Charles
V. Schwab, John Schutske and Laura
Miller
Iowa State University Extension
- A
3-year-old girl rides in her father's tractor cab as he
mows his field. The tractor hits a bump, the locked door
pops open and the toddler tumbles out. She is crushed by
a tractor wheel before her father has time to react.
- The
boy, 6, was doing his chores, cleaning out horse stalls
alone in the family barn. But when a horse is spooked, he
is kicked and severely hurt.
- This
12-year-old had helped his father unload grain many times.
But this time he was caught in a spinning sweep auger inside
the bin; he will never be able to offer the same kind of
help again.
The
importance of safety is illustrated by these tragic but true
stories of Iowa farm youth. Farm accidents that involve children
may seem unpredictable, stealing young lives at random, in
situations that could not have been avoided. However, most
farm accidents can be prevented. In these cases, the child
acted in a way that was consistent with his or her developmental
ability, and was hurt or killed because of it.
In Iowa,
farm-related accidents every year claim young lives or leave
youth with lifelong disabilities. According to the Iowa Department
of Public Health, 679 youth under age 19 were injured and
13 died in farm-related accidents in 1992. For all ages, more
than half of the injuries were work-related. In the 16-19
year category, three-fourths occurred during chores.
Causes
vary with the child's age. Reports show that 120 injuries
(18 percent) were the result of farm animals or livestock.
Another 109 injuries (16 percent) were related to machinery,
and 97 injuries (14 percent) were caused by a fall or slip.
One
publication cannot address the causes and cures for all farm-related
accidents. However, it can offer some general guidelines for
adults to use when providing careful supervision, assigning
chores, and teaching about safety in ways that are appropriate
for the youth's age and abilities.
As
all children grow, they pass through a series of developmental
stages. Physical changes are obvious, as a child grows taller
and stronger. Mental and emotional changes are difficult to
detect unless adults understand characteristics of each stage.
Most
accidents occur when a child is doing something that is beyond
his or her mental, physical or emotional ability. For example,
a two-year-old may be barely able to talk but is an active
learner eager to explore his sensory world. If he sees someone
hide a colorful bottle in a cabinet, he will do his best to
get at it, open the bottle and taste its contents; even if
he has been warned and even if it tastes terrible. Preschool
children are not developmentally ready to understand cause
and effect relationships. They need physical barriers such
as fences, gates and locks, to keep them away from danger.
On the
other hand, teen-aged youth are mentally equipped to understand
that risky behavior often has unpleasant consequences. However,
they often are driven to ignore common sense to satisfy the
emotional need for experimentation or excitement, typical
of that age.
A 16-year-old
who drives her father's truck too fast on a gravel road probably
knows the speed limit. She probably remembers her parents'
warnings. But she's speeding because she wants to, perhaps
to provide thrills for lack of anything else to do. Parents
of teen-aged youth must acknowledge their psychological needs
and provide safe challenges such as sports, activities with
other youth their age, and new experiences.
Table
1 is a chart with common characteristics of youth at different
stages. Typical risks on Iowa farms are listed, plus suggestions
for action.
Farm
youth spend most of their waking hours in one of the nation's
most dangerous workplaces, agriculture. They routinely encounter
hazards in farm chores. They must know what to do during busy
seasons when adult family members may be preoccupied with
other tasks. By understanding the stages of a child's growth
and development, adults can help protect farm youth from needless
harm.
