FYI Magazine

Safety essential when taking kids to visit a farm

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Kids often find farms fascinating places to visit. Playing with animals and running around in the vast outdoors are just what many kids adore.

As fun as farms can be for kids, parents know they can be equally as dangerous, especially for kids visiting farms on vacation or school trips. 

Fortunately, there are many ways concerned parents can protect their farm-friendly kids without taking the fun out of their next visit.

Protection from chemicals

Kids must be protected from chemical exposure on the farm. Exposure can happen in a number of ways, be it inhaling or breathing chemicals into the lungs or contact between chemicals and the skin or eyes. Kids can even ingest chemicals by eating or swallowing something on the farm.

Protecting kids from chemicals, such as pesticides, on the farm requires that parents educate children about caution or warning labels. Teach kids to stay away from items with caution labels. A caution label is typically used to indicate hazardous items that can cause minor or moderate injury. Warning labels are often used to indicate items that cause more serious injuries and possibly death.

Another way parents can protect kids from chemical exposure is to be a good role model. When using chemicals, also be especially careful, wearing protective clothing and discarding containers and other materials properly. Make sure all containers are tightly closed and stored in locked cabinets that are out of reach of curious kids.

Protection from animals

Animals present a major hazard to kids when kids visit the farm. Many kids love animals, and that love often takes precedence over safety. When kids are visiting a farm with livestock or other animals, parents should emphasize the following points so kids can enjoy the animals without risking injury.

* Remain calm and move slowly and quietly when around animals.

* Avoid an animal's hind legs and approach larger animals at the shoulder.

* Steer clear of animals with newborns, no matter how cute and cuddly such animals might appear.

* Wear proper attire, including steel toed shoes. Kids should always wear helmets when riding animals.

Additional safety measures parents can take include keeping kids away from stallions, bulls, boars, and rams, and emphasizing the importance of having an accessible escape route whenever working with animals.

Protection from grains

A host of hazards exist on a typical farm, and grain equipment is no exception. Though flowing grain might not excite kids who have been around it, kids are often fascinated when they witness grain production on a farm for the first time. It's very easy for kids to get trapped in grain or swept away by flowing grain, the force of which is difficult to understand by those who have never seen grain production close up.

When visiting a farm, parents should ensure that all access doors to grain storage structures are locked before letting kids out of their sight. In addition, ask if it's possible to shut off power to grain-producing equipment. Keep kids away from grain wagons and do not permit them to enter grain storage areas. When taking kids to farms with heavy grain production, employ the buddy system and ensure each child has an adult with them at all times.

Farms are fun places for kids, but parents must be diligent and emphasize safety when visiting a farm with their children. TF119267

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