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Mowing can be a very dangerous thing but sometimes a teenage boy is ready to do it to make some money. How old should you be to be mowing with a riding mower?

IMO size of the operator is almost as important as age. You can be 20 and if you don't fit the equipment properly i.e. too short to fully depress pedals, too weak to turn steering etc. you increase the risk for 'opportunities' to occur. Age is really a matter of maturity. Operation of a mower can be fun but with the blade spinning, it is dangerous if the operator is inattentive or playing or even hurrying to get the job done.

Having said that, it is also a great way to teach responsibility, safety and vehicle maintenance. There are many pre teens helping on the family farm using equipment much larger then a riding mower.

Again, this is just my opinion.

Bethieboo said:

Mowing can be a very dangerous thing but sometimes a teenage boy is ready to do it to make some money. How old should you be to be mowing with a riding mower?

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I was driving my dads 9N Ford farm tractor at the age of 12, plowing and disking and pulling a hay wagon. No seat belt, ROPS, or safety switches...

I'd say the minimum age to use a riding mower would be 15 and up, and only then if the machine had all it's guards, safety cutoff switches, etc. operational. And then only if the kid had plenty of common sense. A rider is usually safer than a walk behind mower as you are less likely to stick a foot underneath it. I was using push mowers at the same age as I was driving tractors, but I was pretty mechanically aware of the hazards.

My 10 year old can run the zero turn better than a lot adults I have seen. She is very tall for her age. She has been running it around for a couple of years now. Someday I will let her turn on the blades. She also has operated my little kubota tractor following me around so I could throw rocks in the bucket.
Here she is last year the first time I let her on the tractor by herself.

It all depends on the child I would think. Some ten year olds can do it, while some 20 year olds just don't catch on.

I agree as well, it depends on the kid. I know some who are young but act so much older and are older and act so much younger, it totally depends on the kid.

Every person has a different maturity stage. Others have explained this already so there is really no specific age when a person can use the machine or not. You will eventually know whether your kid can handle a mower or not. If not then you can teach him the right way.

Thanks for the great video of your daughter, she looks like she is having fun. I have a son and a daughter and I find my daughter is more mature than my son. He is more likely to come up with some crazy idea and get himself hurt. We are working on that with him but until he learns how to handle responsibility better then he won't get to Mow. (or at this rate drive a car) :confused2:

i agree it just depends on the person. i have 4 kids and i try to show them how to run stuff as much as i can and i think my youngest one witch is a girl does better than her older bothers.then my oldest is a girl and she will not even look at them.

I am not certain age should really be an issue. For me, as long as the kid can do the job really well, there shouldn't be a limit on age as such.

If I was paying a youngster to mow my lawn, I wouldn't select anyone under the age of 16. I let my son start mowing the lawn when he was 13, but one of us was always keeping an eye out.

Hello, New to the forum!

I was told that I started mowing at the age of 5 :smilewith very close supervision). I was on my grandfather's old Snapper:thumbsup: rear engine rider with 11 hp and I believe it was a 30" cut.... Slow but sure!!:biggrin:

To this day, my brother doesn't know how to run a lawnmower:frown: and he'll be 24 years old in 4 months... I am 26.

I personally don't think there should be an "age" for a child to start mowing. Just depends on the child and the supervision he or she receives... I wouldn't let a 13 year old supervise my 8 year old on a lawnmower.

Travis R

Travis_R said:

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I personally don't think there should be an "age" for a child to start mowing. Just depends on the child and the supervision he or she receives... I wouldn't let a 13 year old supervise my 8 year old on a lawnmower.

Travis R

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have to agree 100%... :thumbsup:
:smile:KennyV

I started mowing the flat areas of the yard when I was 9. I didn't have a chance to use a riding mower until I bought one after I became an adult, but I drove my dad's medium-sized tractor in my young teens. I think the age kids use machinery depends on their maturity level and how willing they are to follow safety procedures.

A lot of it depends on what your yard looks like and what kind of obstacles there are. If there are lots of trees and rocks and shrubs and hills, that will take more skill than if it is a simple flat square.

I have to agree with NickNack about the obstacles. I started cutting with a pushmower when I was about 10 and my dad let me start using the riding mower when I was around 12 or 13.

I agree that supervision is paramount; you do not expect anyone under 16 to be responsible enough around a mower. My grandpa would never let me get near his until I was old enough.

I would say 14 is probably a good age to start mowing. I wouldn't shove em out the door never to check on them though. I would be standing there watching. I guess it also depends on how mature the kid is. I know some 14 year old's who ask like they are 5.

I think 16 is a good age. If someone can get a license at 16, then I think they can handle a mower. Maybe even 15 would be alright because that's when kids can start learning to drive. It really depends on your kid and how much you trust them.

I think as with many things it just depends on the kid and their maturity and responsibility level. Some kids might be okay at thirteen and others may need to wait until 15 or 16.

