How do you feel about children in a CAB tractor with buddy seat and seatbelt?

[Redneck in training]

I didn't read all the responses so I don't know if somebody already said this. The overprotection of children is as dangerous as no protection at all. You have to moderate the dangers to reasonable level but you have to let them do stuff that is not completely safe. In example climb trees, use tools, drive on tractor or drive a tractor etc. They need to learn to take care of themselves. I used grow up in small machine shop. I have my share of accidents that could have potentially end up bad but I am better off today because of that. When our kids grew up we could have been classified as irresponsible parents but guess what they are all alive without major injuries and all have confidence in their abilities. All (we have four) of them graduated from college, are out of house, out of our payroll and on their own. If you ask them they will tell you they had great childhood.

 

[AKfish]

I have a buddy seat in my tractor. It doesn't have a seat belt. But, I have a cab, too... I don't have any major concerns that not having a seat belt is really a serious problem! If I were running the tractor up and down the highway - yeah, probably should have a seat belt.

Or running across the pastures in road gear @ 22mph - yeah, probably should have a seat belt.

But, I don't do either of those things and don't plan to.

AKfish

 

[arrow]

I think folks need to lighten up a tad here. It was a touching story. No need to run the guy into the ground.

Yeah but look at his cyber name. Its in his nature. Here's one for you Hawkeye: If you had to fill a 6 ounce glass of water one molecule at a time at the rate of 1 molecule per second, how long would it take you to fill the glass?

 

[arrow]

Piston: you already know what you want to do. As you stated and if I may paraphrase, our opinions mean squat as they are too diverse and meaningless to all the variables to your situation. Could it be your instincts are in conflict with your desires and hence the opinion gathering? The real question for you is : What will make me feel better, having the kid next to me or out of the tractor when I'm working it? That is something more tangible in my opinion because it has more to do with what you know (You) and less in trying to weigh out all the unforeseen possibilities of what can happen for any given event.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I dont have a buddy seat but both my boys put there little stools on each side of dash. Thats why I have a cab,so I dont have to pay for someone to watch my kids and both me and the kids love being together riding on the tractor. Some things I have been over and over with them to not push any buttons/switches/etc. I never work on anything with tractor running and kids inside,always kill the tractor and open the doors. When we are moving I make sure to lock the doors and we dont get into a hurry, and if its just one boy in there with me I will even let them drive in the pasture. If we dont let them ride and teach them,how they gonna learn to farm/ranch.....

 

[Turbys_1700]

Lots of reminiscing here on this thread...
I am 53 years old and was the son of a tractor salesman...
That, in addition to being the only grandson of a farmer who only had 1 daughter makes for a guy that has been around tractors all his life...
The earliest I can remember riding on a tractor with my grandfather sitting on his lap while he drove our WD45...
Was it safe?
Probably not but he was really careful and taught me how to operate machinery at an early age...
When I was 5 or 6 years old dad and my grandfather would put me in the truck, put it in granny gear, and they would put hay on the truck while I steered it...
My feet could hardly touch the pedals but I knew the difference between a clutch and brake at an early age...
I realize that times have changed and people today are not typically raised on the farm like I was...
Society needs more safeguards and protection devices although in some instances I feel we have gone too far...
Thus seat belts, buddy seats, ect...
Personally, I would think that a buddy seat and seat belt would be a very safe environment for a child with the addition of a mature experienced grown up...
It is certainly more safe than what I was exposed to...
And I might add...
I would not trade those life experiences for anything in the world...

 

[Piston]

Could it be your instincts are in conflict with your desires and hence the opinion gathering? The real question for you is : What will make me feel better, having the kid next to me or out of the tractor when I'm working it? That is something more tangible in my opinion because it has more to do with what you know (You) and less in trying to weigh out all the unforeseen possibilities of what can happen for any given event.

Arrow,
I think you hit the nail right on the head with that one! I guess I'm pretty much just trying to justify bringing the boy along with me in the safest way possible. I think NOT bringing him with me (assuming he wants to be there) isn't an option, so I'm just looking for the right way to do it I suppose. I can't imagine not riding along with my dad when I was little either, and hence, don't want my son not to ride along with me. Currently, my dad still brings along his other grandson (4 now, but since he was 2) on my open station tractor while bush hogging. I told my dad not to do that with my son.

A lot of us are mentioning how it was when we grew up, and comparing to that, to justify bringing a kid along on the tractor. Well obviously times have changed, and society in general is different, especially the safety culture. All of us remember NEVER wearing seatbelts in the car, riding around in the back of the pickup at 45mph while eating an ice cream, and so on. A lot of things that we all did back then (and I'm not nearly as old as many of you) were completely normal, acceptable, and considered safe, not so much anymore. Now I feel like it's frowned upon to have a kid on a tractor, which is why I wanted your opinions on having a kid on a tractor with a cab.

