Good point Trumpy. When I was a kid (early-mid 1970s) the chemistry sets, junior radio kits etc. were quite popular. I had a "Junior Chemist" set when I was about 7 or 8, with all the usual sort of basic experimental stuff.

I never had one of the "99 Electronics Projects" types of kits, because I already had boxes full of old radio parts obtained from church jumble sales, a wonderful surplus parts shop in town, and various friends and neighbors who donated old unwanted equipment. I was playing around with batteries and bulbs from the age of about 6. I still remember building my first very simple radio at the age of 8, with some help from my father! (Thanks Dad, and to Mom for putting up with bits of wire and noises every weekend and listening to endless technical discussions over the dinner table -- I owe you both a lot!)

I remember using an Avo meter on live mains wiring and high voltages in tube radios under the supervision of my father from an early age. Somewhere along the way, it was decided that I knew enough not to get hurt on my own, and certainly by the time I was about 10 or 11 I was regularly diving into tube radios, tape recorders and so on by myself.

Sure, I could have gotten hurt. The only way to be sure of nothing bad ever befalling you is to never do anything.

The "PC brigade" these days would probably have fits at the things I was allowed to do (electrically wise). I wouldn't be surprised if some idiot social worker would decide it was cause to come breaking into the house at 6am with warrants for "child neglect" or whatever other ridiculous charges they could come up with.

I'm glad I was growing up 30 years ago, and not today. [Linked Image]