How To Start Teaching Kids DIY

Being handy around the house is a very useful skill, that can save you a lot of money and stress when it comes to maintenance and repairs. Kids used to learn DIY skills at school, but school budgets are slowly edging these practical classes out of the curriculum. Instead, if you’re a bit of a whiz at DIY yourself, you can start teaching your kids the skills yourself.

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Young children can start learning some skills, so when they’re adults they’ll be ready to tackle everything from putting shelves to coping with water damage. Here’s how to start teaching them.

Safety First

Make sure your children are ready for whatever task you give them. Are they mature enough to understand tool safety? Make sure that they always wear eye protection and closed-toe shoes, and that long hair has been tied back when they’re working with you. Teach them how to safely tidy the workspace when you’re done, and the right way to hold, handle and carry any tools.

Don’t Do The Work For Them

If you’re good at DIY, it might be frustrating to work at kid speed or to watch them make mistakes. Try not to take over and finish a job that you’ve given them, as this won’t help them to learn. If the children feel like they’re helping you with important home maintenance, then they’re going to feel more interested in learning and won’t be put off.

Work At Their Height

You don’t like working on a surface that is too low or too high, and neither will your kids. Make their work more comfortable by giving them somewhere to work that is the right height for them. You could sit them on a booster seat at the table, or create a low table by resting a plank on some paint cans. You could also cut down an existing workbench, or make one yourself.

Buy Them Tools

Toy tools are fun, but they don’t teach real skills. For real skills and real responsibility, you need real tools. There are lots of tools on the market specially designed for kids, that are suited to little hands and are adapted to be safer for children. Gift your children their own toolset, and combine the present with some important lessons on how to safely handle their tools and how to properly care for them. Your kids will feel very grown-up if they have their own tools to use when they help you, and it can be a great way to start teaching them these skills and keep them engaged.

Introduce Tools One At A Time

Don’t overwhelm your kids with lots of new tools at once to figure out. If they’re interested in learning, give them one tool at a time and teach them to use it correctly and safely before introducing another. For example, give them a small hammer or mallet and have them practice hammering on bubble wrap. Build a bolt board, or get them putting screws in drywall to learn screwdrivers and wrenches.