NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

June 6, 1999

The Farmyard is not a Play Yard, Safety Specialist Says

Summer means schools out and farm work is at it's peak. A farm safety specialist at North Dakota State University reminds families that children, farm machinery and livestock don't mix.

"For nearly three months, children will be free to roam the farm," says George Maher of the NDSU Extension Service. "For many, much of their time will be spent at home and visiting the homes of their friends, exposed to unnecessary risks and countless hazards. Children should not be allowed to play in hazardous areas."

Maher admits it isn't easy to managing children while keeping them safe and out of danger, but it is a very necessary task. In 1995, 11 percent of the farming related injury fatalities were children 10 years of age and younger. The percentage jumps to 14 percent if teenagers are included.

"Children believe they are invincible, but they're not," Maher says. "They are simply not aware of the dangers."

Children are attracted to large farm equipment and animals and each presents considerable dangers. Up to a third of injuries suffered by children on the farm are from falls. Often the result is an open-wound type injury—the most common type of injury suffered by children on the farm.

According to Jack Burke of the National Safety Council, "farming is the only industry where children younger than 16 are fatally injured in occupational accidents. He says, "Don't let or expect your child do the work of an adult."

It is possible to manage farmsteads to reduce or eliminate this unnecessary risk. Maher suggests several steps:

• Tour the farm and show the children where they are not allowed to play. Be sure to give reasons why by pointing out the dangers.
• Fence off a safe play area and confine the youngsters to it. Connect this area to the house.
• Place an older child in charge of the youngsters when the adults can't be around. Make sure the child in charge has the needed maturity for the task.
• Share child care and supervision responsibilities with neighboring farm families.
• Allow grandparents to help with the supervision of the youngsters.
• Follow and enforce the "no riders" rule on tractors and other farm equipment. Don't take children along on farm machinery. Most farm equipment has one seat—for the operator only.

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Source: George Maher (701) 231-8288

Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629