Some time back, one of the regulars on this forum was expressing outrage and indignation about his daughter's Scout Troop instituting a policy that kids were not permitted to carry knives on camping trips. A stupid, knee-jerk reaction, I agree.
But I have in the past two months taken two groups of kids - teenagers, mostly - to a not-so-wild wilderness camp. The first was a Basic Rescuer (Search and Rescue) proficiency (a proficiency is similar to a Boy/Girl Scouts Merit Badge), the second was a Wilderness First Aid Course.

At the first camp, one of the cadets was always playing with his SAK. Eventually, he took it out (at supper), opened up all the blades (including the reamer - the sharp one that opens up at a 90 degree angle) and left it lying on the table with the reamer pointing straight up.
At the second camp, another cadet - whose father had entrusted him with a hatchet - left the hatchet lying on the ground, unsheathed, three times. The third time it happened, I wised up and confiscated it (something that, in hindsight, I should have done with the first cadet, and should have done the first time it happened with the second).

One of the adults who was assisting (he was actually instructing the SAR proficiency) said that in the Junior Forest Wardens, with whom he also volunteered, there was a simple, ironclad policy - if your knife was out of your pocket (or the sheath) and you weren't using it, you lost it - then and there, no ifs, ands or buts. (Whether they got it back eventually he didn't say - I'm sure the parents did.)

For those who have more experience dealing with kids than I do (I don't have any of my own, and I'm fairly new at being responsible for others) how do you handle such situations? Is the "don't take it out unless you are going to use it" a standard policy with youth groups?

What about parents who are absolutely convinced their kids know how to handle knives and other sharp objects responsibly and won't believe, or don't care, that little Johnny/Susie left an unsheathed hatchet lying on the ground in the dark? I'm sure the parents of these two cadets were quite sure their little darlings were responsible mini-adults.
In hindsight, I realise I mishandled both situations, and in future, I plan to lay down the law from the outset at any camp I run - frivolous/irresponsible use of or playing with sharp tools will be met with confiscation, and the tools will be returned to the parents with a written explanation of why it was confiscated. Is this sufficient? I don't think it's over-reacting.