Every child is different, so it depends; I learned to sew when I was 9 on a treadle machine, I had so much fun, and I also managed to put the needle through my finger at some point. No one was home, so I waited patiently for my father to come home and he took a pair of pliers and removed it from my finger, and I went back to my project. I say the earlier the better to begin stirring the creative juices in a child’s mind, so much better than electronics and video games!