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mom2mpr
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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Ds is 9, and a pretty mature guy. I am wondering if you all think I am crazy for even thinking of having him mow our grass with a riding mower. My parents were appalled when I mentioned it--I wasn't allowed to touch the mower til I was 16--but I was also a girl  But, my mom is "Super safety" woman. I also have a few concerns having seen a few injuries in my hospital nursing days(mostly in younger kids though). But, with some rules--no one else in the yard--well, except me to supervise, only mow the middles(dad or I can do the edges and gardens and swingset), and a full instruction on how the mower works and what to do in an "emergency"--am I still way off base? At what age do you let you boys cut the grass?
Thanks in advance-
Anne
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 3:05pm | IP Logged
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I would.. umm I did.. I was using a small lawn tractor for mowing and rototilling when I was 9. By putting me up on the mower my grandparents and mom got a 4th "adult worker" whereas I wouldn't have been close doing the work "on the ground".
we have a pull start push mower and dh's rule is "when you can start it you can use it by yourself"
Now before then they want to help so we train them and train them in safety etc. My kids know well that you mess up on the safety rules and that's a privelege that will be yanked so fast their heads will spin.
I think if you take the time to train him well and then you check on him in gradually increasing intervals (and then randomly).. you can be fairly sure that he won't mess around.. which is usually why someone gets hurt.
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joann10
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 3:56pm | IP Logged
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We have a 100 pound rule. It sounds funny, but when they weigh about that they are big enough to maneuver it safely. That would mean most of mine where mowing by about the age of 11.
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Carole N.
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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We let our sons mow the lawn when a parent was with them when they were younger (8), but did not let them mow on their own until 11. My dh is usually around when they are doing yard work anyway, so I don't worry about injuries too much. I like the 100 pound rule. I tsounds logical.
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helene
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 5:21pm | IP Logged
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Our son started at 11. He is 12 now and got a job mowing the neighbors lawn too....he is richer than me!
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juststartn
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 7:39pm | IP Logged
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Check with local law enforcement. No joke, but seriously. SOme places have regulations about this sort of thing.
Rachel (who was mowing at 11 with a push mower)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 27 2007 at 9:15pm | IP Logged
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100 pound rule
I have micro midgits for children  my 10 year old isn't even 60 pounds. So They'd likely be able to drive a car before mowing the lawn if I waited on 100lbs
Sounds like it works for you though.. and in a way is very similiar to my dh's "when you can start it" rule. It just really tickled my funny bone with having kids on the bottom of the charts.
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shartlesville
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Absolutely not before age 13 at our house - no exceptions. It was the law in one of the states we lived in and we just assumed it was the same everywhere so we stuck with it.
Mower accidents are very common, even for adults so I would seriously hesitate to allow any child to use a motorized mower of any kind. And follow Rachel's advice about checking with law enforcement or child protection services (anonymously, of course).
Blessings,
Krisann
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 6:22am | IP Logged
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I think the maturity of the child has to be considered as well as his size. My ds was mature enough a couple of years ago, but too light. For our lawn mower, if the person driving is not heavy enough, it will not go. It's a nice safety feature! Our ds was able to actually mow it on his own last year, at 12. But dh still only let him do the main yard. We have some steep hills that dh always does.
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 7:52am | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
100 pound rule
I have micro midgits for children my 10 year old isn't even 60 pounds. So They'd likely be able to drive a car before mowing the lawn if I waited on 100lbs
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This is what I thought here, too! I' not sure when we'll let him mow, but I doubt it will be for at least another couple of years (he just turned 9 last week).
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Lisbet
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 9:40am | IP Logged
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My 12 year old began mowing 2 summers ago. He was 10. But it was a push mower and we have a super mini yard. I had to start it for him, but it was even hard for me to start! He was able to start it on his own last summer. I had no idea there were laws on this...geesh, what happened to parental discernment?? 
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 9:46am | IP Logged
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With the riding mower, I would check the safety requirements from the manufacturer. There is probably some weight requirement as far as the thing not tipping goes. It would also depend on whether the area he would be mowing is flat or hilly. Our yard has some especially steep areas that my husband won't let anyone other than himself mow, even though our ds17 is bigger than his dad (I think it's mostly one of those "if anything happened I wouldn't forgive myself" kinds of things). But, if he's a big enough boy and the area is flat, I would give him some "driving lessons" and let him do it.
Peace,
Nancy
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Erin
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| Posted: April 29 2007 at 7:47am | IP Logged
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My dh has the rule that the dc can mow once they turn 10 as that is his family tradition. In the family that I grew up in we were mowing from about 7 or 8. Then again my father had spinal injuries and couldn't do it. I have a irl friend whose boys mow from about that age also.
Our mower is push mower though. I would just go by what you are comfortable with. How sensible your son is. We also have the 'everyone else' in the house rule when the mower is on. Our second son was just promoted to lawn mowing and boy was he proud. 
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Topic: What age to mow the grass?
