During the past decade, more youth have died working in agriculture than all other industries combined. While this statistic is heartbreaking, many different organizations are trying to turn that around through education and outreach. The National Children’s Center has created new resources to help parents and other adults to keep children safe.
Three new safety resource booklets — covering farm equipment operation, working with animals, and gardening — feature guidelines that can help adults assign age- and ability-appropriate tasks to young people.
“If we can get farm parents and supervisors to use the guidelines to assign work, it will ultimately result in less injuries and fatalities for our working youth,” said Marsha Salzwedel, Ed.D., project scientist with the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, part of the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, Wisconsin.
The guidelines are pulled from the Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines, developed by the National Children’s Center and covering more than 50 commonly performed tasks. Each guideline contains details about common hazards, important protective strategies and the roles adults play in ensuring a safe work environment.
“The guidelines included in each booklet pertain to a specific topic,” Salzwedel said. “For example, in ‘Safety Guidelines for Youth Operating Farm Equipment,’ we pulled in guidelines relevant to that topic, like ‘Operating a Tractor.’”
The booklets not only explain how to use the guidelines, they also provide important supplemental information on supervision, child development, communication, and regulations.
In an effort for clear communication for everyone involved, all three booklets are in the process of being translated into Spanish and French.
To request a print copy of any of the booklets, please email nccrahs@marshfieldresearch.org with your name and shipping information. The booklets can be accessed online.
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