Seeing one of our local doctors riding with his child on a tractor made me realize that even a doctor might not be aware of basic farm safety rules. The tractor they were on did not have a cab, but even tractors with a cab are not safe for two riders. If the tractor hits a bump, the rider who is not on the driver's seat may fall off and be driven over by the rear wheels. A rider in a tractor cab may fall against the door handle, jarring it open, and then fall out into the path of the wheels. Tragically, every year many children die because they were allowed to ride as passengers on tractors, wagons, and other implements.
Children's books, magazines, and even calendars may have pictures showing unsafe situations. For example, one book shows children holding newborn piglets in their arms while in the same pen as the mother sow. The same book showed children riding in the box of a partially full grain truck.
Even the quietest animals can feel threatened, especially if they have their young with them, so do not let children in the pen or field alone. A child can be kicked, mauled, bitten, dragged, crushed, or killed by farm animals.
Think ahead. A tractor wheel leaning on the side of a building can tip and crush a small child. A container of pesticide, left for "just a second" as you attend to the next crisis, may still be sitting there several hours later.
A securely fenced play area, with constant adult supervision, is essential on a farm or acreage.
Don't assume that youngsters know the safety rules on the farm--they may be obvious to you, but not to a child. And if you allow them to help with the chores, don't ask them to do more than their limited strength and abilities allow. They should not be allowed to operate machinery unless they are at least 14 and can easily reach ALL of the controls. Don't give them advanced responsibilities. No matter how carefully they are taught, remember that children are still children!
40% of All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) related injuries were to children under the age of 16.
Farm machinery should be parked with brakes locked, PTO's in neutral, keys removed from the ignition. Equipment that might fall, like front-end loaders, should be left in the down position. Children must not be allowed to play with idle machinery.
Don't allow children to play in the back of grain trucks or grain bins, whether the grain is flowing or not. It takes less than 3 SECONDS for a full grown person to become submerged in flowing grain. In a bin, grain flows in a funnel shaped path to an unloading auger. The grain behaves like the water in a whirlpool. Velocity increases as grain flows from the bin wall at the top of the grain to a small vertical column at the centre of the bin. Rate of inflow at the centre top of a grain bin is so great that escape is impossible. Once engulfed in the grain flow, the victim is rapidly drawn down toward the bin floor. In another scenario, a thin layer of crusted grain can conceal a cavity beneath it's surface, and once you fall through the top crust, you can be buried in seconds. Entrances to silos and grain bins must be secured so children cannot get in.
Fence off manure pits and ponds. Cover old wells and septic tanks.
If you have treated seed and fertilizer around, be sure to warn children of the danger.
Keep children away from work areas where they could be injured by machinery or animals.
Horse sense:
*don't walk up behind a horse--if startled or afraid, he may kick
*walk BESIDE a horse when you are leading it, not ahead
*don't goof off when riding; if the horse shies you may fall off
*if you are lifting up his back feet, stand close to his back
hip where he cannot kick you.
*don't sit on the ground beside a horse
*don't tie your child to a horse.
The most common causes of children's farm fatalities are:
*being run over or rolled over by equipment, such as tractors,
trucks, ATV's.
*drowning
*strangling in rope or twine
*suffocating in grain
A common cause of farm injury is having limbs caught in machinery.
Thanks to Marion Leithead, Gardner College, Camrose, Alberta, developer of the Pre-school Farm Safety Program for providing the above information. A comprehensive kit is available for pre-schools who wish to put on a farm safety program. (Phone: 780-672-0171)