It’s spring and it’s time for your young adults in the house to learn the basics of landscaping which really means it’s time for them to learn how to use the lawn mower. Experience counts in the world of using a lawn mower, as it does in most things. Make sure before you send the kiddo out into the yard, that they can see the different obstacles of driving or pushing the mower on the lawn. Safety issues are paramount, but so is taking care of it, so you’ll not have to replace it post haste.

The machine has a rough life as it is, and new care takers need to be taken curbside, and shown the big picture of your lawn. Next, go around the lawn and point out the specifics of danger points where the lawn mower and its blade can be damaged. In fact, in might be a good idea draw a rough picture layout of the yard, and mark the different places to look out for while you’re walking.

There are a lot of places where damage can occur. The blade rotating at a high speed doesn’t leave much time to react to unexpected situations. In fact damage happens to the most experienced users, and it’s certainly true for new barbers of the lawn. Be patient when teaching the kiddos about how to use the lawn mower on the first few times of cutting the lawn.

Electric rotary lawnmower with rear grass catcher.

A concrete driveway culvert is one place where both the blade and the lawn mower can be damaged if not handled properly. If your driveway is covered in gravel it can wash away exposing the top and edging of the pipe. Also, if your yard has metal fencing, the bottom of it can become bent outward on to the lawn. Even the edging of a paved driveway or sidewalk can wear away at the lawn mower too.

Another place where the blade can become bent is on tree roots. A tree like the water maple that grows in U.S. has huge surface ground roots. Often it only takes a couple of times to run over a tree root system like this to completely bend, or break a lawn mower blade in half. If you live in a rural area with a septic clean out vent remember to tell them about shearing off the cap at ground level too. Metal water covers are another way a lawn mower can be damaged.

Finally, before the kids get to using it the first few times, help them look for other new types of danger to the lawn mower. Then just sit back and take a breather while someone else does the work for once.