Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Additional information


What Would You Do?

                                   Helping Children Understand Farm Hazards

  1. More about this resource
  2. How to order
  3. Topics covered
  4. Sample illustration and discussion
  5. About the team that produced What Would You Do?
  6. More resources on farm youth safety

 

More about this resource

When children live where other people work, families must deal with a unique situation encountered in almost no other industry. No central registry of farm injuries to children exists in the United States, but safety experts estimate that more than 100 children die and almost 22,000 are seriously injured each year. 

What Would You Do? Helping Children Understand Farm Hazards is an illustrated guide helps parents talk to their children about farm dangers. It targets children four to eight years old—an age when children are beginning to explore surroundings on their own.

For a downloadable and printable file that further describes this resource, click here (Acrobat Reader required).

How to order


To order copies of PM 1840 please visit the Extension Online Store.

• Check the resource catalog at Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, call (800)423-5437, or email fs4jk@netins.net.

Topics covered

What Would You Do? features 24 full-page illustrations depicting real-life situations that children could encounter on the farm. The illustrations are organized in six chapters, each focusing on a different type of farm danger.

  • Chapter 1: Animals and Livestock (understanding livestock, danger signals, wild animals)
  • Chapter 2: Electricity, Chemicals and Other Farmstead Hazards (setting limits—safe places to play, safe things to drink and eat; dangerous places to avoid)
  • Chapter 3: Emergencies (calling 911 and following family emergency plans)
  • Chapter 4: Grain (staying away from grain wagons, piles of grain, bins and ladders)
  • Chapter 5: Lawnmowers, ATVs and Farm Machinery (being safe around lawnmowers, work areas, PTOs, ATVs)
  • Chapter 6: Tractors (saying “no” to tractor rides and safe ways to satisfy curiosity).

What Would You Do? also includes other helpful information for parents:

  • On My Farm (a place to record family rules)
  • Pointers for Parents (to make the farm safer for everyone)
  • Family Follow-up (activities to reinforce discussions)
  • Chapter Overviews (specific information about each danger)
  • About Your Child (age-related information on peer pressure, chores, supervision, how to teach rules)
  • Other Resources (a list of national organizations with resources for families)

Sample illustration and discussion

Children four to eight years of age are good observers, very curious, and frequent imitators of adults. But they see the world very differently than adults. They are concrete thinkers and cannot generalize from one situation to another. 

To make good decisions, they need to talk about specific situations. What Would You Do? has 24 discussion scenarios, each with a full-page illustration that depicts a real-life farm danger.

Sample Page not available

Other scenarios introduce more rules, such as: Do not drink anything without an adult’s permission. Know how to call 911. Never play in grain. Stay off tractors. 

Parents are encouraged to read each chapter overview and decide how to adapt it. Together they can create a rule that is appropriate to their farm.

About the team that produced What Would You Do?

What Would You Do? brings together a team with years of experience in farm youth safety. A panel of Iowa’s top safety educators reviewed all materials.

Charles Schwab directs Safe Farm, Iowa State University Extension’s statewide farm safety program in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. He has designed numerous interactive displays and educational materials for youth, including the Tractor and Machinery Virtual Classroom and the widely used Tug-of-War with Grain.  Email Charles at: cvschwab@iastate.edu 

Lynn Graham specializes in early elementary education and research in the Iowa State University Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She works with undergraduate students assigned to labs for children in the community from birth through age 11.

Laura Miller has worked nearly a decade in farm safety communications, developing materials for educators as well as farmers and members of their families. She is communications specialist for the nationally known Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Email Laura at: lwmiller@iastate.edu 

Lonna Nachtigal is intimately involved in agriculture as an organic vegetable producer and illustrator of numerous publications for rural audiences, including Iowa State University Extension’s 4-H and youth programs. Her specialty includes drawings of young children.

More resources on farm youth safety

Like other life skills, safety is not learned in one discussion, book, class or farm safety day camp. It is an attitude developed over time in which a child can understand various hazards and make good choices. 

What Would You Do? includes a chapter that lists selected groups and organizations with information that parents can use to educate their child. Organizations on that list are:

American Association of Poison Control Centers

American Red Cross

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

Equipment Manufacturers Institute

Farm Safety 4 Just Kids

Federal Emergency Management Agency

National Food and Energy Council

National Grain and Feed Association

National Network for Child Care

National Safety Council

Outdoor Power Equipment Institute

Temple Grandin’s Web Page

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Copyright © 2000  [Iowa State University]. All rights reserved.
Updated on 12/21/2006