In terms of knife safety for an 8 year old - its up to his Dad and Mom, but I would substitute a spork for the knife-fork-spoon combo - its inexpensive, even more compact, and the spork has a serviceable cutting edge, not that an 8 year old has too much to cut on their plate? And keep the jack knife in reserve until your nephew has demonstrated alot of maturity and ability to handle sharp instruments - the equivalent of the Scouting tote n chip (maybe when he is 10 yrs old).