The difference between play and responsibility: Farm safety for kids

By Doug Carter, Rankin County Extension Agent

Farming and harvest season is in full swing.  Corn, cotton, and soybeans are being harvested.  Workdays are long and tiring.  It’s not a job for the slothful and certainly not for children.  

Every year across this nation youngsters under 16 are seriously and often fatally injured due to accidents on a farm.

Although the odds of an accident may not be great, it does happen.  The likelihood of a crippling injury or death is enough to make any parent do some serious thinking before they allow their child to tag along or take the wheel.  

Machinery-related farming accidents tend to be among the most physically devasting.  Mere flesh is no match for horsepower and cold steel. A small child’s body can’t withstand the weight of even a small  tractor if he or she fell off and under when riding along, or even worse, the child could fall under the implement the tractor is pulling. 

Children are not miniature adults and cannot be expected to always successfully cope with situations that call for adults’ foresight, judgement, experience, skill and strength, situations that we often face when farming.  

Perhaps a 10-year-old can guide a tractor down a furrow, but it may not always be that simple.  Something can happen that requires a quick decision and a critically correct response.  

Every farm parent must decide when their children are ready to help and what jobs are appropriate for their level of development. A lot of times the extra help is really needed to get through the bulk of the work, but there is too much risk in pushing a child into work that he or she simply isn’t fully capable of doing safely.  
Children are all different. Just because one child of a certain age can successfully complete the work, doesn’t mean another child of the same age can do the same.  We need to keep in mind that physical development may be misleading—“Big Enough” doesn’t necessarily constitute “Old Enough”.  

Maturity, willingness to learn and take direction, the ability to focus on the task at hand, taking pride in doing a good job, and being a part of the family work force are all necessary. Children who regard driving a tractor as a time to “goof around” and have their mind on fun or games are not yet responsible enough to operate machinery. We need to make certain that young workers are properly trained for all jobs they are given and are provided with proper protective equipment. Make wise decisions in regard to your children’s safety, and watch them grow up to make their own wise decisions.