# Dads: When and how did you start teaching your kids to mix and/or scratch?
**URL:** https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321
**Category:** Off-Topic / Lounge
**Created:** [December 29, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321 "2012-12-29T14:39:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@smiTTTen](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/smiTTTen)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/1 "2012-12-29T14:39:53Z")
**Dads: When and how did you start teaching your kids to mix and/or scratch?**
I have a four year and i thinking he;s getting close but I am still fearful of breaking shit.
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### Author:  [@botstein](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/botstein)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/2 "2012-12-29T16:16:40Z")
Hey smitten - I started playing the cornet and trumpet at just five. I was really hard on equipment sometimes, but not others. Really, the damage, for the most part, was done from dropping things. When I was seven or something, my first trumpet was not as pretty as when it was new, but I did the most damage to an instrument - a really nice one from Blechblas und Signal-instrumenten-fabrik - when I was 15 or 16. I was tired beyond description and fell asleep in the back of the orchestra, and let it slip out of my hands.
If you keep him supervised, I think that your turntables will be alright.
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### Author:  [@aaron\_altar](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/aaron_altar)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/3 "2012-12-29T16:27:54Z")
I started teaching basic scratching (I use records I don’t care much about and old needles) at 2 1/2 when he became fascinated with my turntables. He’s 3 now and I haven’t moved much beyond that, it’s more about getting him used to the equipment and letting him have some fun at this point. Anyway, whenever he’s interested and has the attention span to learn would be when I would start. Make sure you have ground rules and you supervisor and everything should be fine. By the way, every time I see your name I think of my old acid techno days, it brings a smile to my face.😃
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### Author:  [@smiTTTen](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/smiTTTen)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/4 "2012-12-31T03:31:58Z")
https://www.youtube.com/embed/gAiXq64p8BE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque
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### Author:  [@0Notice](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/0Notice)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/5 "2012-12-31T04:48:29Z")
Super cute kid, the semi-dancing was greatness. He seems eager to play with the decks! Too cool!
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### Author:  [@Razzlesnaz](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/Razzlesnaz)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/6 "2012-12-31T05:34:34Z")
I let my 7 & 3 year old play with my production stuff like the launchpad with ableton. They are a riot with the stuff, but always under supervision.
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### Author:  [@kooper1980](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/kooper1980)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 6:46am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/7 "2012-12-31T06:46:34Z")
If he isnt a future dj he’s DEFINITELY a future raver!! Love seeing how interested he is already in record manipulation. And when he was using the filter knob you saw that there was already an understanding in what sounded good. Keep him at it buddy.
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### Author:  [@HighTopFade](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/HighTopFade)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/8 "2012-12-31T07:09:23Z")
I’m assuming your kids are exposed to your jam sessions. Whenever they express an interest…
I got back into the hobby when my kid was 15 and he expressed an interest at about 17. He’s all right at mixing and scratching.
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### Author:  [@smiTTTen](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/smiTTTen)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/9 "2012-12-31T07:18:08Z")
The lad is music obsessed. We got him an ipod shuffle for Christmas and he jams around with Stevie Wonder mostly. He’s also partial to some jazzier drum and bass and is a fan of good solid house music too. He’ll end up doing something musical whether its Djing, singing or playing an instrument as he’s also obsessed with drums (but we arent having those in the house quite yet!).
This was from April 2011.
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### Author:  [@Nicky\_H](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/Nicky_H)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/10 "2012-12-31T09:59:16Z")
Cool kid smittten 🙂
My 15 year old isn’t interested even though I’ve told him I can make him a millionaire who dates\* models
My 3 year old kinda destroys everything he touches so it will be a while yet..
- Forum etiquette
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### Author:  [@smiTTTen](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/smiTTTen)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 10:37am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/11 "2012-12-31T10:37:34Z")
You mean like this?
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### Author:  [@HigherFi](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/HigherFi)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/12 "2012-12-31T11:31:13Z")
Mine’s four, and I let him loose on the MC6000 whenever he wants. No so much on the turntables.
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### Author:  [@photojojo](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/photojojo)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/13 "2012-12-31T13:34:37Z")
Nice to see he’s wearing the proper safety clothing. My 17 year old son has no interest whatsoever in mixing, but he digs like a fiend. My 14 year old daughter has a little and she plays around some. She’s not as interested in finding music like my son, but is 100% fully committed to percussion in school. Because of this she plays around with some production apps on the iPad, but nothing to serious. When it comes to getting my kids involved in my hobbies I’ve never pushed them, but always made sure I was available to help them if they were interested.
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### Author:  [@MrAybar](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/MrAybar)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/14 "2012-12-31T14:41:53Z")
> [@smiTTTen](#):
>
> The lad is music obsessed. We got him an ipod shuffle for Christmas and he jams around with Stevie Wonder mostly. He’s also partial to some jazzier drum and bass and is a fan of good solid house music too. He’ll end up doing something musical whether its Djing, singing or playing an instrument as he’s also obsessed with drums (but we arent having those in the house quite yet!).
>
> This was from April 2011.
>
> 
This made my day!!! Happy New Year!!!
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### Author:  [@bigbeatzz](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/bigbeatzz)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/15 "2012-12-31T20:09:17Z")
I’ve let my 2 boys use my decks with supervision since before they could walk. They are now 3 and 5 and know the basics of what the mixer and decks do. They know volume, crossfading, what the pitch does, how to start and stop the decks and can do little baby scratches. I don’t force it on them but whenever they want to get on I supervise and teach as they touch.
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### Author:  [@HighTopFade](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/HighTopFade)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/16 "2012-12-31T20:47:35Z")
I didn’t know how to explain a lot of things well. So, I had my kid watch online DJ Shortee instructional videos.
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### Author:  [@Tha\_Gooch](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/Tha_Gooch)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/17 "2013-01-02T17:38:53Z")
I make sure my son wears one of those safety vests when he plays in traffic. My 17 year old daughter has a turntable, collects vinyl, enjoys sharing new music with people, spends hours making playlists for friends and events taking care to make sure there are nice tempo transitions and the music flows well together but swears she has no interest in being a Dj. My 8 year old son shows interest but I’m afraid to let him near the TT’s so I keep him and my nephews entertained by loading up the Maschine with fart samples.
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### Author:  [@smiTTTen](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/smiTTTen)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/18 "2013-01-02T17:40:20Z")
so what I am hearing is that I am the only one stupid enough to let a four year near a set of 1200s! 😃
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### Author:  [@Tha\_Gooch](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/Tha_Gooch)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/19 "2013-01-02T17:47:22Z")
The flip side of that is that we’re just selfish pricks who don’t want to share with our kids?
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### Author:  [@Emery](https://forum.djtechtools.com/u/Emery)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://forum.djtechtools.com/t/dads-when-and-how-did-you-start-teaching-your-kids-to-mix-and-or-scratch/51321/20 "2013-01-02T18:00:17Z")
You’re brave smittten! I love how interested he is in the TTs, but the whole time I watched the vid I was also whispering to myself “watch the needles!” I dont have a kid, but It reminds me of when my friends want to “scratch” my records. Normally I dont mind as long as they dont hit the damn needle! I actually think your son is a better listener than my drunk friends
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