LivingHere

My daughter - aged nearly 7 - has asked for a pen knife for Christmas (she has been reading Enid Blyton). Aside from the safety issues and whether this is an appropriate thing for her to have. Does anyone know what the law in Italy is regarding knives? And she wont be carrying around unsupervised.

TestaRossa

In what respect do you mean laws? They are everywhere so I'm guessing you mean would you be breaking the law to buy her one? Who would know if she's not going to be carrying it? My son - 14 - has bought them off stalls here without having to have my consent. In the UK I do remember they check with you don't they if a child wants to buy something sharp?? And all the razor blades are only to over 18's, so I see where you are coming from! Get her a swiss army knife or a toolmaster and then get a special box to put it in - tell her it has to go in there every time she finishes with it - my son lost his, typical! I think you can get pink ones now too!! Btw - they are so useful for camping if you go! I don't know what we would have done without Alex's!!

Mr Posh

Even thinking about letting a 7 year old have a pen knife

Lorna at Vicenza

What has she been reading? Secret Seven and The Famous Five ?

You should have given her The Faraway Tree and The Magic Wishing Chair and then she might have asked for a treehouse and a slippery slide for Christmas.

Anyway - from what I can gather (found no age references) a Swiss Army type knife is not normally considered to be a weapon and can be carried about for "justifiable reasons" ie, a camping trip, fishing etc.
If somebody starts waving one around in the streets, clubs, schools etc then it is considered to be a weapon and you'll get done for it.

A walking stick is harmless when used properly, use it to beat somebody up and you'll get done for using it as a weapon.

LivingHere

Thanks for the replies. I also looked in the jacko-o catalogue (german, delivers here) and they are an acceptable childhood thing in Germany. Along with a welding set I seem to recall.

Her alternative choice is a DS and I personally prefer the pen knife idea.

She has also been reading Jacqueline Wilson books. When I asked her why she likes them she said "because they are brilliant"

"Aren't they a bit sad, the children in those books don't have proper families" I said

"They are brilliant. What's divorce mummy?"

Difficult to explain when you aren't married

Gio

I read Enid Blyton as a kid and was given Swallows & Amazons. I also asked for a penknife & managed to get one. I loved going out and playing with it...i.e trying to whittle & unfortunately playing stretch. But.....it led me to have a healthy respect for knives, and the outside world & I love roughing it fly camping on the mountains...where, I use my trusty Swiss Army knife

Lorna at Vicenza

I wanted to go to boarding school after reading Malory Towers and St Clare's.

indiebird

Ahh me too, especially seeing as my nan worked as a cleaner in the sixth form house at Roedean, I just naturally assumed i would go there.... My son loves the Enid Blyton books although I feel a bit silly now reading out names like 'Chinky' and 'Fatty' but I suppose old Enid didn't live in the PC world in which we all now live. Me and the kids brought dh a swiss army knife a few years ago and had it engraved as from the kids which he loved.... not as much as he liked the firelighting steel the xmas after though, he set light to my nan's garden on xmas day trying it out!!

TestaRossa

I don't see why not with a swiss army knife. The knives are so stiff they have to ask you at that age to open them anyway, plus I'm going to assume Livinghere is responsible and the either she or her OH will supervise it's use. One of the reasons I suggested a special box which it is put in, in a special cupboard - treat it like you would any dangerous implement and it gets respected as one. In a country where hunting and fishing etc. is popular why not start now? Btw, did you know the age for a shotgun licence in the UK is 6 years??

chris120

When i was in the boy scouts (many years ago) i was typically carrying enough weaponry to start a small war. I had a double sheath knife on the RHS of my belt (small knife on the outside of a normal size one) a stiletto knife right around the back and a swiss army penknife dangling from a clip on the LHS. When camping i also carried a hand axe clipped to the belt, plus a 6 foot long staff. I remember all anyone wanted to do was to be able to throw a knife into a tree at any distance (not as easy as Hollywood makes out). Having mastered this i was also working on throwing the hand axe into trees. Oh yes, almost forgot, we were also issued with felling axes, one per patrol, for cutting down firewood. As far as i recall no one was every really injured (well they were in the chalk rugby, weak horse and night wide games - but thats another story)

TestaRossa

Did you know British bulldog has been banned in UK schools?!!

chris120

Bunch of woosies, no wonder the b&$@dy place is going down the tubes, the things i learned in the boy scouts serve me to this day to solve problems, both in every day life and business.

indiebird

Was the same with us in the Brownies.... I got my cooking badge for peeling a couple of carrots and a potato! I have seen scouts here too.... I tried to convince ds that he would like to join but he wasn't interested

LivingHere

I have just picked up the latest Esselunga catalogue and there is Swiss Army Knife in there. Maybe that the decision is now made.

Ds would be completely supervised and I guess that I will be breaking a lot of finger nails - I had forgotten how difficult they are to open.

Anyway I still have two birthdays to get through (three if you count mine) before Christmas.

Lorna at Vicenza

It was only a chase /tag game wasn't it ? or am I remembering something different.

I heard that conkers have been banned in lots of schools too.