Children can begin beekeeping as soon as they have the maturity to listen to instructions and act in a calm manner. I have seen many websites that say five years is a good time to start. My kids are not quite four and a half, and they are thrilled to finally be old enough to help. They have a limited attention span, so be prepared for them to walk back to your house and give up after 5-10 minutes. But, in their eyes it is a lifetime and they feel that they really helped you out.
Our first time in the hives we simply opened the tops and looked inside. The next time they each held their own smoker as mommy added and checker boarded a new brood chamber onto the hive. One son disappeared back to the house, but the other stayed and asked questions about the "bumpy stuff" (drone cells) and honey cells. They both were very proud of themselves.
Be sure that your children have adequate protective clothing. You can buy children's veils from beekeeping suppliers. I let each son pick out his own hat to use with it. They also wear long pants, a long sleeved button up white shirts, rain boots, and Lightening McQueen gardening gloves. The XXS beekeeping gloves they make fit my hands, so it will be a while before they can wear those!
I like to have the boys in charge of the smokers because they have a sense of purpose, it keeps their hands occupied, and it bathes them in smoke which makes me feel better about them not getting stung. Only allow children who understand how to avoid the hot chamber of the smoker to use one. Kids can also be responsible for handing you tools, frames, etc.
Beekeeping is a great activity for the entire family!
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