It might seem controversial at first glance, but yes – I let children as young as five use knives at our outdoor education sessions at Ambleford. Before you raise an eyebrow or two, let me explain why this practice is not only safe but crucial to children’s development.
At Ambleford, we understand deeply the importance of allowing children to take calculated risks. Handling tools such as knives – whether it’s for cooking or whittling – helps children develop responsibility, fine motor skills, focus, and (perhaps above all) resilience. These aren’t skills gained from textbooks alone, but from hands-on experience and trust.
To ensure safety, we follow clear, non-negotiable rules that every child learns and repeats until they’re second nature:
- Creating a Safe Bubble: Children define and protect a clear perimeter around themselves when working, ensuring no one accidentally steps into their workspace.
- Protective Glove: Until a child confidently masters knife handling, they wear a cut-resistant glove on the hand not holding the tool. The hand with the tool in is always bare.
- Whittling Away from the Body: We teach children to always carve away from themselves—a technique adequate for 90% of all crafting tasks. If chopping food we teach a ‘bridge-method’, where we slice down under a bridge formed by our thumb and forefinger. Advanced techniques come later, once proficiency is firmly established.
- Blunt-ended Knives for Beginners: We start every child with knives that have rounded tips, only transitioning to pointed tools after they’ve demonstrated full competence and confidence. (If anyone is interested I can send a link to the inexpensive tools that we use here at Ambleford.) They only injury that would concern me from a knife would be a puncture wound – so, we take that risk away completely for beginners.
- Responsible Movement: Knives are always sheathed when moving around. Safety is paramount, and this rule is drilled in repeatedly.
When parents occasionally join us on-site, their initial reaction to seeing their children handling knives is often understandable anxiety. They tend to hover (sometimes while literally) over their child protectively, but ironically, this can introduce additional risks by distracting the child or undermining their confidence. Yet, when parents step back and observe, they are frequently amazed by their child’s maturity and focus. Children invariably rise to meet the trust placed in them, demonstrating respect for the tool and pride in their achievements.
Of course, minor cuts occasionally happen – but almost always due to momentary lapses in following these well-established rules. These small incidents are far outweighed by the tremendous benefits. Research consistently supports this approach, indicating that carefully managed exposure to risk fosters greater resilience and decreases anxiety in children. For example, a recent study from the University of Exeter highlighted that children who regularly engage in outdoor, risk-managed activities demonstrate significantly higher levels of confidence, lower anxiety, and improved overall mental well-being compared to their peers kept in highly controlled environments.
Letting children experience moments of discomfort, such as feeling cold outdoors, climbing tall trees, lighting fires safely, and handling knives responsibly, prepares them effectively for life’s inevitable challenges. In the UK especially, knives carry heavy negative connotations due to recent media focus, but within controlled environments and strict safety protocols, they serve as valuable educational tools.
In trusting children with significant responsibility, we communicate our belief in their competence, granting them invaluable lessons that stay with them far beyond childhood. This approach, perhaps surprisingly, results in moments of pure joy, confidence, and emotional growth – for children and educators alike.
In short, letting children play with knives – carefully, responsibly, and under vigilant but trusting supervision – isn’t just about making crafts or cooking. It’s about equipping young people with life-long resilience, independence, and confidence. And in a world that’s often unpredictable, these skills might be the greatest gift we can offer them.