I have to admit, it gets extremely aggravating sometimes looking at how much of our 'safety' culture is so over the top. I mean even on here you'll see people saying to never operate your tractor without wearing a seatbelt, or having the rops up, or many things like that. Yet I'd be surprised if 10% of the members ALWAYS wear their seatbelt. I've never actually had mine on, but that doesn't mean I'm not safe operating my tractor. I mean heck, older tractors don't even HAVE seat belts :laughing:

 

[TripleR]

A lot of us are mentioning how it was when we grew up, and comparing to that, to justify bringing a kid along on the tractor. Well obviously times have changed, and society in general is different, especially the safety culture. All of us remember NEVER wearing seatbelts in the car, riding around in the back of the pickup at 45mph while eating an ice cream, and so on. A lot of things that we all did back then (and I'm not nearly as old as many of you) were completely normal, acceptable, and considered safe, not so much anymore. Now I feel like it's frowned upon to have a kid on a tractor, which is why I wanted your opinions on having a kid on a tractor with a cab.

I have to admit, it gets extremely aggravating sometimes looking at how much of our 'safety' culture is so over the top. I mean even on here you'll see people saying to never operate your tractor without wearing a seatbelt, or having the rops up, or many things like that. Yet I'd be surprised if 10% of the members ALWAYS wear their seatbelt. I've never actually had mine on, but that doesn't mean I'm not safe operating my tractor. I mean heck, older tractors don't even HAVE seat belts :laughing:

Agreed, finding a balance is always the problem. Also while some will be "safe" operating one way or the other, someone else may not be. I also find myself in the camp of doing things that I certainly would not recommend anyone else doing as I know my situation and am willing to accept the consequences, but I don't know theirs.

My brothers operate three tractors without seat belts or ROPS and I won't be lecturing them on safety any time soon.

 

[buickanddeere]

I was going to ask this in the highly controversial recent thread that shows a video with an operator demoing a shed with a kid on his tractor,but, i don't enjoy controversial threads and didn't want to continue it. Hopefully this one can be a general "discussion" and not turn into an argument. I'm just looking for people's honest opinions.

One MAJOR reason I would like a cab tractor (with buddy seat and seatbelt) is so that I can take my son along with me for minor tractor chores when he is older. I refuse to allow him on my tractor I have now because I have a non cab, and certainly non buddy seat, and I realize the danger of doing this. In fact, my father makes fun of me quite a bit because I won't allow him to take his grandson on my tractor, and he ALWAYS had me riding with him on equipment.

Do you think it is safe, and acceptable, to bring a child along with you in a tractor with a cab and buddy seat, with seat belt? This is assuming some standard generalizations about operations, such as, I would bring my son along with me when working on flat and level ground doing pretty standard things, like mowing, plowing snow, grappling brush piles and things like that. I would not be on the side of a slope, pushing over a tree, or things that are inherently more risky.

I'm specifically referring to something like a New Holland T4.75 or John Deere 5075 for example. These are available with a factory "instructor seat" and are designed to have someone in the cab along with the operator.

What's your opinion? I have a good idea that most people would think there is nothing wrong with this, and probably a few people who would under no circumstances allow a child in a tractor.

You could ask my neighbour who was giving one of the twins a tractor ride while bringing in round bales . When the Father turned to look while backing up. The child managed to tumble out the door . I was surprised at how good a job they did in the funeral home. Once you looked for the width and spacing of the F1 tread bars. The indentation pattern and bruising could be observed as a slight shadow.
Happened near Tiverton Ontario. Family name was Johnson and Huber.

 

[kiotiken]

You could ask my neighbour who was giving one of the twins a tractor ride while bringing in round bales . When the Father turned to look while backing up. The child managed to tumble out the door . I was surprised at how good a job they did in the funeral home. Once you looked for the width and spacing of the F1 tread bars. The indentation pattern and bruising could be observed as a slight shadow.
Happened near Tiverton Ontario. Family name was Johnson and Huber.

Extremely tragic story, something that I have a hard time hearing as a parent and one I don't think you needed to be as dramatic about, we got the point without the details. It was obviously preventable, but I don't think it means kids shouldn't ride in the tractor. There are probably a lot more stories of children being killed when they are outside the tractor and not seen by the operator.

I would never move an inch without the door being closed, with or without kids in the cab with me, it would be VERY easy to make a very expensive mistake by leaving a door open. My doors close and latch very securely as most newer tractor doors do I'm sure. I'm not saying it could never happen to me, I'm saying the likely hood is very small and my kids are exposed to a lot of other dangers I can't control, at least I have some control when they're sitting on my lap or right beside me.