Mowing Safely – Avoiding Accidents with Children
During the summer, this is the time when most parents work in their yard. It is also a time when children are out of school and spend most of their time outdoors.
As a parent, you may want your kids to help you with yard work by digging small holes for plants or watering the flowers. With changes in the weather, you may also want to mow the lawn.
Mowing the lawn may sound easy, especially if you are using a walk-behind or riding mower. The ease of using the machine may prompt your child to have a try or mow with you.
But you should not let them. A lawnmower is a dangerous yard machine that can cause serious injuries.
Burns and cuts are common lawnmower accidents, and your child risks losing their fingers and hands.
Children below 16 years of age are especially at high risk of getting injured. Injuries can occur when a child:
• runs behind a lawnmower
• slips under the machine while riding it as a passenger
• gets struck by a rolling mower due to a wet or uneven surface
• collides with lawnmower blades
• gets hit by a projectile
In any of these cases, you may not realize that your child is near the machine when the accident occurs.
The potential injuries that can occur as a result of these accidents highlight just how critical it is to keep safety in mind when mowing your lawn.
Safety measures to keep in mind when mowing your lawn:
• Keep your child indoors while mowing to avoid unnecessary accidents.
• Do not allow your child to be a passenger on a riding mower. Your child risks bodily harm including broken limbs, cuts, and burns in case of an accidental fall.
• Do not allow your child under the age of 16 to use a riding mower. Your child must show maturity, strength, coordination, and good judgment to use a lawnmower.
Also, only allow a child above 12 years of age to use a push mower after training them on how to operate the machine safely.
• When using a riding mower to mow your lawn, always mow going forward. If you put the machine in reverse, make sure to look backward first.
• Clear the lawn of sticks, gravel, toys, and other objects before mowing. Also, do not mow on gravel roads before you shut off the mower blades. A clear lawn will prevent you from creating projectiles.
• Always be aware of the location of your child when mowing. Do not allow them within the mowing vicinity when the machine is running. Children get attracted to lawnmowers in use.
Conclusion:
Avoiding accidents should be your number one priority when mowing the lawn with children. You can achieve this by ensuring you use the lawn mower safely.
Even if your child insists on mowing the lawn, train them first and do not leave them unattended with a lawnmower.
You should also explain to your kids the dangers of a lawnmower and how to operate it safely. Your kids will follow you if you set a good example.
