Knitting needles can be surprisingly sharp, and could hurt little hands when you're teaching children to knit. The easiest way to prevent knitting-related injuries is to use dull needles.
Probably the least-sharp material for knitting needles is plastic, and many needles that are made for kids are made of plastic. If you have some old wooden or bamboo needles, the points have probably worn down enough that they will be rather dull.
Needles that have more of a rounded end instead of a point will be harder to injure someone with as well.
If your project involves any sewing, make sure you use plastic yarn or tapestry needles for sewing as well. They usually have large eyes so they are easy to thread and are not at all sharp so neither you nor your little crafter can get pricked.
Finally, large needles make for easy knitting for grown-ups, but big needles can be hard for small hands. Try to pick projects that use medium-sized needles (from, say, size 6 to 9 U.S.) for beginners. These needles are not so small that the stitches will be hard to work with, and not so large that the needles will be hard to work with.
And if your little knitter has siblings around, make it clear to everyone that though knitting is fun, knitting needles are never to be used as toys or weapons!
