The last clutch I changed, my 10 & 12 year old daughters helped me. 12 yr. old helped me stab the tranny and the 10yr. old pushed the clutch petal at the appropiate time (to free the plate for the lineup, grunt, stab move). Time before that my oldest daughter and her (female) friend helped, when they were 12 or 14. Anyway.......

mpuk: when you look at the plate just judge how glazed it is and how much material's left until you hit the rivits.
If you have them do a clutch, make sure they face the flywheel. 50K does seem early for a clutch. 150K or more would be more like it.

FYI: My '01 Fronty has 84K on it and the tob has been rattling for at least 20K, mostly in the winter. The pressure plate chatters a bit before the truck is warmed up. No slippage, just signs of a weak factory assy. IMHO