Farm Safety for Kids: The North American Guidelines for Children

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Farm Safety for KidsThe North American
Guidelines for Childrens Agricultural
Tasks(NAGCAT)

• The Ohio State University
• School of Public Health

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Children benefit from doing farm chores
Learn cooperation and teamwork
Develop a strong work ethic
Keep out of trouble
Develop a sense of responsibility
Develop problem solving skills and maturity
Learn useful knowledge and skills
Bring the family closer together
Learn about the life cycle from working with
animals
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Agricultural work can be very hazardous
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It happened to this family
This could happen to your family, too
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It also happened in Ohio
Ross
Co.
The bulls never been mean in his life.
This boy grew up on the farm and knew the bull
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It also happened in Ohio
Licking
County
It can happen when you least expect it
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It also happened in Ohio
Champaign
County
Dont develop an attitude like it cant happen,
like youre invincible or something.
In OHIO 1 18 years old 53 deaths
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About the NAGCAT
The North American Guidelines for Children's
Agricultural Tasks were developed under the
direction of the National Children's Center for
Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety to
assist parents in making farm jobs safer for
children 7 to 16 years old, living or working on
farms.
Bringing the Experts Together
Health Professionals
Educators
Parents
Child Development Specialists
Safety Specialists
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Is there a way to prevent farm accidents like
these?
While making sure that children continue to
benefit from doing farm chores?
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IF YOU USE NAGCAT
Reduce the risk of accidents happening
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IF YOU USE NAGCAT
If an accident does happen, the injury is likely
to be less severe
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IF YOU USE NAGCAT
You will know that you did everything you could
to prevent accidents from happening
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NAGCAT works!
More than 50 of injuries among children could
have been prevented
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NAGCAT works!
Almost 80 of deaths among children on farms
could have been prevented
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NAGCAT guidelines (a sample)
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Working with Large Animals

• Things your child might do while Working with
  Large Animals
• Move cart of feed to storage chute
• Fill the cart and steer it to the feed area
• Dispense feed to animal OR engage/disengage feed
  conveyor system
• Turn on/off silo unloader and/or grain auger
• Round-up animals into a group
• Segregate animal from the group
• Herd animal(s)
• Secure animals inside the truck or trailer for
  transport

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IDENTIFY THE HAZARDS

• Adults should be aware
• of the Possible Hazards
• Heavy weight can cause Muscle Strain
• Slippery or uneven surfaces can cause the child
  to Slip, Trip, and/or Fall
• Dust can cause Respiratory Problems
• Contact with lime can cause Skin Irritation
• Contact with animals can cause Zoonoses or
  Traumatic Injury (kick, bite, step on, runover)
• Obstacles in work area can
• cause Collisions

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REDUCE THE HAZARDS
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PROVIDE APPROPRIATE SUPERVISION
NAGCAT Definitions of Supervision Constant an
adult can see and hear the child the whole time
Nearly Constant an adult can see and hear the
child almost all of the time (adult is gone no
more than 5 minutes) Intermittent an adult can
see and hear the child most of the time (adult is
gone no more than 6-15 minutes) Periodic an
adult checks on the child every 16-30 minutes
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31 Chores in the Booklet

• Feeding Animals
• Feed milk to calves
• Feed corn or silage to cattle
• Feed square bales of hay to cows
• Feed square bales of hay to horses

Working with Animals 5. Lead/groom animals (beef
or dairy) 6. Milk cows using a pipeline 7. Work
with large animals (horses, cattle, etc.) 8.
Catch and hold pig(s)
Haying Operations 12. Cut hay with a pull-type
mower/conditioner 13. Rake hay 14. Bale hay 15.
Load square bales onto a wagon 16. Unload hay
Cleaning Jobs 9. Clean service alley (stall
barn) 10. Clean calf pens or hutches 11. Clean
grain bin(s)
Working with Equipment 17. Drive a farm tractor
with no implement attached 18. Drive a farm
tractor with a trailed implement for
fieldwork 19. Use a tractor-mounted front-end
loader 20. Operate a skid steer 21. Do farmwork
with an ATV 22. Operate self-propelled equipment
(combine, forage harvester, etc.) 23. Operate
power take off (PTO) powered equipment in the
field 24. Unload grain with a grain auger 25.
Hitch and/or unhitch any trailed implement 26.
Connect and/or disconnect power take off (PTO)
Other 27. Pick vegetables by hand 28. Weed by
hand 29. Run pressure washer 30. Prune trees
and/or vines 31. Repair fence
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One More Story
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It is always good to remind your child
about Safety
This boy had been working on a dairy farm since
elementary school
Keith was always careful
Any child can benefit from safety reminders
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Parents were central
in developing NAGCAT
Many different views about farm safety
Parents
Parents like yourself
Whenever you see something like this, you almost
always see something that maybe you havent been
stressing or maybe you forgot about.
We dont always have the luxury of having 8 or
10 people sit around and think of things that
could happen
Things you might have forgotten or you havent
thought about
Parent in Madison County
Parent in Madison County
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Time is a big enemy, you know. And money
Doesnt cost a lot of money
Parent in Madison County
Time Money
Doesnt take a lot of time to do
Life is just so busy. Youre constantly going
and you dont take time to think of these things
until something happens. An accident happens
It is worth a little inconvenience.
Parent in Madison County
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Opportunity for a full experience
NAGCAT is not about making your child a bubble
kid
I guess if you were to limit all risks, then you
would have to keep them inside all the time
Yeah, in the house in a bubble. They could be
bubble kids
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Influencing your child's behaviors
You can preach, preach, and preach about safety,
but it isnt going to soak in until they come up
with the short end of the stick then it sinks in.
You are making a difference by talking to your
child!
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Trusting your child
Checking on your child doesnt mean that you
dont trust your child to do the work
Well, theres no child on this earth that
doesnt need to be checked Its a definition
of child.
Do you trust your child to do what is expected
without anyone checking? YES. But it is a
mistake to not check.
Discussion with parents in Madison County (2004)
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Be assured by using NAGCAT
You are doing the best you can to keep your child
safe
I mean, this would give me a peace of mind too,
knowing that Ive gone over this with the kids.
Even if youve been doing 90 of everything that
you see here, its the other 10 that maybe
Everybody needs a refresher.
Discussion with parents in Madison County (2004)
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One parent said...
I think most parents especially the farming
community will do everything they can do to
protect their children. They are our most
valuable asset and were going to take care of
them anyway we know how, unless we dont know
how.
NAGCAT helps parents know how
Share the experience of many farm parents and
other experts
Discussion with parents in Madison County (2004)
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By preventing farm accidents...

• it is more likely that your child will continue
  to do farm related chores and benefit from such
  activities

My plans for the future are to farm mostly help
out right here.
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• Following NAGCAT can reduce the risk of financial
  losses

there was a dairy operation and these people
had to go bankruptcythey had so many bills to
keep the child alive that they had to sell the
farm.
Parent in Madison County
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AND if you follow NAGCAT
You know you are doing your best to create
healthy and successful experiences on the farm
for your child
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Acknowledgements

• Marilyn Adams
• Paul Micich (artwork)
• Mary Fleming
• Parents in Madison Co. (group discussions)
• Parents in Delaware Co. (feedback on materials)
• Neufeld, Wright, Gaut (2002)

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Questions?
Comments?