Many people ask me how to get their children into bushcraft? How to introduce knives safely and at what age? When did I first start foraging with my children? What resources are there? What about courses for children? Is it best for me to do a course and then teach my children?
My children have grown up with a love of nature and bushcraft and are still passionate about this in their teens. I have also worked with young people from age 7 to mid 20’s teaching outdoor sports, Duke of Edinburgh award and taking groups of university students on short expeditions. I have worked with children from privileged backgrounds to young people on probation and everything in between. In a lot of these settings I have witnessed young people building resilience, becoming confident in themselves and comfortable in nature. For some I have seen them find solace too.
In these series of blogs will share what I have done over the years to nurture this in a variety of settings and suggest questions for you to ponder so you can come to your own conclusions and work out the best solutions for your own young people.
There are a few principles that have guided this journey, it is paramount to always consider the children, their skills and abilities so you can work towards success safely. Really paying attention to their current passions and providing opportunities are what is core to connecting them with what they love rather than trying to get them to love one’s own current passion. These have been my general guiding principles.
Setting children and young people up for success starts with: Safety, Comfort, Fun! This is always my first thought with each activity, project and adventure. To have fun one needs to feel comfortable. Comfortable physically; for example, not hungry, thirsty, too cold or too hot. Comfortable emotionally; so that the challenge or new skill matches their ability to be able find satisfaction in what they are doing. To be comfortable one needs to act safely and mitigate risk. No one is comfortable if they are hurt and fun can quickly disappear.
Starting young helps but young people can find nature engaging even if there has been a dearth in their lives up to that point.
Developmentally appropriate
When considering what activities are appropriate think about this in developmental terms rather than age. It really helps a child to feel successful. For example, don’t start a child carving a spoon if it is the first time they have picked up a knife. Making a spike for roasting a marshmallow or cooking bread dough is a great project to start. Making tent pegs widens knife skills, making a butter knife and several of these things before progressing to a spoon. Making feather sticks for gaining good control. Depending on the child or children you are teaching depends on what is possible. In a group setting with an experienced instructor children can often progress rapidly as the instructor knows how to troubleshoot.
Knives
The use of knives by children are often emotionally discussed. After travelling extensively in China, I witnessed Tibetan children being given and carrying their own knives at the age of three. I witnessed their sensible use of the tool and their lack of scars on their hands from serious injuries. I thought about this a lot. In the culture they grow up in they see all adults carrying knives and using them daily. In the UK there is much more limited use of knives, and I see many adults don’t use knives safely, and often, when knives are being used their children are elsewhere. Most children don’t help in the kitchen when they are young or see people in their work using knives. This means they don’t have a bank of memories where they have observed people using knives safely.
How much time have your young people had to observe safe use of knives in their everyday lives?
Teaching knife safety and responsible use is paramount. Not only should this be in what is said but should be demonstrated by the adults around even when you think children may not be watching. They are our greatest mimics and much of learning is through observation rather than given information.
Are the people using knives around young people demonstrating good practice?
Nowadays most children now have decreased dexterity compared to the past, less practical skills and most are learnt much later. This is due to the lack of opportunity they have had to practice these skills. Combine that with less observation and things can become tricky. In addition, our lived environment is often much busier, distracting and overall much more stimulating.
What opportunities have your young people had to develop their dexterity? Do they have good scissor control? Can they sew? How are their fine motor skills with drawing, making things?
When running sessions with children as professionals we create an environment where they know what is expected of them, where to sit, how to carve each step and with a high level of supervision.
How likely are our young people to be distracted? Can we create an environment that reduces distractions?
However, in our own children we often would like them to be more independent than this. Whilst knife safety learnt on these sessions is invaluable one session alone is unlikely to be enough to mean they are ready to carve or use a knife without a high degree of supervision. So, what is the process that can enable young people to use a knife or other bladed article with a high degree of conscientiousness and safety?
Skills they need to become competent:
- Manual dexterity especially fine motor skills and body awareness to co-ordinate how and where in relation to their body they are using their knife.
- Ability to observe and accurately copy what they have seen.
- Understanding of safety and ability to apply it.
- Ability to stay focused on the task and changing environment. For example, a dog walking into the area where the knife is being used.
- Patience so if a project doesn’t go as expected are they resilient to outbursts in frustration? Are they able to emotionally self-regulate or do they need support with this? What support are you able to put in place?
Where are your young people with these skills?
Initially for very small children age 1+ wooden play food that has parts of it attached by Velcro comes with a small wooden knife and chopping board children can play at preparing food. This gives very small hands plenty of practice getting their co-ordination right. Then progressing on to using a normal knife from the cutlery draw to cut soft foods like bananas on chopping boards. It takes a lot of dexterity to move from a chopping board to whittling in the hand.
Progressing onward can include a rounded tip sharp knife. This helps with cutting more challenging foods and if children are very young can help to reassure you that at least they are not going to jab themselves or you in a momentary lap of concentration.
I often hear of people buying their child their first pen knife. I know many of us in the past had this experience, however I don’t think this is an ideal solution for many reasons. Having a knife that has a folding blade means that it is not suitable for many tasks that children want to do like carving. There is increased risk of the blade folding unexpectedly and cutting the fingers. A knife that can fit in a pocket can easily be forgotten then become an illegal carry. It is always a requirement for an under 18 to have a good reason for having a knife on them. (Educational activities, camping, fishing etc) but when they are not partaking in these activities directly it is paramount that they are not carrying them. I do know of children who have been away camping with their families and used their school bag as their day pack and the next day found that they have gone to school with a knife in their bag. This can cause them to be in very serious trouble.
Are your young people able to organise, plan ahead and take responsibility? What are their executive functioning skills like?
Depending on hand size and when they are ready, I like Morakniv knives they are ¾ tang come in bright colours, are easy to sharpen and cheap. First knives usually take a bit of a battering and knowing that if the blade is damage or sharpened badly that it isn’t going to cost and arm and a leg to replace it is a huge bonus.
What are you putting in place to teach along side knife handling skills to take care of and maintain the blade? When are you going to teach them how to sharpen a knife?
As a matter of practice, I keep our ‘bladed articles’ knives, axes and the like in a lockable toolbox. I have found this to help with not leaving knives around or unsheathed. Gives a healthy respect for knives and helps the mind focus knowing that a knife is needed for a particular rather than wondering around with a knife wonder … mmm my knife is so cool, what can I use it for. All other tools unless directly working with them are not carried with on a belt or in a pocket. How many times have you seen someone wondering around with a hammer on their belt for no particular reason? Teaching that knives are tools means treating them in the same way as you do other tools.
What are your young people’s attitudes to knifes? How can you support them to have healthy respect for all tools and their place in our lives?
As they get older teach them the law around bladed articles and knives. Teach them about what a ‘good quality’ knife is, what the different features of a knife are what they are used for.
On a final note, and a serious consideration is; how good and knowledgeable are your own knife skills? Do you know about general safety principles? Do you use a knife with a first aid kit always present? What safe and effective carving techniques do you know and which do you use? Are you confident to use different styles of knife and adjust your knowledge to suit your tool? Do you know how to choose a knife that is fit for purpose? Do you know how to maintain and sharpen it? If not, going on a course with a competent instructor can make a huge difference and help you become aware of any unsafe habits you may have developed. It is the quickest that I know of to improve your skill and safety in a short space of time.