John, I hate to disagree with you, but most 9 year olds who haven't been ubanified can handle a knife safely. By that age, I was using hatchets and machetes and hammers on real nails.<br><br>Of course, that means that they have to know how to think through a problem rather than brute force it or ask someone to think for them, becuase you have to think about what you are doing, and not be a total couch potato. Maybe do something boring and not very high tech that builds strength, like stacking wood or shoveling the deck or raking leaves. Build a tree house or help redo the deck. That kind of thing.<br><br>Of course, city kids get screwed out of all of that. And I really do pity them.<br><br>(And yes, I do have a bias against people who think living a concrete cave behind a triple locked door is natural, and think meat starts off in a styrofoam tray. One of the problems with America is that most folks are born, raised and living urban areas, and thus never really get to meet the real world.)