i neglected to mention that my daughter, now forty-five, hated sewing and had to be forced to learn. she had her own machine at age fifteen , but never went near it. i think i waited much to long. now, however, she has become a quilter and it gives her great pleasure. go figure. neither one ever had a safety cage around the needle and learned to respect the hurt it could cause.

I think what age a child can start sewing on a machine really depends on the individual child and how capable they are of handling the responsibility that comes along with using a sewing machine. I would never have allowed my oldest daughter to use my machine until she was at least 8 but my youngest could have easily handled it at the age of 4. Although her interest was more in taking things apart and I learned to keep my machine out of her reach! Neither of them, sadly enough, are interested in quilting. I am desperately hoping I can entice my g-kids to join me in my obsession. :lol:
~Tiffany