"It's Easier to Bury a Tradition Than a Child"

[Rara Avis]

http://www.childagsafety.org/files/CASN_safety_ad_en.pdf

Tractors are responsible for 41% of the accidental farm deaths of children under 15, yet 4 out of 5 farm children regularly ride tractors with family members. While riding the tractor may be a family tradition, it's easier to bury a tradition than a child.

Childhood Agricultural Safety Network

 

[tinkertoys]

My grand kids want to ride. The answer is no. WHY????? Because I don't want to lose what mind I have left, and I don't want your mommy and daddy to hate me forever...

 

[stayalert]

Great poster! Thanks for this...

 

[claridon]

Thank you..
We all need to print the poster and put it up in the shop. The little ones are too precious to let anything happen to them.

 

[hudr]

On the other hand,
This is also why a lot of kids grow up having no idea how stuff works, how to be careful around it, and in general how to DO stuff.
Lets keep kids away from ANYTHING that will injure them, lower their self esteem, or teach them something.
Look, I have 3 kids and don't want them hurt, but one of these days they are going to have to make it on their own. We can't insulate them forever or have them afraid to get out of bed in the morning.
Where do we draw the line? Ban little league sports since Jr. could get beaned w/ a ball? How many of my friends now complain about bad knees/shoulders/necks/elbows/etc from HS football injuries?
Sorry, life itself is a risk. Granted, little ones don't know their own mortality (heck, I've got some grown buddies who don't still) But they have to TAUGHT something other than "________ is DANGEROUS and don't EVER touch it!"

What if everyone had listened to the guy who said "Gee fellas, I don't know about this whole fire and wheel thing, looks dangerous"

Sorry for the rant, you may flame away....

 

[WBWI]

On the other hand,
This is also why a lot of kids grow up having no idea how stuff works, how to be careful around it, and in general how to DO stuff.
Lets keep kids away from ANYTHING that will injure them, lower their self esteem, or teach them something.
Look, I have 3 kids and don't want them hurt, but one of these days they are going to have to make it on their own. We can't insulate them forever or have them afraid to get out of bed in the morning.
Where do we draw the line? Ban little league sports since Jr. could get beaned w/ a ball? How many of my friends now complain about bad knees/shoulders/necks/elbows/etc from HS football injuries?
Sorry, life itself is a risk. Granted, little ones don't know their own mortality (heck, I've got some grown buddies who don't still) But they have to TAUGHT something other than "________ is DANGEROUS and don't EVER touch it!"

What if everyone had listened to the guy who said "Gee fellas, I don't know about this whole fire and wheel thing, looks dangerous"

Sorry for the rant, you may flame away....

Your reply prompted me to search for this "story" its an mp3 file from a local Milwaukee comedian. He talks about his youth and how we survived all the things that are "so terrible" now (i.e. biking without helments, riding in the back of pick-ups, etc.) I understand and appreciate the intent of the OP. I can't imagine having to bury one of my kids because of a stupid accident.
Enjoy the link (if it works) http://johnmcgivern.com/audio/ThenAndNow.mp3

 

[tallyho8]

Yes, it is quite difficult to figure where to draw the line as far as safety is concerned.

Do I not drive my kids to school because more kids die in auto accidents than any other accidental way?
Do I not bring my kids to Disneyworld because the Magic Mountain ride may crash?
Do I not let my kids ride my horses because they may get thrown?
Do I not let my kids climb a ladder to pick fruit off the trees because they may fall?
Yes, I too, can't imagine having to bury one of my kids because of a stupid accident. This is why we were endowed with common sense and the urge for self preservation and if we use these senses as safely and wisely as we can, then we can increase our child's chances of living a full life while letting him live life fully at the same time.

 

[Soundguy]

Stuff was different 'back then'. I can remember going over to my granpa's farm when I was ?5 or so, and standing on the left running board of his ford tractor , holding on to the left fender in one hand, and to a hand grip mounted to the dash cowling that my grandad used to help get on the tractor..while we drove down the road 4-5 miles .. with a 3pt disc ont he back. He's disc the ground for a couple hours while I played int he dirt with sticks and rocks... then we'd ride home and eat after washing of fin the yard with the garden hose... got plenty of memories like that.. like a buch of cousins over for a familly meal and we wanted candy.. someone told us to get on the tractor and go get some and threw us a couple dollar bills. 5 minutes later there were 4 or 5 of us piled into the op platform of a tractor heading a mile or 2 down the road to feed a sugar fix... No one batted an eye then.. nowadays that'd be child abuse or something.

