Children and farm dangers

[TripleR]

What gets me is, where is the crowd that lets their kids ride on daddy's lap when on the tractor or mowers
I thought by now they would of piped up on how they did it as a kid and are still here.
H**l, some one even started a thread about the second ride on a tractor, like he is so proud of his little daughter.
Some parents just won't get it, I'm for them.

I don't believe he was operating any equipment.

 

[tcreeley]

As a young kid my step father told me to ride in the FEL bucket going down the mountain. It was steep and there wasn't any room to lean against the fender and no drawbar to stand on. The bucket was a trip bucket. Going down the mountain the bucket tripped. I landed on the ground and rolled to the side just in time for the tractor to go on past. I always wondered if he did it on purpose. He'd get into one of those moods sometimes. I should have walked.

 

[txdon]

What would OSHA and Child Protective Services say?

YouTube - Backroads of Montana - Big Hole Valley

The good old days?????
Moderators, you can delete this without explanation.

 

[TripleR]

What would OSHA and Child Protective Services say?

YouTube - Backroads of Montana - Big Hole Valley

The good old days?????
Moderators, you can delete this without explanation.

Good thing Child Protective Services wasn't around when I was growing up on the farm, as we were driving tractors and about everything else when we were so small we had to stand up to get enough weight on the clutch to change gears.

 

[shepherd]

Good thing Child Protective Services wasn't around when I was growing up on the farm, as we were driving tractors and about everything else when we were so small we had to stand up to get enough weight on the clutch to change gears.

same here, didnt have the leg strength to push the clutch. the biggest jobs i got at the age was granted raking hay and spreading manure.

 

[brandoro]

Good thing Child Protective Services wasn't around when I was growing up on the farm, as we were driving tractors and about everything else when we were so small we had to stand up to get enough weight on the clutch to change gears.

I remember that, didn't grow up on the farm but worked on one summers from the time I was 13. I wasn't big then like I am now. It was a 930 Case, I was easing the clutch up when it drove me right up out of the seat, carried the front wheels a few feet before settling down. I learned a lot working on that farm, things that have done me a lot of good since. One of which is being able to find a way to make things work. One of my favourite sayings, "there's always a way".

 

[beenthere]

Don't call other people stupid 'less they walk around behind you and see what you do.

It is easy to poke fun and look down our noses at what other people do, and at times things need to get done while "sitting" with their children.

Take care of your own behaviour.

And any loss of a child or parts of a child is tragic, IMO.

 

[Lightnsound]

What gets me is, where is the crowd that lets their kids ride on daddy's lap when on the tractor or mowers
I thought by now they would of piped up on how they did it as a kid and are still here.
H**l, some one even started a thread about the second ride on a tractor, like he is so proud of his little daughter.

You rang?

Truth be told, I never had the chance to ride a tractor as a kid for two reasons. Firstly I grew up in the city. Secondly, and more related to the thread, I was overprotected as a kid by parents who were afraid to let me do anything fun. I missed out on a lot. I'm a different type of parent than that.

My two year old loves tractor rides and I have no problem obliging her. Just like the guy who took his daughter for her second tractor ride, a tractor ride for her is a just that, a tractor ride and no more. It's not mowing or grading the driveway with her on my lap. A tractor ride is a joyride with no implements running. It's a drive around the property on smooth level ground with no purpose other than to entertain she and I. There are no distractions, no other tasks at hand. I believe that this creates a reasonably safe situation, at least as safe as carrying her down a flight of stairs, or letting her ride piggy back on my shoulders.

I know that some here think I'm foolish for my ideas and actions. I think that some here are overcautious. I'll agree to disagree and we can all do what's right for each of us. It sure keeps the conversation interesting.

 

[mmurphy]

Good thing Child Protective Services wasn't around when I was growing up on the farm, as we were driving tractors and about everything else when we were so small we had to stand up to get enough weight on the clutch to change gears.

:thumbsup: I remember at least being 7 years old cultivating corn with the Minneapolis Moline UB Special. We had a wooden block attached to the pedals so we (brothers) could reach them. Raked hay all summer, and rolled the hay bales because they weighed alot more then me. Went out in the pasture to bring the holsteins up for milking.

Things are a little different then what they used to be. One of the first things I remember was never telling dad I was bored!!! He found things to take care of the boredom. Now days most kids are not lucky enough to have been raised on a farm, and people wonder why they do not learn any responsibility. As family farms dwindle down even more, it gives the kids the wrong opportunity to be doing.

Safety, yes. But challenges are needed also.

 

[arsenix2001]

You cant protect everyone from everything. You bring up all these horror stories of tractor deaths. It seems like common issue because you are specifically searching these stories out, and even still there arent that many. Statisticians would call that a skewed polling. Using your saftey standards based on dangers, please, pleeease dont ever put your kid in the car again, because I could post enough car related child fatalities to take up 25 pages. Bottom line, its up to the parent, and dont judge them. You can be safe or stupid in whatever you do. And they call them accidents for a reason. That kid could ride on a tractor all day long then fall down the stairs and break a neck. Nothing in life is ever completely safe, just be responsible in what you do. Bucket rides down the hill after a few beers, no. Lap rides at slow speeds on level ground, why not.