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Farm Safety for Kids: Keep Your Children Safe on the Farm

Mar 30, 2010; 2:02 PM ET

Your farm is your workplace. To kids, it can be a giant playground. Interesting machinery, equipment, and livestock can entice children to explore. However, children must be taught to avoid certain areas of potential danger since serious accidents can occur on and around farm equipment such as:

- Falling from a piece of equipment or other tall object onto a hard ground surface.

- Strangling or suffocating on clothing, ropes or wires dangling near equipment.

- Getting trapped within the small openings of equipment.

- Broken bones, bruises and other severe injuries if equipment falls over onto the child.

Farm insurance is essential in case of accidents, but preventive measures should be taken to avoid such occurrences altogether. Here are some tips for providing kid-friendly space on your farm.

1. Designate a safe play area.

Since farm equipment and machinery can be so intriguing to youngsters, it's a good idea to establish a separate play area away from those temptations. Make sure the boundaries of your area are clearly designated by using markers like a fence or bushes. This will help keep children away from vehicle traffic, hazardous equipment or potentially dangerous farm animals.

2. Change play opportunities as children grow.

As the children visiting your farm get older, it's important to adjust their designated safe play area to accommodate their maturing recreational interests. Larger open areas for playing sports, for example, are a great way to keep older children entertained so they won't be tempted to explore other areas of the farm.

3. Explain farm safety rules clearly, especially for visitors.

All the rules in the world won't make a difference if they aren't explained and understood. Set clear guidelines for kids, and explain the importance of following them. Make sure all visitors clearly understand expectations, and introduce them to the entire layout of the farm, along with the designated play area.

4. Enforce farm safety rules and consequences.

Once rules are clearly established and explained, it's imperative to follow through on them with consequences for any child who breaks one. Stress the serious risks at hand on a farm and the dangerous consequences of not following the rules.

5. Provide adult supervision.

It may seem like common sense, but having a responsible adult within sight and sound of the designated play area is crucial. For this reason, it's also a good idea not to place the play area in a location that's near loud noises or obstructed views. Other things to remember:

- Ensure doors and gates are locked, keys are not left in mobile equipment

- Ensure equipment guarding is in place

- Never allow children to ride on farm equipment

- Never allow children inside grain storage facilities

Even with firmly-established farm safety rules for kids and a designated kid-safe area, accidents can still happen. With the warmer weather approaching and children's outside play increasing, it's a great time to reevaluate your farm insurance. Talk with your insurance agent to ensure you have the right coverage for the changing needs of your farm, and be sure your agent is well-versed in the unique risks farmers face. Ask about family farm insurance, farm liability insurance and livestock insurance. For more information on farm insurance, visit Nationwide Insurance.