Drone for 5 year old son, too young?

[MAvic_South_Oz]

My kids were responsible for me getting into drones

Mine too !
First flight on sons P3, though his warning AFTER the flight about CSC stick position was a little dated, thankfully I didn't do that !!

He also bought me my M1P, and handed down his hardly used Spark to me to keep it airworthy.

I have an S900 outside in his old room too that he built, and not quite finished, he wants me to finalise binding and set up . . . I'm a bit daunted with that, but will have to do it sometime before I expire.

We have flown together a few times, he's interstate working and travel's been hard the past couple of years of course.

 

[GFields]

Hello

My son is 5 years old and loves watching daddy fly. I own the Mavic 3 and I do let him fly it. I get above tree lines and let him only use the right thumb stick. I am in super rural area in Sonora Ca, so not worried about endangering others. I have a few questions:


Is he too young to fly his own drone?
What model would you buy for a 5 year old?
Anything else you could think is important that I am over looking?


I would be willing to spend 500-1500 dollars. (or more, if the perfect fit)

Any and all advice is welcome

I know there are many opinions that you will read. I say get him a good drone with GPS; one that can hover in place. The cheap toy drones are dangerous. In fact, I would get the DJI Air 2s or Mavic Mini 2. Good luck and I know you and your son will have many happy times together.

 

[Crouching Leopard]

Thank you very much for this response , it really helps. You sir, have a positive attitude and has brightened up my day because of it. Thank you. I will buy a Mavic Mini I believe based off your recommendation. Have a great day, as you helped me along mine .

Well done with bonding with your son. Magic mini will be great for him. Please keep coming back and asking questions, we are not all the same on this forum and I for one understand where you’re comments are coming from. Enjoy being a dad as I and no doubt many others here enjoy being a grandad, and happy flying.

I am no oil painting, at least not any more. Too much life under the bridge for that, but here is me with my 8 year old grandson both enjoying an afternoon flying my M2 pro.

 

[NG Wildman]

OK, so forgetting about the 'old dude' comment (I am almost 56 and just got an Inmotion V12 Electric Unicycle. I also have a slew of drones, RC trucks and boats); I will offer you my opinion. The comment where you caveat your son's accomplishments and abilities may have served you better if it was included in you OP. I would say, based on what you have said and your kids ability these days with games etc.; the Mini 2 Fly More package with DJI care.
Here are my reasons: It's a great deal compared to just the drone package and usually comes with prop guards which may come in handy for flying indoors or in an out building for practice or when the weather does not permit. He sounds like is has a high degree of responsibility for his age as I did and well understand. I think his diverse accomplishments and interests show that he has an open and inventive mind also which should keep his interest while he finds new uses for it. Also, if you get the DJI Care package, you can and should replace the drone before the end of the term. However, should you need to replace the drone before that, there is great potential for a teachable moment. Depending on the situation: either an analysis of what happened or (and I doubt it) what was not responsible and why the drone will be down for a period of time.
I think it is important to reward responsibility and some accomplishments accordingly. And this seems like a good opportunity in several ways. Also I will applaud you for being a parent and not a kids 'best friend' as many adults do these days.

 

[Jubjub Bird]

I'll echo the advice to look at the DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo. Among other things, this combo will give your son a total of three batteries. The Mini 2 is a nimble little thing--a heck of a lot of fun to fly. You may even want some stick time on it. (With your son's permission, of course--what number of books will he write on your sticky note? )

The original Mini is also very good, but as price is not a big deal in this instance, I'd go with what is current now. Also, the controller used by the Mini 2 is much better than that of the Mini.
Kids love having gear of their own. My dad had a nice camera and let me use it; but it was when grandparents bought me a camera of my own that I fell in love with photography. Your son will have more fun when it's his drone.

Good on you for teaching your son to do things responsibly that could be hazardous if done irresponsibly. Much better that walling him off from anything that has a whiff of risk.

.

 

[Thatguy13]

even the tello has a 14 year old minimum age on the box...but you can be the judge of your childs abilities

 

[LoudThunder]

Hello

My son is 5 years old and loves watching daddy fly. I own the Mavic 3 and I do let him fly it. I get above tree lines and let him only use the right thumb stick. I am in super rural area in Sonora Ca, so not worried about endangering others. I have a few questions:


Is he too young to fly his own drone?
What model would you buy for a 5 year old?
Anything else you could think is important that I am over looking?


