How young is too young to fly a drone?

[Myetkt]

My neighborhood has a Facebook page in which people post various things happening in the neighborhood. About a week ago one of the neighbors I’ve never met, posted saying his son got a new drone for Christmas and on the first flight had it fly away. He said his son was heart broken and was hoping someone had found it. I learned it was a cheap (relatively) off brand drone so it didn’t have any of the bells and whistles of the more expensive ones. I decided to give him one of mine, a mini 2 that has been rarely used, along with the controller and battery. I got thinking about it a little and realized I don’t know the child’s age or how much the mother or father are willing to help him. Hopefully the parents would take a interest and help him out, but even with their supervision, how young is too young?

 

[WShade]

Honestly I think it really depends on the maturity level. I know some adults that should not have a drone

 

[Bad Santa]

Honestly I think it really depends on the maturity level. I know some adults that should not have a drone

What he said ^^^^^^^^

I know when I was 8, I was responsible enough to fly a drone. I'm 60 now and less responsible.

Joking aside.
I know some 25 year olds that I wouldn't trust and a lot of 12 year old kids I would.
And, as for me, I had a paper route at 9 years old. I was responsible enough, then, to go around and collect a couple hundred dollars from people, pay my monthly paper bill and deliver papers 7 days a week. I was also responsible enough to be allowed to ride my minibike very far away from our campsite near the shore of the Salton Sea.
I don't know any kids, today, that have enough responsibility at that age.

So, yeah, depends on the kid.

 

[Rchawks]

Tough call. Maybe meet the father and son and suggest a good spot to learn to fly since you're donating the drone and is the neighborhood a good place for that, if not maybe a large field nearby? How good will he be with following rules and getting a Trust Certificate. Will he be responsible about the way he approaches each flight as well as being respectful of others and their right to space. But then you could say the same thing about any pilot or future pilot. Information is important for anyone wanting to fly a drone safely. I think 16 would be a good age to start flying and to trust it would be done responsibly. I began flying RC at 20 or 21 which seems to be a kid to me now, lol.