We normally have our farm insurance content focus on things like loss prevention, liability insurance and policy costs, but I think we’ll all agree some things are even more important.
“Won’t somebody please think of the children!” – Helen Lovejoy.
There are few other types of childhood better than growing up in the farm life, but sometimes with great life experiences comes potentially extreme threats to safety so anytime is a good time for a refresher on how we can help keep kids safe on the farm.
STATS AND STUDIES ABOUT CHILD ACCIDENTS ON FARMS IN ONTARIO
BEWARE: SOME OF THE INFORMATION SHARED BELOW MAY BE UPSETTING AND DIFFICULT TO READ.
Let’s face it, a farm is often chock-full of injury risks and this can be especially true for the youngest among us.
Just look at some of these recent headlines from within Ontario.
“17-year-old killed in Southwestern Ontario farm incident”
“A 3-year-old sent to hospital after being injured in a farming accident”
“Young child dies in farming accident in Kawartha Lakes: OPP”
Just awful.
Especially when there are things we can do to help prevent these accidents.
- Rates of child injuries on Ontario farms peak in the summer (1)
- “Open wounds to the head/face region were the most prevalent type of injury (17.1%) followed by fractures/dislocations to the upper extremities (14.9%).” (1)
- “The most frequent causes of fatalities among very young children were bystander runovers, drownings and extra rider events.” (2)
- “40.4% of runover events in preschool children resulted in the death of the child.” (2)
- “Animal-related incidents, machine entanglements, falls from height, runovers and exposure to toxic substances were the most common reasons for hospitalized injuries in this age group.” (2)
Perhaps the most alarming stat of them all is the fact that while preschool children only comprise about 5.4% of the Canadian farm population, children in this age group represented 46.4% of the agricultural fatalities (2, 2001).
We all need to do better with child safety on the farm.
HOW TO PREVENT CHILDHOOD ACCIDENTS ON THE FARM
Let’s take the most common types of accidents from the statistics above and talk about how to help prevent each.
HOW TO PREVENT BY-STANDER RUN-OVER ON THE FARM
- Never allow a second rider on a farm tractor
- Avoid getting on or off from farm equipment while it’s in motion
- Always check all directions before putting a tractor in motion
- Slow down in areas where there may be other people around
- Create a safe play area for children away from farm operations
- Ensure all children are properly supervised whenever they’re on the farm
- Educate children on basic farm safety
DROWNINGS ON FARM PROPERTY
- Guard water sources like ponds and streams with fencing
- Teach kids to swim
- Always have a child wear a life jacket whenever they may be in proximity to water
- Educate children on areas that are off limits, post clear signage
- Always supervise children
FALLS FROM HEIGHTS (BARNS, TRACTORS ETC.,)
- Install guardrails and barriers
- Block off / prevent access to higher levels and stairs
- Repair and fortify upper levels
- Educate children on which areas are off limits and not to climb on equipment
- Ensure everyone, especially children, is wearing proper footwear and clothing while on the farm
HOW TO EDUCATE CHILDREN ABOUT FARM HAZARDS
An Ontario farm can be a very dangerous place. As adults, we may not always realize this but what could be benign to us may be potentially fatal for children.
Farm operators and families should make it a part of their farm life to educate young ones on how to stay safe on the farm.
- Grown-ups should be hands-on by showing and teaching children how to avoid specific risks
- Large, clear and easy-to-understand signs should be posted where needed. Some of these should be hung lower to make them easier to see for smaller children
- Experience is the best teacher. The younger the child the more supervision and education they need but if a child is intended to spend a lot of time on the farm as they grow up then the goal should be to make them aware and independently safe so that as they get into their teenaged years they can start educating those coming up behind them
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
SOURCES:
1. injuryprevention.bmj.com
2. casa-acsa.ca
3. canadasafetycouncil.org
