Too young to tend the stove?

My 11 year old son runs my summit just fine when I was working second shift. Actually my wife told me he corrected her on how she had the lever set after she added wood one time.

I guess the motto is depends on the kid and the interest / time they are willing to put into learning to run it and to keeping warm

I intend to give my 14-year old son some stove responsibility, but only when he shows he wants it. His job now is to remind me when I forget to adjust the air or damper, and/or to make the adjustments himself. So far he is more forgetful than me. He has an open invitation to tend the fire when I'm around, and has expressed interest, but has not expressed much action. I'll give him a year before I crack the whip.

I agree, a daughter may be more responsible than a son in some cases (think 16-year old with car). Here is the question: does your daughter WANT the responsibility? If she wants it, she may grow to love it; if not, she may steer clear of wood stoves as an adult, seeing them as an awful chore to be avoided. Your approach may influence whether she develops a passion or an allergy.

My son is a big help with splitting, stacking and hauling - just to give him the credit he deserves.

I think it is great to teach them responsibility.

However, the dad in me would be very concerned that something would go wrong.

Just today I had a hidden coal get on the rug and after that I had some coals in the vacuum cleaner.

Got both taken care of but what if I had not noticed?

If I thought that they could safely do it I would go for it.

Be safe and Merry Christmas.

If your still a little apprehensive about it, I would delete the idae of raking the coals aroungd. Just have 2 medium to medium small well seasoned splits aound for her to add, This should buy you eonugh time till you get home.

adrpga498 said:

If your still a little apprehensive about it, I would delete the idae of raking the coals aroungd. Just have 2 medium to medium small well seasoned splits aound for her to add, This should buy you eonugh time till you get home.

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Should always hit spell check after a few cold beers. But, if you read between the letters you get the message.

My girls are younger than yours. Right now the 4 and 6 yo adjust the air control and the 6 yo has lit a fire. I think it does depend on the child. Some are ready for the responsibility while others are not. I would go with your gut feeling. Also I would have the wood that you want put on the fire ready to go so she doesn't have to figure our how much or which pieces to add.

I haven't had any, and I didn't notice. I wonder what that says about me...

My first thought was that no, that was too young. But then I thought back to my kids at that age and all of the responsibilities they had and I really don't think it is out of line. I have always believed that you give them some responsibility and freedom while you still have some control in their lives so you still have some power to guide them. It is hard enough to teach a 16 year old how to drive, I honestly can't imagine trying to teach one how to work a wood stove - remember, they know EVERYTHING already.

God forbid something goes south. You don't want to be the dad on the news who let his 13 year old tend the fire while he was away. Be safe and set the thermostat. Work up the fire when you get home. I say this with all good intentions. I would rather spend a fews extra bucks on using the central heating system when the house temp drops, than something happening to your teen or home. Common sense and judgement rule on this one. I have had my share of popping embers while trying to rake out coals that hit the rug a few feet away. Your teen would carry a heavy burden if something happened.

Jon

Depends on the kids.

We were pulled from the teat pretty young and expected to do chores and what not. I know for sure around your oldest's age I was taking care of the stove when I got home from school and sometimes in the evening as well.

When they put up the house next door to mine the guy that did the siding had his 2 kids with them. 7 and 10 and they were using the miter saw, driving a variable reach forklift, etc. Working faster than I could have I think too!

I hate to be an echo,here ,but......it depends on the kid. My son is 13 and NOT the most attentive young man.....however, he is at his MOST attentive while doing things that are important. I have had him tending to the stove in my presence for about 2 years now. He is always very careful,and knows how to run the stove well. However, the important thing to consider here is - how would he react if things went BAD? In a pinch, I have had him feed the stove b/f I got home.....while I chatted with him on the speaker phone. This way, if God forbid, something did go awry, I could talk him thru it. He knows where the ABC fire ext. is. And to tell you the truth, I think I was feeding the stove before I was 10. I guess it WAS a different world back then.

Do the risks out weigh the benefits? Do the benefits out weigh the risks?
I don't know.

