Can my 8 year old son push a reel mower?

[jimandpj]

I'm trying to pass the job of mowing the front lawn to my 8 1/2 year old son. I'd like to get him a new reel mower, as I don't want him around my herbs and raspberries with our zero turn riding lawn mower. The new ones have the grass catchers so he can feed the grass and weeds directly to the rabbits, or mulch with it. We occasionally run some of our animals over the grass to do some mowing for us, but b/c of the setup of the property, it is difficult to do on a regular basis. The lawn is pretty flat with no trees.

I've never used a reel mower before. My son is very strong for his age - comes from mucking out stalls and dragging around hay bales. I keep hearing stories about how people hated the reel mowers when they were a kid, b/c they were so hard to push. Supposedly the newer ones are a lot easier to push. I would consider the fact that it will make him sweat a good thing.

Anyone have any personal experience?

Thanks,
PJ

[Thoughthound]

I'd say his height is more of a factor than his strength. It is easier to push as an adult because the arms are lowered. If you had to push one with the handles at your shoulders, you can imagine how difficult it would be.

They are not difficult as long as they are sharp.

[dagwood]

We have this reel mower and it is very easy to use for both kids and adults.

tip: make sure you can sharpen the blades yourself or know a business that can sharpen them for you. Reel mowers are great as long as you keep the blades sharp!

http://tinyurl.com/ye7g2s

[poorboy]

Was very particular about how his ole reel type mower was pushed. Started living with him an granma at the age of 7. Besides carrying wood, mowing part of the yard was one of my regular chores. You had to pull back then push forward, that way the momentum of the mower built reel sppeed and done the work. You did NOT flip the handle over and play pushing the mower at high speed with the blades a whirling like the devil, well at least not more than once if Gramps caugh ya..:-)

[RedTartan]

My son is 8 and he had a hard time last summer. It was definately a height problem.

RedTartan

[Jan Doling]

Maybe the same place that sharpens your blades could adjust the handle for him? A reel mower works best if you mow twice: once east-west and once north-south. Of course, the second mow (in the opposite direction) is much easier. This method also catches most of the stray strands that escaped the first pass. Also, depending on how hot the weather is and the time of day, I divide the chore into sections (so at lunch I can announce, like farmers in the old days, "I finished the lower section and will be starting the upper one next.") So what if my sections are in square yards instead of acreage!

Sometimes in the rainy season, I can only get to one section a day, but by the weekend I can manage most of the yard that way. It is doable if you don't get behind. If you the grass get past a certain height you are doomed!

[Highground]

I used one to cut lawns at the nearby trailer court when I was his age. 15 to 25 cents a lawn added up to a pretty good sum of money for one so young.
Kept us kids in ice cream, candy and BB's all summer long.

[the mama]

Safety..make sure he always wears proper shoes. I was mowing the lawn with a push mower at 9.

[BeckyW]

And if he can't PUSH it, try PULLING it - that's much easier to do!
BW

[mpillow]

In Amish communtities....mowing the lawn is often left to 9yo girls....the reel needs to be adjusted and sharpened regularly.

[Windy in Kansas]

My neighbor bought a new Scotts brand and neither of us found it very easy to push and we are adult men. We adjusted the blades, etc. and it still pushed tough. When it wore out neighbor went back to a gas engined model.

[ldc]

Depends on the reel push mower itself. I was a skinny 8 yr old once, female, and I did it. Was tall for age tho. Best wishes! ldc

[blufford]

I pushed them when I was 9 or 10 years old. When my dad let me start using the gas mower I though I was in paradise.

[wyld thang]

I pushed a mower as a kid too, I liked it

[sullen]

My just turned 8 yr old (this spring) was mowing with our gas mower. But he is almost 5 feet tall.

[mrglock27]

I've used a few different reel mowers and none of them cut when you pull them backwards. When the grass is growing fast in the summer it'll probablly need to be mowed at least twice a week so it doesn't get too long.

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by jimandpj

I'm trying to pass the job of mowing the front lawn to my 8 1/2 year old son. I'd like to get him a new reel mower, as I don't want him around my herbs and raspberries with our zero turn riding lawn mower. The new ones have the grass catchers so he can feed the grass and weeds directly to the rabbits, or mulch with it. We occasionally run some of our animals over the grass to do some mowing for us, but b/c of the setup of the property, it is difficult to do on a regular basis. The lawn is pretty flat with no trees.

I've never used a reel mower before. My son is very strong for his age - comes from mucking out stalls and dragging around hay bales. I keep hearing stories about how people hated the reel mowers when they were a kid, b/c they were so hard to push. Supposedly the newer ones are a lot easier to push. I would consider the fact that it will make him sweat a good thing.

Anyone have any personal experience?

Thanks,
PJ

He is old enough---and should be able to if the mower is not one of the rare Tough Type to push. Shoot why can't he have a gas push mower that has the safety handle and has to be cranked from behind the handle bar. I started using a push mower---without safety at 6. But I also started driving the farm tractor all summer in the tobacco field at age 5, had to jump off the seat and put both feet on the clutch to stop---also use to get up during school time at 5am and milk a cow every morning starting at age 6, till I was 14---had to walk to the barn about 150yrds with a flash light to do this----I guess I grew up to quick. Now WE---including myself wonder if a 12 year old is old enough to do part of what some of us had to do at 1/2 that age. Randy

[morrowsmowers]

Forget that push mower -- get a decent power mower and let him use that -- my boys have taken turns mowing our lawn and family since they were 5. Don't make the job any harder than it has to be.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

[simplepeace]

My 6 year old nephew used mine this summer, he did it non-stop for over an hour and thought it was FUN! He's very tall (his dad is 6'6") and athletic, it gave him very little trouble.
He asked his Mom if he could have one and he slept very well that night
I think mine was right around $100 Scotts. The blades do have to be kept sharpened, but it is so nice to have really no other maintenance.

[Marcia in MT]

The reel mower we had when I was a kid was never adjusted or sharpened, and was harder than heck to push. We gave it up and got a power rotary one.

I got one as an adult, kept it lubricated and adjusted, and it cut like a dream. (I'm only 5' tall, too.) I never had to cut the lawn twice in one session to get it to look nice; once the blades are sharpened and properly adjusted, they're pretty well self-sharpening. It's important to keep it lubricated! There were several zerks and some holes that needed attention.

I loved the quiet noise it made, the scent of freshly cut grass, the dry clippings, the fact that I could cut in bare feet, the excercise which was not onerous -- even uphill, that it was lightweight and easy to carry around, and the fact that there was no noisy, stinky engine to be fed with petroleum. If we were mowing a city-size lot again I'd have one in a heartbeat!