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

[JoelD]

Great questions. At 5 years old all the decisions are made by mom and dad.

Full pads on pedal bike, no, but there could be a very good argument for and weak one against.

As mentioned a number of times in this post, even subconsciously mom and dad are making compromises.

If she fell and broke her wrist, I'd have some sole searching on why didn't she have wrist pads on, same for elbows.

There really is a compromise required.

As one of the last posters wrote, really does come done to common sense.

I guess I'm trying to help guide her in the right direction, but there are no absolutes as well stated previously.

I just try to improve my probabilities of success, but I'm not reaching 100% probability (probably not attainable).

I for one have benefited from this post, thanks to all!

Joel

 

[N80]

Wait a minute Joel. So you don't wear a helmet while biking? Does she ever see you doing so? And you say it is important to learn from other's mistakes? What about the thousands of adults who have suffered brain injury from the simple oversight of not wearing a helmet while biking?

I'm not picking on you; I'm just continuing to make the point that risk is often relative to the individual. You want to to ride without a helmet, fine. But if someone else wants to ride their kid on a tractor, then it would be unfair for you (or me) to paint them as reckless when we do things like riding a bike without a helmet (I for one always wear a helmet while biking, the risks of head injury while biking are vastly higher than virtually any tractor injury.) And while you may claim that you are talking about what you do to yourself and not what you do to your kids, well, that argument falls short. If you ride without a bike helmet: 1) she will see you doing so and in time she will imitate you and 2) it is as tragic to leave her fatherless as it is to put her at risk in other ways.

Again, not picking on you, just pointing out some of the irregularities I see in many of these arguments for or against certain types of risk.

 

[JoelD]

Hi, I was responding to some good points in a prior post.

I absolutely wear a helmet when on my bicycle and she does the same.

I was stating that we do not wear wrist pads, elbow pads, knee pads or chest protector while riding pedal bikes.

I was trying to point out, that even though I seem conservative on not letting her on the tractor, I could be considered non-conservative in some other areas.

There is definitely a fine line between one person to another's definition of safety.

All comments appreciated.

Joel

 

[PAB_OH]

Fear mongering.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

No one wants their child harmed. "Harm" can take on many descriptions. To me, it is harmful to a child to shelter them from "all that is bad in the world" instead of teaching them the correct way to deal with bad. They need to know the difference between right and wrong if you expect them to avoid wrong. Putting them in a bubble until they turn 21 doesn't get the job done.

Exposing a child to high risk isn't a good thing. Exposing a child to "life" IS good. I wouldn't consider for a second putting a child on an open station tractor while bush hogging, baling hay, or discing. But, I've spent many an hour with my son riding on the tractor while we were cultivating corn. Slow speeds, relatively safe, and teaching him skills that made him a safe operator once he was old enough to work on his own. Before that, we started off by SLOWLY riding around in an open field with no implements being used. All my children learned respect for the equipment, and how to be a safe ADULT.

That's how farm kids grow up.

Statistics can be made to validate someones agenda. How many kids die every year in swimming pools? Likewise, how many kids are prevented from drowning because the learned how to swim.....in a pool. People get hurt on machinery. It's always a tragedy when it's a child. But how many injuries are PREVENTED because a responsible adult took the time to teach a child the PROPER WAY to use certain equipment and to stay away from some equipment that is best left to an adult.

There's a huge difference between being carefull and being afraid of the world around you.

 

[txkevin]

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.
.

Back home about 6 years ago or so, there was a guy that let his 2 grand kids ride in the FEL while Bush hogging a field. You can guess how this ended up when one fell out without his noticing it. He had likely been doing it for years but it only took seconds one time. Such a senseless tragedy. I can not imagine the weight of living with that and remaining sane.

 

[gemini5362]

Back home about 6 years ago or so, there was a guy that let his 2 grand kids ride in the FEL while Bush hogging a field. You can guess how this ended up when one fell out without his noticing it. He had likely been doing it for years but it only took seconds one time. Such a senseless tragedy. I can not imagine the weight of living with that and remaining sane.

I think that this is comparing apples to oranges. I would not let my grandkids ride in a FEL bucket where I could not see them. That is a difference from letting kids ride on your lap where you have them literally in hand. One of the early objections I had to this post was the thou shall not flavor of those that are objecting to letting children ride on a tractor period. I have said this before. I have a tractor with a cab. If I let my grandaughter ride on the tractor on level ground in low gear so that she can be helping grandpa work in her mind, nothing any one can say will convince me that it is overly dangerous. There are some posters that want to argue absolutes, but life is not an absolute. Let me give some people a clue. There are some individuals that dont pay taxes. Death is an absolute but it is not life.

 

[mrutkaus]

No criticism intended, just shifting to another reality, I think it is naive to say that no parent wants their children harmed.

Think of the stories you have read/watched in the general media.

Mike

 

[Rara Avis]

NASD: Safer Tractor Operations for Home and Acreage Owners
Scan down to...
III. Safer Tractor Operations

A. Dangers of Extra Riders

 

[tallyho8]

NASD: Safer Tractor Operations for Home and Acreage Owners
Scan down to... III. Safer Tractor Operations A. Dangers of Extra Riders

Strange how this article suggests that you use a seatbelt here:

"The tractor did not have a roll bar, but it was equipped with a seatbelt. However, she did not use the seatbelt. In this case, though the tractor did not overturn, the seatbelt would have kept the rider from falling off the tractor."

Yet it tells you not to use the seatbelt here in the same situation:

"If the tractor has a ROPS, securely fasten the seat belt. Do not use seat belts on tractors that don't have ROPS."

I guess even the writers of safety books can take chances now and then.