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How to Protect Your Kids From Hazards on the Farm

Agriculture is a unique industry because children can be exposed to potentially dangerous situations 24 hours a day. The farm is both a work and a home environment for many families. Without a separation between these two environments, children can be exposed to tremendous risks. However, care and guidance from adults can reduce the risks for children living on farms. Below are a few beginning steps in what should be an on-going effort to make your kids safe.

Establish a safe place to play

Identify locations where children can play without adult supervision.; Good designated play areas protect children by isolating them from the farm work environment. One play area might be the porch of the farmhouse and the surrounding yard. A fence will reinforce the division between the work and play environment.

Try to provide appropriate play items, such as swings, a sand box or playhouse, which make the play area appealing to children. If the farm is more enticing than the designated play area, your efforts may not be effective.

Identify hazards around the farm

Once you've created a safe play area, provide children with reasons to stay there. Walk with children through different areas of the farming operation and point out potential hazards. Explain what makes these areas dangerous. Show older children newspaper accounts of accidents to show that hazards are real.

Include all aspects of your farming operation. A walking tour should include agricultural machinery and equipment, livestock pens and fields, farm buildings such as grain storage structures, and the farm workshop. Reinforce the following points about each area:

Machinery and equipment: This area is most dangerous when tractors and other machines are in operation. Adults may not be able to hear or see others in the area, or they may be distracted by children's play. Children should never enter areas where machines are in operation unless supervised, or until the operator has turned off equipment.

To further protect your kids, be proactive and :

• Do not allow them to ride or play on tractors or other pieces of farm machinery
• Remove the ignition keys from parked equipment and lock the brakes
• Lock self-propelled machinery
• Leave front-end loader buckets and other such equipment in the down position

Livestock: Children may be fascinated by livestock and perceive them to be similar to the stuffed animals they play with. However, farm animals can harm people out of territorial protection, maternal instincts, social relationships, or interruption of their habits. Children need to be taught how to handle and work around animals to lessen the chance of an accident. Teach your children how to respect all animals. This could possibly save them from unnecessary harm.

Farm buildings: Confined spaces such as silage storage structures can hold a build-up of lethal gases. As with other hazards, it requires a smaller amount of dangerous gas or agricultural chemicals to cause serious injury in a child than an adult.

Farm workshop: These areas contain hand tools, chemicals such as oils and cutting fluids, electrical outlets, and sharp or hot items, such as welded metal. A child can be exposed to many injury-causing items in this environment.

Be a model for safety

Adults set an important example by safety-conscious actions and attitudes. Children will respond to your concerns about safety if they see adults practicing safety rules in daily life.

Here are a few excellent safety practices that adults can pass on to children, practices that could save lives.

• Follow the "one seat-one rider" rule. Do not allow extra riders on tractors, or passengers on grain wagons and other mobile equipment.
• Read and follow safety instructions in the operator's manual for all equipment.
• Always stop equipment operation when a non-working person enters the area.

Designated play areas and safety rules around the farm will not be effective if they are not enforced or become part of daily life. Keep in mind that children need to be reminded of the rules frequently. They need to hear rules on a regular basis and be taught a few rules at a time. Thoughtful consideration of family rules can make the farm a safer place for children.

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