I was shooting shotguns unsupervised when I was nine and I could tend a fire by 11. We didn't have a wood stove but it was always my job to make up the camp fire or BBQ pit and dealing with the fireplace was one of my chores by around 10 or 11.

It depends on the kid, true, but also how they've been taught. If you've been teaching them about the stove and how it works and how the fire works and what sized splits to use when and everything for years, and they take it seriously, then I wouldn't worry about it at all. If you've been telling them, "No, don't mess with Daddy's stove, it's too dangerous," since they were tiny, then I wouldn't just yet because they'll be too nervous about it and they can't learn things as important as fire management in just a few lessons.

Do some dry runs- make it "their" job to tend the stove for a day while you or your wife is there and see how they handle it. Build some campfires to teach them how to start a fire and tend it in a bit of a lower pressure situation. Have them try and start the stove cold (if you can this time of year) and some other stuff. Really, short of some kind of ADD or genuine learning disability, I would expect a 10-13 year old to be very capable of keeping a fire going for a few hours. Watch for coals or embers, don't overload it, and know how to read the thermometer.

~Rose

I think there is a big difference between tending the stove with supervision and tending it without. Getting the fire stoked up is not a problem, any fool can do that, it's what to do if something goes wrong. Say they close the door on a piece of wood that doesn't fit and crack the glass, what would they do?

The other option I guess is to get a job where you don't have to leave your kids home alone. Where I live you be arrested for leaving a 10 and 13 year old alone without adult supervision. Here 13 is the minimum and at least 16 if they are supervising another child.

gmghm

I was also shooting hunting, and tending to chores such as the stove when I was that young. I was always mature but there where my parents to set me straight, in all forms of life. It does not soley rest on the childs shoulders, here some of this is based on how ready you are. In every form of Graduation to something, My own gun, Car, stove chores, etc. I was taught observed corrected and at own point trusted. Trusting a young person isnt always simple, but thats how they become trustworthy.

I'm not a dad (that I know of), but I was running the VC starting at about 10 yrs old (30 yrs ago). I would have most concern about a kid getting un-attentive and overfiring it, but then they're probably as attentive as I am now.

I also having been giving this much thought lately, my kids are 8 yr old twins (boy n girl). my duughter wants nothing to do with it. My son tends it pretty well while i am there. He has a healthy respect for the heat, and probably adjusts the primary air more than i do. Probably too much. I still don't know wether or not i would let him do it alone. So being undecided I don't. It is not for his lack of ability to operate the stove, its his lack of attention span. Which is pretty much what everyone is saying. I could easily see him forgetting to close the door, or shut down the air after a few minutes. When i do let him tend the stove, he is way overanxious(sp?) to add wood and never lets it burn down enough. Yeah, definatly one more year. Reading this after writing it down, makes it much more clear to me.

bokehman said:

I think there is a big difference between tending the stove with supervision and tending it without. Getting the fire stoked up is not a problem, any fool can do that, it's what to do if something goes wrong. Say they close the door on a piece of wood that doesn't fit and crack the glass, what would they do?

The other option I guess is to get a job where you don't have to leave your kids home alone. Where I live you be arrested for leaving a 10 and 13 year old alone without adult supervision. Here 13 is the minimum and at least 16 if they are supervising another child.

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I am very glad I don't live where you do. You can't leave your kids alone until they're THIRTEEN? *boggles*

~Rose

I hear ya! I have a 12 soon to be 13y/o girl at home also. She is always asking to run the stove so I've been letting do the air adjustments. When she asks a question I give her the real world answer, not a dumbed down reply. I've done that with everything though, over the summer she was helping change the oil in the cars. She starts the car for us when it helps, in the winter. She stacks alot of wood with me too.

I want her to run the stove, my wife is a little hesitant. My wife won't run the stove though. If I can trust my daughter with the lives of her younger siblings (babysitting) why not the stove????

I want the same as the OP. Just keep it going a tad longer till I get home. I was thinking of leaving a pre-determined set of splits for her to put in. This way I know she shouldn't have any trouble getting things going and controlling the fire. She gets home from school and puts them in, then does her homework while watching the fire.