Kippah – From What Age?

The Aish Rabbi Replies

We should train our children in each of the commandments when they are old enough to perform the basic action (even though they are too young to really appreciate what it means). Thus, when a child can properly hold and shake the four species of Sukkot, he should be given a set.

A kippah is not really a mitzvah per se but only a custom – although according to many it has assumed an obligatory status today. In any event, the true age a child should begin wearing a kippah is when he is old enough to understand that he is supposed to wear a kippah and keep it on his head. This would be in the range of 5-6. However, a common custom today is to give a child one at the age of 3. Many people today follow the custom of not giving their boys a haircut until the age of 3 (at his “upsherin”). Part of the celebration is giving the child a sense that he is now a “grown up” (besides the fact that on his tidier hair, a kippah might actually stay put). Thus, 3-year-old boys, at their upsherin, are often awarded a kippah and a very small pair of tzitzis.

Note that a child should not pray, recite a blessing, or study Torah without some head covering.

I wish you much success in raising your son. May he be a great source of nachas for both you and the entire Jewish people.

(Source: Children in Halachah, p. 14.)