Not trusting your children will end up making them incompetent adults.

[Zimmer]

I don't mean to offend anybody, but I think children today are way too sheltered.
I was over at a friends house and his 12 year old walks in asking his dad to make him a sandwich. Weird, but he might have had a valid reason. Later I shift the conversation in this direction and I ask him what happened. He casually replies that they don't let their children use a knife. I was literally left without words.

 

[Jack]

Demonstrating how to do things properly as a role model, and then supervising to ensure understanding would seem to go further. Isn't that really the essence of parenting??

 

[Lorenzo]

You're saying the son is already 12 years old and he still asks his dad to make a sandwich for him, just because he is not allowed to use a knife on his own? That is interesting.

Well, I'm guessing, the dad or probably the kids, had some bad experience with knives, thus the dad doesn't want his kid near it. With so much violence going around, I can understand where the dad's reasoning is coming from.

 

[Justadad]

You cannot wrap your kids in cotton wool! They need to be prepared for this world, and there are degrees of danger. I wouldn't allow a 12 year old to use a chainsaw, but surely he could have made a sandwich without a razor sharp knife?

 

[Zimmer]

You cannot wrap your kids in cotton wool! They need to be prepared for this world, and there are degrees of danger. I wouldn't allow a 12 year old to use a chainsaw, but surely he could have made a sandwich without a razor sharp knife?

My thoughts exactly. Considering the fact that these days you don't even have to slice the bread.
When I was 12, I already had a pocket knife collection. Now it's gotten to the point that a kid is not even allowed to spread some peanut butter on a sandwich...