Baled Kid!!

[N80]

I think that has more to do with hindsight and the nature of regret. If my B-I-L had a crystal ball and could see that his daughter was going to fall off the tractor and be killed, I suspect he'd sell the farm and move to the oh-so-safe and comfortable suburbs like me.

By the same token, if that actually happened, he would certainly regret it and wish that he'd never let his kids do farm work. But with that type of regret, which involves blame and guilt, only the bad outcome is considered. There is no longer room for the rational consideration about taking those risks in order to live the way they do.

And truth be told, my son and daughter (and me and my wife) help out on their farm quite frequently.

So if he, or I had to make the decision to give up the way of life that they have (and that I sometimes share in) in order to safeguard against every possibility of risk, I think we'd both decide that that lifestyle is far richer than the one most of us live and is worth that risk.

[mboulais]

I wouldn't have a kid on the tractor using any implement and don't want my kids on the mower or even outside while the lawn is being mowed. but I do give rides (on tractor, never on mower). I think this person is being judged fairly harshly and it seems that the safety forum is digressing to pick pictures off the web at random and tearing down the people in the picture for not espousing exactly the same safety beliefs as us. Like I said, I wouldn't do this either, but I am not going to get worked up because he is. I saw the same thing from the membership here when Mahindra ran the ad with a tractor being operated with the folding ROPS down. Everytime this Thread surfaces to the top of the forum the title scares me, then I open it and see this is still being dragged out.

[N80]

Yes, but in the picture in the OP, the kids IS riding on a tractor that IS pulling a baler. That's something that my farm-kid nieces would never be allowed to do and all three of them are handier on a tractor than most of us.

[MikeD74T]

Some of these 'back when" stories bring back pleasant memories. One day in the 60's our school bus driver made an unscheduled stop on a hill. After 3 attempts to get going, all of which ended in stalling, she recruited a 10 year old farm kid who smoothly restarted the bus & drove to the next stop. He had been driving tractors in the fields since age 5.
As for the baling picture, none of the farms where I grew up allowed passengers of any age when mowing or baling. When you were experienced enough at other tasks you were tutored & watched from a safe distance. Everyone started with raking, harrowing, spreading manure, pulling wagons, the "safe" tasks. I don't remember any kid ever getting hurt by farm equipment, however two of my townie classmates were killed, one fell from a high tree & another jumped from a boxcar & hit his head on the rail. MikeD74T

[N80]

I think I mentioned this before, but all three of my nieces and their dad have gotten injured badly enough for trips to the ER......but everyone of them involved farm animals, not machinery, and most of them happened during recreation, not work, all but one with horses.

Sigh, what on earth do people see in horses.......? (I see large, dangerous, tiny brained quadrapeds that eat money and can't survive more than a day or two on their own without special care and supplements.....but I'm sure I'm biased.....since I own two of them.)

[horse7]

Originally Posted by N80

Sigh, what on earth do people see in horses.......? (I see large, dangerous, tiny brained quadrapeds that eat money and can't survive more than a day or two on their own without special care and supplements.....but I'm sure I'm biased.....since I own two of them.)

Ah, but they were smart enough to get you to support them-- with included medical coverage even!

[Most animals that 'hitched their wagons' to humans have far outcompeted their wild brethren. Generally works even better for animals that have modified (yes, I mean this literally) humans to keep them as pets/companions vs. being kept merely as a comestible!]

[N80]

Originally Posted by horse7

Ah, but they were smart enough to get you to support them-- with included medical coverage even!

Nope. Well, indirectly. They were smart enough to get my wife to support them. SHE was smart (maybe deceitful is a better word) to get me to support them. That still leaves me a long way down the smart chain. But, I'm currently campaigning hard to cut my losses. Either we're going to trim the fat out of that budget or I'm going to have to get me a girlfriend.....on second thought, getting a girlfriend is definitely more expensive than a stable full of horses and would put me a link or two further down the smart chain.

Maybe I'll just move down to my little cabin in the woods...permanently.