North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks: Helping kids do the job safely A project of the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety.

Audience -- this workshop is intended for:  parents  teachers  health professionals  extension educators  safety specialists  other care providers

Assumptions  Materials on hand –Successful Farming May 1999 feature article –Frequently asked questions handout

Objectives --  After you participate in this session, you will be able to:  Describe the significance of the childhood farm injury problem.  Explain how a child’s developmental stage affects their potential for a serious injury.  Describe at least two developmental stages of kids including characteristics of kids in those stages and risks related to those characteristics.

Objectives (continued)  Explain how the NAGCAT guidelines were developed and how they can be used.  Explain the structure of the NAGCAT guidelines and apply one or more guidelines to a specific situation.  Describe the types of NAGCAT guidelines that are available.

Child Injury on the Farm

Facts:  About every 3 days, a child dies in an agriculture- related incident.  Hour for hour, children have a higher rate of injuries as compared to their parents or caregivers.  Every day about 38 children are injured in agricultural- related incidents

Percent of Fatalities in Youth by Source Source: 2014 Childhood Agricultural Injuries in the U.S. Fact Sheet

Child Development and Farming Injuries  What do the following incidents have in common?  A 7 year-old boy helps move cattle through a shed. He blocks off an exit so a heifer can’t escape, but the animal head butts the child, throwing him over a low wall onto a concrete floor.  A 10 year-old boy pulls a baler and loaded hayrack onto a gravel road. The tractor and load slide and overturn, pinning the child underneath the tractor.  A 13 year-old girl harvesting tree fruit falls from a ladder and suffers a serious closed-head injury.

These incidents:  Involved children  Are relatively common  Are often serious or even fatal  Involve kids doing things that are unsafe or that they are not “ready” to do  Are not a result of the child being “careless!” They result from kids being kids...

How Children Grow & Develop  Children “grow” -- the size of their body increases.  They “develop” -- there is a gradual change in function resulting in more complex skills and abilities.

Example: A Child Age 7 - 9:  Has a rapid increase in muscle tissue.  Has a period of slow, but steady growth.  Thinks in a concrete way --- must touch/taste/feel something to really understand it.  Wants to be with adults as they do their work.  Cannot adequately follow verbal instructions -- tasks must be demonstrated. Examples of growth-based characteristics Examples of developmentally-based characteristics

Child Growth and Development Issues  Rate of child G&D varies between children.  Child G&D happens in a predictable sequence.  Parents often overestimate their child’s developmentally-based abilities.  Children performing work beyond their developmental and growth-based limits are at risk.

Assignment - Use the one-page handout to determine how a child’s developmentally-based characteristics affects their farm injury risk, and what can be done to help protect kids within each age group Age Developmentally-based abilities Physical size decision making, motor skills, social skills, ability to understand and follow directions, risk taking Injury potential?

North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks  Developed to help parents and other care providers make informed decisions about when it’s appropriate to allow kids to perform key farm jobs.  Requested by parents.  Based on a research process involving farm safety and health professionals, child development experts, and parents themselves!

Guideline Structure  Title  Illustration of job  Adult responsibilities  Checklist to help assess the child’s mental, psychosocial, and physical abilities  Main hazards  Safety reminders  Level of supervision recommended

Title & Illustration

Adult Responsibilities

Checklist

Hazards and Reminders

Supervision Recommended

Assignment --  A family has three children:  boy -- age five, very active, curious, loves to “help” mom and dad.  girl -- age nine, 54-inches tall, 76 pounds, very athletic, often has trouble paying attention and following directions  boy -- age 13, 64 inches tall, 115 pounds, follows directions very well, a little bit clumsy

Use the Guidelines in the SF Handout to Determine:  Which jobs each of the three children might be ready to perform?  What special procedures and practices would you recommend?  What additional information is needed to determine which jobs are appropriate?  Where is the best source for that information?

Remember ----  These are only guidelines!  Similar to age guidelines on children’s toys and games  Children vary dramatically…..some 12-year olds can perform fairly difficult tasks….other kids need to wait until they’re 16 or older!  If you have doubts…always err on the safe side

Additional Guidelines  Other guidelines are available, grouped by:  animal care (i.e. milking cows with a pipeline)  haying operations (i.e. baling hay)  implement operations (i.e. using an auger wagon)  manual labor (i.e. picking rock)  specialty production (i.e. harvesting tobacco)  general activities (i.e. repairing fence)  tractor fundamentals (i.e. connecting a PTO)

Questions & Discussion For more information, see: Supported by funds from NIOSH-funded National Children's Center in Marshfield, WI. A project of the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety at