It’s a natural thing to want to share the things you love most with your children and your love of woodworking is no different. Woodworking for kids can be fun for both of you if you lay down some basic rules and make sure they’re followed.
Not only is woodworking a skill you can (and should) pass on to your child, the time you share with your kids, teaching them something you love, will bring hours of happiness for both of you and provide memories they’ll carry with them for a lifetime.
- Safety cannot be stressed enough. Kids should never, ever, under any circumstances be allowed to do any woodworking without adult supervision. No exceptions, ever.
- Most workshop injuries happen to the non-dominant hand. This can be avoided by using clamps or a vise to hold the wood while the child is doing a drill or a saw. You’ll need to tighten the clamp, as they won’t have enough strength in their hands. When cutting, it’s a good idea to have them hold the saw with both hands or put one hand behind their back.
- Start with simple projects first. Plan to introduce only one or two tools at a time, so they can fully understand how to use it properly. Have the child learn and master tools slowly and move forward in a logical order. They don’t need to learn how to use a lathe if they’ve never even hammered in a nail.
- It helps for them to have a “kid-sized” area to work on. Consider creating a workbench for them to make woodworking for kids easier and more enjoyable.
- Be patient. In this day and age, most kids have very little knowledge or experience in working with their hands. It may surprise you to learn that some children don’t even have a good understanding of how to fold paper and cut it with scissors. Keep in mind the electronic age they’re growing up in and be patient in explaining woodworking techniques.
Here are a few project ideas that are fund for kids to participate in:
Woodworking for kids teaches them so much more than just how to cut wood and put it together to make something pretty or practical. It teaches skills such as planning, measuring, counting and problem-solving that will help them in other areas of their life.
Following these basic rules helps eliminate injuries in the workshop and creates a kid-friendly environment in which you and your child can develop a deeper relationship and a lasting bond.