Nuther funny one was helping pick up hay bales in a pasture with an old flatbed ford.. me and a cousin.. can't remember my age.. but i was almost tall enough to touch the pedals... Cousin put truck in low gear and got it rolling then jumped out... showed me clutch/brake in case of emergency, and then just told me to steer as we drove up and down the pasture picking up squares in someones pasture.

most kids grow up these days knowing how to run a callphone or game console... and that's about it... if you are lucky. they -MIGHT- know how to START a riding lawnmower.. MAYBEE.. more and more common sense is becomming uncommon, and being replaced by technological crutches.

Take the average modern technogadget family and plunge them into darkness with no power or city utilities.. some disaster situation.. etc..... vs someone raised on a farm.. etc... big difference in survivability I'm gonna guess.

As fro multi people in a cab.. well.. yeah.. we all know it is damgerous. That's what hay trailers are for!

soundguy

On the other hand,
This is also why a lot of kids grow up having no idea how stuff works, how to be careful around it, and in general how to DO stuff.
Lets keep kids away from ANYTHING that will injure them, lower their self esteem, or teach them something.
Look, I have 3 kids and don't want them hurt, but one of these days they are going to have to make it on their own. We can't insulate them forever or have them afraid to get out of bed in the morning.
Where do we draw the line? Ban little league sports since Jr. could get beaned w/ a ball? How many of my friends now complain about bad knees/shoulders/necks/elbows/etc from HS football injuries?
Sorry, life itself is a risk. Granted, little ones don't know their own mortality (heck, I've got some grown buddies who don't still) But they have to TAUGHT something other than "________ is DANGEROUS and don't EVER touch it!"

What if everyone had listened to the guy who said "Gee fellas, I don't know about this whole fire and wheel thing, looks dangerous"

Sorry for the rant, you may flame away....

 

[john_bud]

My son rides on the Kubota with me and has logged over 100 hours of seat time on my lap. Easily. But, we are both buckled in with the one lap belt. He ain't going no where. He has been able to use the FEL control while I use the wheel and peddles for a long time. He can get a full scoop, bring the bucket to transport height, raise the bucket and either dump it out all at once of else feather it out in a fairly even layer while I back up. He was able to do that at age 5.

He also knows that he can't get on or off the tractor from the right side, only the left, he can't get on/off unless the engine is off, he can't get on/off if the FEL or 3pt is up. He also knows how to lower the FEL and 3pt. He very much enjoys "making dirt circles", which is what he calls using the 2 bottom plow and watching the sod flip. He also is very aware that he can't be around when PTO implements are in operation. He knows all those things because we went over the safety rules. Those rules have at times been re-enforced negatively and at times positively. While it is generally out of favor with the Dr. Spock / Sesame Street crowd, negative re-enforcement is appropriate and effective. My son knows that the greater the potential danger the greater and swifter the negative re-enforcement.


With that said, he never been on the old fords while the engine was running. There is no seat belt. That's where I draw the line, as long as he legs are too short to easily use the clutch, he can only be on with me and belted in with me. Won't be too long. He is anxious to learn how to operate the back hoe. He does sit in the seat and run the levers, digging great big holes in his imagination.

I also take the time to show him how to do maintenance stuff like change the oil, hydraulic fluid, flush the radiator, check tire pressure, grease bushings, blow off grass clippings dust etc. My opinion on why kids don't know diddly is that their parents didn't take the time to show them how stuff works, answer the silly questions, let them try things, get dirty, make mistakes etc. I really don't subscribe to the NBSS (Nintendo Baby Sitting Service) or the TVAP (Tele-Vision As Parent) philosophy. I do subscribe to the philosophy that more is learned from mistakes than from successes.


Whew! Sorry to be a long winded soapbox standing son of a gun...

jb

 

[atgreene]

There's a huge difference between taking a kid for a ride around the yard on a tractor and going bushhogging with a kid riding sidesaddle.

It all take a little common sence. I grew up on the rear lift arms of a Ford 9n and an IH 300 Utility. I bet I have well over 300 hours riding back there, but it was a daily occurance and I knew what to do if things went bad. If we were doing something other than traveling I'd step off.

We'd gather sap with us 3 kids riding the rear 3 pth platform with a 55 gallon drum and carry the sap gathering pails to each tree. To take a kid who has never been around a tractor and trhow him or her on there would have the potential for diaster.