AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURE
There few people in the world who will try harder
to please their parents than farm kids, in fact, some of them
will die trying -- about 300 nationally each year or be severely
injured. "A lot of times, farm parents forget or don't realize
that they are asking their children to take responsibility one
of the most dangerous occupations in the county," says Howard
J. Doss, Michigan State University Extension safety leader. "The
risk of injury or death increases when the amount of risk exceeds
the child's level of maturity and many times kids do not have
not have sufficient experience to judge danger." He says
that reasonable farm work can help build a child's sense of self-worth,
social responsibility and a strong work ethic but the job assigned
to them should be age-appropriate. The child must have the maturity
and judgment to handle the task safely. He advises parents to
talk to each other and think about age-appropriate tasks for their
children and ask themselves if they have unrealistic expectations
of their children. "Parents should realize that while their
kids, particularly older teenagers, can be mature most of the
time, they periodically can and do quickly revert to child-like
behavior and if they are in a risky situation at the time, an
accident is likely," Doss says. Teenagers have a strong desire
for social and peer approval, want to be supportive and do adult
work, want to practice their skills without being constantly watched,
desire to experiment, and seek thrills but for the most part,
their physical development often outstrips their emotional maturity.
"Within that context, parents should think about the risks
associated with job assignments," Doss says. "We do
not allow a child to drive a car until they are 16 because of
the potential for an accident so why do we let them operate a
tractor which is the most dangerous piece of equipment on the
farm and which accounts for half of the deaths and injuries that
occur on farms each year." In a recent analysis of 460 child-related
fatalities on farms in Wisconsin and Indiana, half of them were
associated with tractors. "Parents should discuss, periodically
review, and enforce farm safety procedures and just as importantly,
practice safe farming procedures themselves," Doss says.
"Children mimic their parents and that's why it's important
that parents be good role models." Doss says that for kids
10-13, the biggest risk to them on the farm are animals, machinery
and recreational vehicles. For kids 13-18 the causes of most accidents
are slips and falls, power tools and machinery. "Parents
should take the time to demonstrate proper procedures for working
around animals, let kids work with them on machinery and around
power tools to demonstrate safe procedures and explain the risk
of not taking safe precautions," Doss says. "Be patient
and reinforce good behavior with praise." He says that belittling
a child because their work performance does not measure a parent's
personal standard and detracts from a kid's self-worth which can
contribute to accident risk. "Parents should provide a hands-on,
non-threatening environment that will help the child learn about
farm hazards and how to cope with them," Doss says. "Ideally,
this will take place at the hands of the parent but other resources,
such as the local FFA chapter or county MSU 4-H group can also
help.
TRACTOR SAFETY A MUST!! 04/14 With all the safety devices built into today's modern tractor, it should be one of the least hazardous pieces of equipment on the farm yet it remains one of the most dangerous. "Tractors are highly correlated with death and injury on farms, contributing to 43 percent of all fatal accidents each year," says Howard Doss, Michigan State University Extension safety leader. "Nearly all of the accidents can be attributed to operator error." Improper tractor operation results more than 400 deaths nationwide each year, 55 percent of which were caused (1995 statistics) by rollovers, 26 percent by run-overs, 2 percent by getting entangled in power takeoff (PTO) shafts, and 17 percent due to other causes, such as traffic accidents, attempts at bypass starting, slips and falls from muddy steps, etc. "One of the first things the farm manager should do before the season's work begins is to review tractor safety basics with everyone who will be operating a tractor on the farm," Doss says. "I would prefer that no one under 16 be permitted to operate a tractor at any time unless he or she has successfully completed a 4-H or FFA tractor driving course. I do not understand why we require a degree of maturity and training before driving a car yet we allow youngsters of nearly any age to drive a tractor with little or no training." Information about safety tractor and equipment handling is available from the county MSU Extension office or from the MSU Department of Agricultural Engineering "fax back" farm safety service by calling 517-353-7823. It's available 24 hours a day. Farm managers should also make a thorough safety check of all the tractors on the farm and seriously consider retrofitting older tractors with two-post roll-over protective structures (ROPS) which can be bought for between $500 and $1,000. "If all tractors in use had a ROPS and the operators always used the seat belt, death by tractor overturn would be reduced by 95 percent. Remember, usually it is a family member who is driving the tractor!" Doss says.
