I’d put my kid in my three quarter ton pickup and tell him to have fun then let him near my John Deere. True story, he was too small to reach the clutch at six, so I’d tell him to put it in first great and het the started. The old Ford would start (double low gear) and he’d drive it all over the pasture. (In double low).
Having seen exactly what can happen with a tractor and equipment, this picture is the closest I ever let him get to it and it wasn’t running at the time. (And that John Deere was a marvel of safety compared to the 8N and 650 Ford tractors I owned.)
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My son, also 6, hit me up about learning to drive the tractor the other day. He thinks he's hot stuff now that he gets to mow the yard on the zeroturn.
He gets to drive the tractor sitting in my lap, but it'll be a while before he gets to go it alone. I pretty much make him responsible for driving, but I'm in the seat. He's learning quick, and he's surprisingly good at it for his size. Kids learn quick.
I learned tractors at a young age myself. I was riding on one from the time I could walk. At 7 or 8, my grandfather made me move the tractor in position and roll him into the front end loader to carry him back to the house for practice should something happen to him while we were out doing whatever.
He passed when I was 12 and I inherited the tractor. At that point, I pretty much took over all work around the homestead that tractor was associated with, and the maintenance of the machine itself. Still have it today.
My son on the mower taking a water break. Mowing is hot thirsty work.
So now we have tractors and lawnmowers in here. Sorry. I'll try to keep it on the topic of strictly tractors from here on out.