Assign a task to a child by asking what the hazards are, whether they can be removed, and whether this child has shown the judgement to handle the rest, then hand the task over in stages from an adult within arm’s reach to independent work. Children’s judgement of risk develops later than their physical ability, so a child who is strong enough for a job may still be unable to do it safely alone, and age is only a rough guide.
A hazard-based method for deciding which jobs children may do and with what supervision, replacing a table of safe ages that no source supports.
Why Not Just Use An Age Table
The parent article offers a table of tasks by age band: for example sorting and carrying light objects at the youngest ages, gardening and small water-carrying a few years later, tool use under supervision, and “most adult tasks under mentorship” for early teens. It is a sensible starting point, but this guide has found no source that gives the age at which a child can safely perform a given task, and children of the same age differ in size, coordination, attention and temperament. The same child is more careful on a good day than when tired, excited, or showing off. So the method below starts from the hazard and the child, and uses age only as a rough prior.
Three entries in the parent table need extra care:
- Water carrying by young children. No load limit is given here because none is sourced. The practical test: the child walks upright and normally, can set the load down without help, and has no pain afterwards.
- “Cooking independently” for the middle years. Cooking involves open fire and boiling liquid. Define “independently” as the end of a staged handover, with the fire kept as safe as the design allows.
- “Hunting with training” and “some guard duty” for early teens. These involve weapons and decisions with consequences for others. A young person should never be the sole sentry or hunt alone, and weapons training comes first.
The Hazards That Matter
| Hazard | How children are hurt | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Machinery and moving parts (mills, wheels, belts, presses, winches) | Hair and loose clothing caught; crushing; small bodies reach gaps | Keep children away from running machinery at any age until trained |
| Animals | Kicked, bitten, crushed against walls | Small stock first; large animals only beside a trained adult |
| Heights | Falls from ladders, roofs, haylofts, trees | Teach ladder use with an adult holding it; no work at height alone |
| Water | Silent drowning in wells, ponds, streams, buckets; swimming ability does not remove the risk | Cover wells; adult in sight near open water |
| Edged tools | Cuts to self and others | Staged handover; clear working space |
| Fire and hot liquids | Burns and scalds, smoke, carbon monoxide indoors | Fire kept low and fenced; no charcoal indoors |
| Heavy loads | Strains and falls | Test by gait and pain, not by a number |
| Chemicals (lye, lime, acids, tanning) | Burns, blindness | Adults only |
| Cold and heat | Children lose heat faster than adults relative to size | Breaks and shelter; watch for early signs |
| Working alone or far from camp, or at night | No help if hurt | Pairs, and check-in times |
For the dangers themselves see Animal Husbandry, Cattle Management, Axe and Hatchet, Charcoal Safety Practices, Heat, Cold, Water and Severity Assessment.
Method: A Staged Handover
Step 1: List the hazards of the task and remove what can be removed: guards, fences, covers, a smaller tool, a lighter load.
Step 2: Adult within arm’s reach. The child does the task with the adult beside them, ready to stop it.
Step 3: Adult in sight. The adult does other work but watches.
Step 4: Adult within call, with the child’s regular reports.
Step 5: Independent, with check-in and a rule on when to stop and ask.
Step 6: Re-check. Move back a step after an injury, a near miss, a change in conditions, or when the child is tired or ill.
Move from one step to the next only after the child has done the task correctly on several occasions in different conditions, including when distracted. “Several” is deliberately unspecified: it depends on the task and the child.
Worked Example: Splitting Kindling With A Hatchet
- Adult shows with a chopping block and a clear space, and explains the swing path.
- Child splits small dry sticks with the adult standing beside, outside the swing path.
- Child works in sight of the adult, with others kept well back.
- After many sessions, child works within call.
No one else stands within reach of the swing. Where other children are present, a marked space keeps them out.
Common Mistakes
- Reading strength as skill.
- Moving up a stage because the child is bored.
- Giving a hazardous job to a child because adults are short of hands, without the supervision stage.
- Not teaching the child when to stop and say “this is too hard”.
The usual injuries
Cuts from knives and axes, burns and scalds, falls from heights, crushing by animals and machinery, drowning, and strain from heavy loads are the most likely serious injuries in children’s work. Keep first-aid supplies and a trained person at hand (First Aid), and treat every near miss as a reason to review the task.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Building Competence & Pride
- Combine with: Avoiding Exploitation