4 yr old's second ride on the tractor

1648nc · Feb 26, 2011

I wasn't driving at 6 but was riding with my grandaddy on the old farmall for sure, not much later was also walking directly in front of my uncle's loader picking up rocks, stacking hay on a moving trailer, swimming with no life jacket in a fast moving river and riding a bicycle with no helmet.

No wonder kids are attached to video games so much and don't work these days with all the safety police. The only way they can experience anything safely is virtually.

I think it's awesome your getting her involved at that age. As safely as possible of course, nothing is %100 safe unless it's in the aforementioned padded room and bubble.

Lightnsound · Feb 26, 2011

One of my favorite quotes from "Finding Nemo":

Marlin: I promised Nemo I'd never let anything happen to him.
Dory: That's a funny thing to promise.

While the accounts of children involved in tractor related accidents are tragic, there's a better chance that I'll just trip and fall down a flight of stairs while carrying my two year old and land on top of her, but I'm not going to stop carrying her. I'll just be careful.

There are plenty of opportunities for her to get hurt but I'm not going to leave her in her crib until she turns eighteen. I'll take her for rides in the jeep with the roof and doors off. She will learn how to ride a quad and a dirt bike if she wants. She will learn to handle a firearm at an appropriate age if she shows an interest. She will swim in the river. She will ride on the back of my motorcycle. She will climb rocks and do all sorts of things. She will play sports if she likes. She will get bumped, scraped, bruised, have her heart broken, and probably break a few bones and get a few scars along the way. That's part of growing up.

I'll take her for all the tractor rides her little heart desires. There aren't too many things that she and I have that are true common interests and my Kubota is a favorite thing for both of us. It doesn't make sense to not enjoy it because of some infinitesimal chance of something going wrong.

The point is not to avoid the risks altogether, but to manage them so possibly dangerous situations are controlled and made as safe as possible. The kid in the OP's post was wearing hearing protection in the pictures. Obviously here's a guy who is smart, concerned for the child's safety, and is willing to take steps necessary to manage risks. Bravo.

Birdhunter1 · Feb 26, 2011

I have a son that just turned 2 the end of January, I can't hardly get on a piece of equipment without him wanting on too. Part of it is he ants to be with me, part of it is he is an equipment junkie. Tractor, bobcat, excavator, 4 wheeler, zero turn..........

Last week we seeded the yard, he did get a little bored and wanted to go play with his bike on the deck so he did, but he has to have his ime on machinery. Last Saturday I borrowed a Bobcat 435 excavator from a good friend to remove 6 small stumps, my wife said the kid ran around the house yelling "bob" "hoe" and "ride".... Long story short he helped me remove the stumps (noneof which were large) and we were in a cab so I wasn't worried about his falling off. He really got a kick out of me being in the middle of the yard and letting him have at it with the controls. And of course the typical 2 year old tantrum when the hoe had to go home.

for what it's worth he does not get to ride when any of the machines are hard at it, we seeded the yard pulling a wheeled 18' spike tooth harrow and on another tractor with a broadcast spreader.

JoelD · Feb 26, 2011

It is all about risk management with no perfect answers

Moderation and common sense typically get you a preferred outcome

Joel

TripleR · Feb 26, 2011

Lightnsound said:
One of my favorite quotes from "Finding Nemo":

Marlin: I promised Nemo I'd never let anything happen to him.
Dory: That's a funny thing to promise.

While the accounts of children involved in tractor related accidents are tragic, there's a better chance that I'll just trip and fall down a flight of stairs while carrying my two year old and land on top of her, but I'm not going to stop carrying her. I'll just be careful.

There are plenty of opportunities for her to get hurt but I'm not going to leave her in her crib until she turns eighteen. I'll take her for rides in the jeep with the roof and doors off. She will learn how to ride a quad and a dirt bike if she wants. She will learn to handle a firearm at an appropriate age if she shows an interest. She will swim in the river. She will ride on the back of my motorcycle. She will climb rocks and do all sorts of things. She will play sports if she likes. She will get bumped, scraped, bruised, have her heart broken, and probably break a few bones and get a few scars along the way. That's part of growing up.

I'll take her for all the tractor rides her little heart desires. There aren't too many things that she and I have that are true common interests and my Kubota is a favorite thing for both of us. It doesn't make sense to not enjoy it because of some infinitesimal chance of something going wrong.

The point is not to avoid the risks altogether, but to manage them so possibly dangerous situations are controlled and made as safe as possible. The kid in the OP's post was wearing hearing protection in the pictures. Obviously here's a guy who is smart, concerned for the child's safety, and is willing to take steps necessary to manage risks. Bravo.