The importance of secure play areas for farm children has hit the consciousness of another farm group.
The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association is no longer alone in proclaiming the importance of rural child care. Last month the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba passed a motion that said rural child care is a farm safety issue.
“The agricultural community should be patted on the back for this,” said Jane Wilson, a day-care consultant and former director of a child-care network in Langruth, Man.
Children represented 20 percent of the more than 100 deaths on Canadian farms last year. Wilson said the problem is that children play in the farmyard where heavy machinery operates or take on chores beyond their ability. She said if both farm parents are working, children need to be going to day care or a babysitter. It is not safe for parents to keep children with them in the barn or on the tractor.
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Animal-related incidents are especially serious, causing eight percent of all deaths among farm children and many serious injuries.
Information from the Saskatchewan labour department says animal accidents happen through the year but are most frequent in April, May and June. Cattle are involved in almost 60 percent of animal related injuries while horses cause 35 percent.
Supervision vital
The bottom line, said the Ontario Farm Safety Association, is that children must be supervised.
“Remember that children sometimes are careless and may forget. They may try to do too much, and sometimes deliberately disobey,” the association said in an information sheet.
“In the end, child safety is the responsibility of adults. No matter how carefully they are taught, children lack the experience and knowledge to make all the right choices on their own.”
