Ensure Your Child's Safety

Farming ranks as one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, with children often facing the biggest risk for injury, a University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension engineer said.

Safety risks for children vary depending on age, but for those 15 and under, the biggest risk is being run over by farm equipment, said Dave Morgan, extension safety engineer in the University’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

”Since 1969, farm equipment has been the leading cause of injury for kids,” he said.However, taking on-the-job precautions can minimize physical risks for both children and farmers, he said.

”Teach kids that machinery and equipment are not places to be playing, and neither are grain bins, especially if you have automatic unloading equipment,” he said.Farmers should develop “no play areas” to park machinery in and never park in a play area, Morgan said. Fenced play areas increase safety, especially for younger children.

Following farm equipment accidents, tractor overturns, harm from animals, suffocation and falling off vehicles are the most common on-farm lethal incidents, according to the Department of Biological Systems Engineering statistics. Children being carried along as extra riders on farm and lawn care equipment continues to be a concern, Morgan said. It is difficult for operators to have full attention to the operation of the machine if they have a child on their lap or riding along or on a fender, he said.

Unless there is an extra seat and a seatbelt, children should not be allowed to ride along. When children are helping care for farm animals, they also need to be aware of potential dangers, he said.

”It’s easy for a small child to get crushed between a fence and a cow,” he said. “Kids have got to understand that animals outweigh people, are unpredictable and aren’t always controllable.”

He also recommends keeping farm chemicals and treated seeds well out of children’s reach.To help children look out for each other, hazardous occupation training courses are available through local Cooperative Extension offices, which help make kids aware of safety issues about operating tractors and other machinery.”With the right education, kids can be a great help on the farm and still be safe,” Morgan said.