Table
1. |
Ages
and Stages
| Characteristics
| Cause
of most farm injuries
| Suggestions
|
Toddler/preschool
(0-5 years) |
- Unable
to understand cause and effect
- Illogical,
"magic" thinking
- Fascinated
by movement
|
- May
love to climb
- Curious
- Slips
and falls
- Machinery
- Animals
|
- Supervise
carefully
- Use
physical barriers, i.e. locks and fences
- Provide
safe distractions
- Prohibit
riding on machinery
|
Early
school (5-9 years) |
- Inconsistent
use of logic
- Wishes
to seem competent
- Wants
adult approval
- Unaware
of realistic danger (Kidnapping or war, rather than
falling off machinery)
|
- Slips
and falls
- Machinery
- Being
struck by an object
|
- Provide
consistent rules
- Discuss
safe behavior
- Assign
simple farm chores with careful supervision
|
Older
school (10-13 years) |
- More
physical, mental skills
- Physical
development often outstrips mental, emotional maturity
- Wants
social, peer approval
- Wishes
to practice new skills without constant eye
|
- Animals
- Machinery
- Recreational
vehicles (ATVs, bikes)
|
- Enforce
consistent rules with consequences and rewards
- Expose
youth to machinery by letting them "help" you with
maintenance
- Talk
to peers who've been hurt in farm accidents
|
Adolescence
(13-16 years) |
- Desire
to experiment
- Strong
need for peer acceptance
- May
resist adult authority
|
- Animals
- Machinery
- Power
tools
- Slips
and falls
|
- Enforce
consistent rules
- Begin
tractor training, supervised use of tractors
- Encourage
safety projects in 4-H, FFA, other groups
|
Young
Adult (16-18 years) |
- Increases
sense of adult responsibility, competence
- Desires
to be supportive, to do adult work
- Needs
to take risks
- Feelings
of "immortality"
|
- Animals
- Machinery
- Power
tools
- Slips
and falls
|
- Use
clear consistent rules regarding drugs, alcohol
- Reward
acceptance of adult responsibilities
- Provide
opportunity to be a role model in safety
|
Adapted
with permission from Is Your Child Protected from Injury
on the Farm?, copyrighted by the Minnesota Extension
Service, 1993, AG-FO-6068B. Cause of injuries based on
1992 data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. |
How
Much Do You Know?
- Most
five- and six-year-olds understand that one action leads
to another, that behavior has consequences. True or false?
- At
what age does a child's physical ability exceed mental or
emotional maturity?
- 3
- 10-13
- 15
- 18
- How
many Iowa youth were injured on farms in 1992?
- less
than 50
- 50-500
- 500-5,000
- more
than 5,000>
- Accidents
involving children are unpredictable and cannot be prevented.
True or false?
- Animals
and livestock are the leading cause of farm-related injury
for Iowa youth. True of false?
See
answers at the end of "What Can You Do?".
What
Can You Do?
You can
avoid some of the risks of agriculture and protect family members
by becoming aware of safety and following these steps:
- Develop
family rules for your farm appropriate to the age and stage
of each family member.
- Encourage
youth's involvement in farm safety projects, either as a
member of a group or as a family.
- Inspect
your farm for obvious hazards and remove these dangers.
- Teach
youth proper safety skills and be a role model in your daily
work.
Answers
to quiz:
1-False;
2-b; 3-c; 4-False; 5-True.
- To
learn more about farm safety, check out these Safe Farm
publications that highlight youth; Extra Riders Mean
Extra Dangers, Pm-1518c, and Review Family Farm Safety
Rules, Pm-1265g.
- Your
local extension office also has information about 4-H and
youth safety programs, including the Safety Project Guide,
4H-692-MP.
- Another
resource is a reprint of a special section, "We Kill Too
Many Farm Kids," that appeared in Successful Farming.
To order, call Farm Safety 4 Just Kids at (515) 758-2827.
Cost item.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
document is Fact Sheet
Pm-1518i
,
a series of the Safe Farm Program, Iowa State University Extension,
Ames, Iowa. Safe Farm promotes health and safety in agriculture.
It is funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health, Iowa State University, and a network of groups that
serve Iowa farm workers and their families. Publication date:
September 1993.
Prepared
by Charles V. Schwab, ISU Extension safety specialist; John
Shutske, Minnesota Extension safety specialist, and Laura
Miller, ISU Extension communications. Design by Valerie King,
Iowa State University Extension, Ames, Iowa.
|