How do YOU keep them busy?

[DeanoBeanCounter]

I was loading yesterday and my 11 year old granddaughter just had to help. She helped me lube the shells, handed them to me one by one with the right end up. I sized them then she wiped them off. She handed them to me the right direction while i primed them and she put them in the loading block so I could inspect the primers where in far enough. She handed them right side up while I charged them. Final step, she handed the bullets to me to press and crimp them, and then she put them in the ammo box. I would have let her use the press but all i have is a hand held Lee press and I didn't think she could handle it. :veryconfu
So how do YOU keep your children/grandchildren/great grandchildren busy when they are helping you reload?
Kids, gotta love um.

Dean

[chickenstripe]

Buy go-nogo gauges for brass and loaded cartridges.
Have the check the brass before and the loaded rounds after.

[runfiverun]

11 hmm.
put her on the Dillon or the ponsess and make sure she doesn't run out of powder/shot/primers.
I turn my nephew loose on the stars, after I have them set up and rolling he can knock out 5-k faster than we can fill all 40 tubes for him.

[Love Life]

I wish my daughter was old enough to help. I have about 20,000 pieces of 308 I wouldn't mind being de-capped.

[historicfirearms]

I've got a five year old and a three year old. They're pretty young for most serious stuff, but I let them pull the rock chucker handle while depriming. They also like to hand me rifle casings while I seat primers. Honestly, it's faster to do it myself, but they sure love to help Dad.

[texassako]

My 3 year old daughter is always wanting to help; so I usually let her pull the handle to decap and resize something easy like .25 or .32 ACP for a while. A short attention means she will go back to drawing with chalk on the garage floor after a while. I do not work with powder, primers, or hot lead when she is around.

[Doc_Stihl]

I put my 6 year old on my left knee and my 4 year old on my right knee and sit at my pro 2000. I say each step out loud VERY slowly. Brass in. Bullet on, Down on the handle. Up on the handle. Index. repeat. My press is now FULLY AUTOMATED!, but it takes about 25 minutes to load 20 rounds.
My 4 year old likes to size bullet more than anything. He has to sit on my knee and hook his feet on the back of my leg to get the leverage to size some, but he loves "inspecting" them after they're lubed.

At this point, I dont' trust either of their fingertips to not get pinched working anything solo, so I'm always at the station at this point.

[PULSARNC]

many of you will remember my initial posting of my Weatherby Vanguard blowup from what was later determined to most likely have been from a S.E.E. In reconstructing the events my wife made mention of my grandaughter having been there the day I was loading the cartridges which were used in the rifle .Natalie can be demanding at times and it is my belief that she may have distracted me enough to have caused me to lose focus and screw up .Do I blame her for what happened nope not at all but my new rule is no kids in the reloading room at least when I am powder charging cases .She still get to help with depriming and such

[elginrunner]

I have our five year old put brass into loading blocks. They are old test tube blocks of 100 holes each. I give him five, and tell him to "carefully" put one in each hole. When he gets finished I empty the them into a box he cannot see, and then he gets to start over...... he just loves to help! When he's older Ill let him do something worth doing.

[DeanoBeanCounter]

OK, good point/lesson. Don't have kids around during powder loading. I think anything else can be spotted and corrected. Does any one else think of a vital step that can be dangers? You've just got to check there work and BE WITH THEM.
Dean

[longshot1154]

My son has helped a couple times. I stand next to him and he works the press. Really all he has to do is pull the handle and place a boolit at the fourth station. I do the visual of the powder before he puts the boolit on and weigh every 10 or 15 just to be sure.

I just pulled 200 .40 cal that I loaded about 14 years ago and at one point during the session, I had run out of powder and didn't realize it, now every one gets a visual. Figured they sat on the shelf long enough and I needed to do something other than throw them out. Took some time with a kinetic.

[EMC45]

My 10 and 7 YO help out resizing or crimping.

[x101airborne]

I put my 10 year old on my rockchucker with a 40 cal redding bulge buster with all my pistol brass.

[beagle]

Take 'em to the range on a slow day and have them pick up everything yellow and shiny. Started my kids off like that and I managed to hook one good. The dove fields and empties on there are good too. Then break them into sorting and nature will soon take its course./beagle

[Adam10mm]

6yo son and 2yo daughter. They have no business being around when I'm loading ammunition. They are not helpers, they are distractions. I'm engineering a small explosion and combustion initiated two feet from someone else's face. If they want to help, they need to leave me alone and allow me to focus on what I'm doing.

[selmerfan]

Two girls, 7&9. They love to help - everything from sorting polished brass to re-sizing fired brass to counting bullets or boolits. They also help me seat bullets/boolits. I charge the primed case, hand them the case, they seat the bullet/boolit (after I have adjust the seating die properly, of course.) This is their favorite task. I'll also put them on crimping if I need it, which is rather seldom. No independent charging of cases for them - I let them pull the handle down on the Harrell's as I watch over them like a hawk and teach them the rhythm of charging cases. They won't learn if they aren't invited, and if they don't learn they'll never want to carry on the practice.

[Sensai]

I find that the best tool for deburring primer flash holes is an eight year old. Like some others have said, though, no kids when the actual loading is going on; at least not until they're old enough to be taught to do the loading themselves. I find that I can have a good time just doing cast preparation and boolit size/lube with the grandkids. :bigsmyl2:

[Rick N Bama]

I allow 2 of my Grandsons to load the ammo they shoot. I cast the boolits, then the boys do everything else under my supervision. For the 8YO it's 38 specials with an RCBS 38-150SWC, & for the 12YO it's 8MM with the Lee Karabiner for a Turk Mauser.
Rick

[sljacob]

my little girl now age 10 started sizing and depriming pistol brass at age7 and soon started sizing and lubing boolits and also acts as quality control inspector of newly cast boolits. Reloading has been a good chance for us to get a little daddy/daughter time together.