Beekeeper children gloves

01 · SIZING

Age is a guide; the hand is what decides

The four sizes are named by age — 4-6, 6-8, 8-10 and 10-12 years — and that label is a guide, not a measurement: at eight there are 6-8 hands and 10-12 hands. Two things we know from people who have already bought them, in Spain and in France: they run tight, and a child’s hand grows fast, so a glove that fits exactly lasts one season. If you are between two, take the larger. The test, with the glove on: the fingers must reach the end without being squashed, and the glove must not turn on the hand when holding a tool — if it turns, there is too much slack and grip is lost just when a frame has to be let go.

02 · BUILD

Leather for the sting and the wrist; the gauntlet for the gap

The hand is leather, which stops the sting over most of its surface and takes the rub of wood and propolis through a calm inspection. The canvas gauntlet is sewn on to extend the cover up the forearm and ends in elastic, and that is its real job: closing the gap at the wrist, which is where the stings that really frighten a child get in. Always pull it over the sleeve of the suit, never under it. No glove makes a sting impossible, and at the fingertip seams a determined bee gets through.

03 · CARE

Propolis comes off dry, and leather dries in the shade

After the visit, take the propolis off dry, scraping with a nail or a blunt edge, and air the gloves in the shade: leather put away damp hardens and cracks, and in direct sun it goes stiff. Pull out any stings left in the leather before the next visit, too — the alarm scent stays in the hide and makes the inspection harder for whoever is wearing them.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

They are for accompanied visits: a child in the apiary goes with the full kit and an adult alongside, and the gloves are one part of that, not the whole of the protection. For the lad who is past twelve, or has a big hand, the next size is no longer here but in the adult leather glove.