I would be willing to spend 500-1500 dollars. (or more, if the perfect fit)

Any and all advice is welcome

I have no problem with a parent or other responsible adult teaching and supervising a 5-year old to fly a drone. My issue is with the unsupervised 5-year old flying a drone alone. Let's take it out a few years, how many 18-year olds have be given some sort of reprieve for doing something stupid (even reckless or deadly) using the excuse the "front lobe of the brain's cerebral cortex" is not yet developed and they are not "responsible" for their "poor Judgement?"

If the legal system gives 18-year olds a pass for being immature, how can we expect a 5-year old to act responsible? What 5-year old will not try to land the drone on their friend's or sibling's head, how about teasing the pet dog with flying the drone "just out of reach", or flying the drone over to the neighbor's house just for fun, or flying the drone up and down the street without regard for traffic or pedestrians?

Up to now, I have only offered "what-ifs" because we can all relate to them… Now, I'll share brother-in-law's situation. He and my nephew (a 12-year old) were out front flying his drone (a $50 non-GPS model) in the front yard. My BIL decides to go to the store for something, leaving the nephew to fly his drone. The BIL backs his car out the driveway and the nephew flies his drone alongside the BIL's car, as he said he was racing his Dad… As he flew down the street, the nephew lost visual perception of the drone's location and flew it smack dab into the back window of a neighbor's minivan, smashing the window. Since it was tinted, with a defroster coil, it was a very expensive repair, as he did not want to file on his home insurance.

I could keep going on but I would only be relating "what-ifs" of situations that "ADULTS" have been guilty of performing.

No, a 5-year old is not responsible enough for a drone. Get the kid an RC Big-Wheel Truck so they can race around the yard with strict instructions to not drive it on the road!

 

[Kywon McCain]

I never saw an age limit on a drone box yet. It don't matter the age. Any toy grade drone would probably be harder for him, Something with alt hold would be better, but giving him a DJI drone or any other drone similar to DJI or a high end drone in general is easy even for toddlers to fly.


But first you should teach him about the local drone laws and stuff. Basically what to do and what not to do, and you can put him in beginner mode and train him

 

[NG Wildman]

I never saw an age limit on a drone box yet. It don't matter the age. Any toy grade drone would probably be harder for him, Something with alt hold would be better, but giving him a DJI drone or any other drone similar to DJI or a high end drone in general is easy even for toddlers to fly.


But first you should teach him about the local drone laws and stuff. Basically what to do and what not to do, and you can put him in beginner mode and train him

Some good points.

 

[NG Wildman]

What is really amazing is how quickly parents go to "it's not their fault" As you say, "As for money, no problem there. Just want what works best for a five year old."

Isn't that kind of what Tonya Couch, the mother of Ethan Couch, the "Affluenza Teen" who killed four people while driving drunk… said about her son? Yeah, they threw the book at him, he was placed on probation until he was 21, but in spite of the fact that he got off so leniently that not faze him since "he deserved it" and still kept drinking, got drunk again, and was sentenced to two years for that.

Too often children who grow up in a privileged environment are instilled with a belief that they deserve whatever they want and thus no holds are barred. If parents do not teach their children the value of money, then they probably do not teach them the value of much else…

Most toy drone manufacturers have a label, at the minimum, of recommended for ages 8+ (depending, some models are recommended for ages 14+).

If you think your 5-year old is mature enough to fly a drone let see him pass The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST). Would you have to read the questions to him/her? You know (although I assume you do not care…) the 5-year old must take and pass The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) required by the FAA to fly a Drone.

Now, you can go off on your "high horse" since you probably also bought your 5-year old a pony to ride around the Sierra Nevada Foothills, in the heart of California's “Gold Country” of Tuolumne County.

View attachment 144499

WOW !!!
'High Horse' comment is ridiculous.
I started riding horses at 4 and my parents wheeled and dealed to get an old Welsh Morgan cart pony for me for my 6th birthday. Someone always watched me while riding. I cared for the pony for many years until she died. I started cutting neighbors lawns at 8 and put an ad in a local paper for lawn cutting which I paid for and worded at 10 that got me 7 customers. Within a month I had 27 customers and was bringing home just under $500.00 per month. This was in 1976 when I was paying $.439/gallon. Point is how many kids back then did that? Not a lot, I know I wasn't the only one. But I wonder what the operating manuals say about farm equipment. You know, up to 10s off tons in weight and capable of pulling, lifting and plowing many times that. Because, ya know, throughout this great country of ours there are kids only a pinch older that 5 that operate machines like this before and after school. It has more to do with how you raise children and what supervision they are given. So, again , as far as ability to learn and fly a drone; I say get a MINI 2 and supervise.

 

[dirkclod]

Ok guys this has went farther than what the OP asked.
i’ve deleted seversl post as another staff member has.
Sorry but this has left the tracks and is over.

CLOSED​