Dairy Initiatives

Dairy

Department of Animal Science

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Farm Safety and Kids

Tragedy is only a bad judgment call away.

One recent Sunday afternoon, I was driving in rural Minnesota past a dairy farm, and I saw a woman mowing her very large lawn on a riding mower. A common sight for this time of year, right? Only this woman had not one, but TWO children on the mower with her, one perched on each knee. I thought to myself, "Now there is an accident waiting to happen. WHAT is she thinking?" My better judgment told me I should have stopped and said something to her about how dangerous and irresponsible her actions were. But I didn't.

A few months ago I was watching television and two things occurred, one right after the other, that made me sit up and take notice.

First, on the 6 p.m. news, there was report of a young boy from Wisconsin who had wandered out of his home at 3 a.m. and nearly froze to death. He apparently was watching a video after having been in the barn with his siblings and parents until nearly 2 a.m. while his parents milked cows. Thankfully, he has recovered.

Later that same evening, "Judging Amy," a TV show about a single mom who's also a judge required to make decisions regularly about a variety of family issues, came on. This episode was about a dairy farmer who was reported to child protection for keeping his children home from school to work on the farm. Of course, this was fiction, but it probably made many people without knowledge of farming think critically about the roles of kids working on farms.

I'm the spouse of a dairy farmer. I'm also the mom of five children and stepchildren and a family development professional. I know what life is like on farms. I know firsthand the stresses and demands that sometimes drive people to make decisions that may not be wise.

And WAY too often, those decisions are about our kids' safety. I have heard many stories in the past few months about children who have been seriously injured or killed on farms in incidents that were the result of bad judgment, and maybe even irresponsibility, on the part of the parents - incidents that probably could have been prevented.

So it's time for me to speak up. We are not, as farmers, being attentive enough to the safety needs of our young children. Far too often we take chances we shouldn't take because we think, "It will never happen to us!" But it does happen - and has happened to many people who thought it would never happen to them.

So for what it's worth, here's my thinking, based on experience and research about farm safety that we all know about, but often choose to ignore:

• Children are not responsible for their own safety. It is the responsibility of the adults in their lives to fill that role.
  
  
• Young children should never - NEVER - be around a farm site or in barns unsupervised. Period. If they are outside, they should be under the direct supervision of an adult who is not preoccupied with something else - within direct eyesight - at all times. When parents are working at their job of farming or milking cows, their attention cannot be fully focused on the safety of their children.
  
  
• Young children should not be riding on machinery of any kind. Yes, it's fun to ride on the lawnmower with Mommy. And yes, it's even more fun to ride in the big tractor while Daddy is cutting hay. But it's not safe. What happens if the child falls off the lawnmower and gets caught underneath it? If you think it can't happen, think again. You say the tractor has an enclosed cab? What happens if there's some emergency with the equipment and the parent has to jump out? Will he remember to shut off moving parts? What if the child tries to climb out after him? There is just too much risk involved to have children in situations like this until they are of a developmental age at which they are capable of understanding the dangers of the situation and making decisions for themselves.
  
  
• Don't take for granted that young children fully understand the dangers of farm equipment and machinery. They don't. They aren't developmentally able to understand the consequences of getting caught in a PTO, even if you've told them. They don't understand that they could get stepped on by a cow if they get too close. They don't understand that sticking their hand in a conveyor to grab a handful of feed could result in their arm being ripped off. Too often we expect children to be able to use adult reasoning powers, and they aren't able to do so, developmentally. Further, at young ages, they aren't able to transfer the danger of one situation to another similar situation. They need to be told the rules or cautioned of the dangers for every single situation.
  
  
• At least one parent needs to maintain a level of alertness to be able to adequately parent their children. When parents are so exhausted that they can't attend to the physical, emotional, and mental needs of their kids, they need to make some changes.
  
  
• The first job of children is to be children. Although working as a family on the family farm (large or small) can be very healthy for kids, and can help them develop a great work ethic, it's too easy to cross the line and expect kids to take on roles that aren't developmentally appropriate, or that take too much time away from their job of growing up and learning. Be sure those needs are respected.
    

A few years ago I was part of a study of dairy farm families in southern Minnesota. When we asked about safety issues, one wife told us that when she works outside, she and her husband arrange child care for their kids. If they couldn't find child care, she didn't go out. They did not allow their young children to be outside when they were occupied working. They made some significant financial sacrifices in order to accomplish this. Unfortunately, I'm afraid their wise choice is the exception rather than the rule.

During times of high stress or fatigue - such as planting, harvesting, chopping hay, inclement weather, and low milk prices - our ability to make good judgments or decisions is impaired. We are much more tempted to cut corners or let things slide because we believe we don't have the time, energy, and maybe money to attend to them adequately.

I have long believed that if, as farm families, we are unable for whatever reason to adequately attend to the safety and developmental well-being of our children, including proper parenting, we need to rethink our priorities. Yes, working together and living together on a farm can provide a wonderful, nurturing environment for spouses and children. But it can also pose risks that must be acknowledged and attended to on a daily basis.

In an Extension publication titled Keeping Farm Children Safe, author and farm safety expert John Shutske writes, "Farm accidents to children are not random. They are very predictable. And almost all of them could be prevented." Given the alarming number of children who have been seriously injured or killed in farm accidents in the past year or so, we are apparently not giving adequate attention to children's safety. Losing even ONE child because of poor judgment or laxness in supervision is too much, and it affects all the family members for the rest of their lives.

Keeping Farm Children Safe contains an exceptional chart showing the developmental stages of children, what they're capable of at each stage, and risks and protective measures. It is available at University of Minnesota Extension Service.

Another useful resource is the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks. It can be found on-line at the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety.

D A I R Y    I n i t i a t i v e s    N E W S L E T T E R
Volume 10    Issue 2    Summer 2001

Dairy Initiatives

Dairy

Department of Animal Science