogg]

David,

You are building memories. My youngest, now 21, and I would spend every Thursday evening in the shop, while Mom played tennis. We made school projects, gifts for Mom . . . One of the middle-school projects for Medieval history was a catapult that would fling an orange nearly 100 yards.

The key is to do it together. Luckily, my son would rag me if I tried to take over, or sneak away for my own projects.

Now, sit down on the floor of your shop, until you are eye level with your daughter. Pad everything that could touch her head. Such as, the ends of the BT rails, corners, etc. Remember, she will grow six inches very soon.

I used the rubber pipe insulation they sell at HD with cable ties.

Steve

[Ed62]

Now we are going to have to find something like that for Thomas

I heard about Mark in the shop. Maybe he'd like one too.

Ed

[ExYankee]

How about a picture of her 'finished project'. In some far off year she can search the Internet for it and see the first thing she made in daddys shop.

[mater]

My grandsons ages 6 & 4 1/2 had rather go into my shop and work as they call it than anything they do. Of course when they are working they like to explain to me what they are making and who they are making it for. As a project for school the oldest drew a picture of our shop. I love it.

[gad5264]

David,
My oldest daughter is now 15 and she loves coming to the garage to hang out with dad. She even gets her hands dirty every once in a while. Now that she is in H.S. she has wanted to make a cutout of her school mascot (stallion) and paint it to hang on the wall in her bedroom. So as soon as the weather breaks here in Columbus we will be making some sawdust and memories together.

[crokett]

Grant, when my daughters are 15 I sure hope they like hanging out with Dad. Every minute they are with me they aren't with boys. I still haven't decided what age is the best to start teaching that boys are icky.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

I still haven't decided what age is the best to start teaching that boys are icky.

START NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

I keep telling my 11 yr old that boys are bad. And she also likes to be out in the shop with her dad helping.