Farmyards are no playground for kids

BY ANTHONY O’CONNOR

FARMS are a dangerous environment for children and the dangers will increase as the year progresses. Farmyards should be a ‘no-go’ area for children unless they are accompanied by an adult in a safe manner. Most farm accidents involving children are avoidable through proper supervision.

With the summer in sight, the silage harvesting season starting in late May, reseeding, spraying and crop harvesting all to come, the risk to children’s safety is greatly increased as these machinery operations coincides with the summer holidays. During school holidays, children in rural areas are more likely to be present on farms or on farms of relatives and thus face a number of potential dangers.

Children are naturally curious and inquisitive. They like to examine and play around tractors and farm machinery that is new to them. Farms are full of heavy machinery (tractors, slurry tankers etc.), so ensuring that children are supervised by parents and are kept out of harm’s way is crucial.

Providing a secure, safe play area where young children can play and be seen at all times is hugely important. A farmyard can seem like a playground to a child’s eyes, but it is a highly dangerous playground.

Tractors and machinery are one of the leading causes of accidents on farms and parents need to make sure children are kept safe from this hazard and the many others that exist.

The spring and summer period is a particularly dangerous time on farms and adults need to be constantly vigilant and make sure children are supervised while making children aware of any danger/risk present.

Parents’ attitude towards farm safety has a huge bearing on a child’s perception of any danger/risk. Warning children of dangers in a positive way, while controlling children’s exposure to the dangers is the best approach.

Parental supervision is necessary to securing childhood safety while letting children do tasks appropriate for the child’s age and capacity is a positive part of the growing up process.  The key is for the parent to limit a child’s exposure to the danger while highlighting the danger to the child.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.