I know it may sound very young, but I was 6 when I first started mowing. I found an old weed eater and just started mowing along all on my own. My father had to show me how to start out but after that it was smooth sailing. Also I started mowing with a lawn tractor at 7. Then after that I loved using lawn equipment so much that I started to work on them. But I say overall, you should be 13 to start using lawn tools responsibly and in the correct way. Also I think you need supervision until this age.

I have been mowing since 5th grade and I am now 16 and mow 10 to 12 yards a week. I don't really think there is an age limit as long as they know how to run the machine properly.

jacko said:

Thanks for the great video of your daughter, she looks like she is having fun. I have a son and a daughter and I find my daughter is more mature than my son. He is more likely to come up with some crazy idea and get himself hurt. We are working on that with him but until he learns how to handle responsibility better then he won't get to Mow. (or at this rate drive a car) :confused2:

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You know better than anyone else if he is ready.

Just remember better safe than sorry be sure they understand the danger before turning them louse with it.

I was 10 when this pic was taken in 1962.........Look at those reels, no guards at all....I lost no limbs.........Times have changed....for the better

is it worth the risk of a lifetime injury if you have to ask your self that i would say they are not ready not to mention the cut lines could be waveyYyYyYyYyYy or even worse missed spots in the grass

my wife is twenty seven, after running over every possible obstacle, including the house, :confused2:
she is NOT ready:laughing:

Bethieboo said:

Mowing can be a very dangerous thing but sometimes a teenage boy is ready to do it to make some money. How old should you be to be mowing with a riding mower?

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Don't start dragging him along with you to do yards at the age of 12 years old. You'll take is youth away from him. Let him be a kid; let him play around. Don't use him to make more money.

When I started mowing we did not have riding tractors. In fact we did not have a motor on our mower. I was about 10 before we got a power mower. I could not use it as it never would never start. My Grandson was about 11 before his dad gave his son lessons on the tractor. He loves to mow but he is killing the mower. He only knows one speed wide open and hits stuff with the deck and mower all the time. I have been there when he mows and I stop him and explain proper mowing but again he runs it as fast as he can. I'm not talking about running the motor but the mower at the highest speed. They are cutting about 1 3/4 acres and it takes him about an hour to mow its a J.D. L110. But his dad is almost as bad about it.

So I have a very smart 17 y/o son. he is very mature... does he follow directions... not so much! he will be safe, he will just drive me crazy doing it the hard way instead of the way I told him. I have seen him pause the mower when people walk by just to make sure they are safe. He will check the oil, come ask me if anything seems off... but mow the way I tell him ... no so much. In any case my rule of thumb is if they follow directions will stop and do the little things like move rocks or check the oil. I was mowing with a push reel mower (non_powered)at 7 and mowing with a gas mower by 10. I agree with other posters, you know your kid. In my case I am having to let him learn the hard way to get a nice consistant cut, he is getting there, just slowly.

I have a 45 year old son-in -law with his own home, lawn, and mower and don't think he is mature enough to run my mower. Everything he touches it just seems to break.

I must have been around 9-10 when I started cutting the lawn with our Wheel Horse 702 pulling a set of 5 ft gangs. I stayed off the steep hills of course. When I was bad one of my parents favorite punishments was no tractor for a week or two. Lucky I wasn't bad too often !!:laughing:

It depends on the person - adults can destroy a machine on a rock garden , end up in a pool or creek . A teen can master the machine .
He must know the width of the machine at all times and watch for objects .

you sound like you have met the adults in my sons boy scout troop... one of the guys I had not met before was telling me about doing wheelies with the golfcart I had loaned the troop... of course he did not know I was the owner. Needless to say the list is very short now as far as who I will let use my equipment.

I think that it all depends on the maturity of the person, I started mowing on a riding mower when I was 10, but before I was able to mow I sat on my dads lap while he was mowing the lawn for countless hours watching him control the tractor.
Only the parents know when it is time to let there kid have such a big responsibility

I started mowing with a JD 950 and a 6 foot frail mower when I was 13. I think 90 percent of the kids I see these days need to be 15 or 16, they just aren't smart enough to handle listening to their Ipod and paying attention to the work at hand. What they tear up can be replaced, but the injuries they might suffer possibly won't as easy.
Parents just haven't brought their kids up like many of us were. We farmed 3000 acres while I was growing up, me and my sisters had to work.

I agree with previous posts. It depends upon the size and the maturity of the child as opposed to the age. I was using a push mower when I was 6 years old. Heck, there weren't any riding mowers back then that I'm aware of! I was also operating my dad's Farmall Cub tractor at about 8 years old and was very responsible with it. At age 15, I had a job with a contractor mowing highway right of ways with a Farmall 140, working 8 to 10 hours per day and servicing the tractor and brush hog I used.