The leaves are changing and giant tractors have hit the fields- this can only mean that harvest season is here. Watching the big equipment hit the fields can be an exciting time for young people. Josie Rudolphi with the University of Illinois Extension encourages someone to act as a designated child supervisor while work is happening.
“We want to make sure that children are being supervised at all times. The combine cab, the tractor cab, is not a babysitter. So we want to make sure that they’re being supervised, that they’re not in blind spots, that they’re not under something,” says Rudolphi. “We know how big this equipment is, how challenging it can be to see behind, under different equipment components. So making sure that somebody is there in the space to provide supervision to the children, if they’re going to be in and around ag equipment this fall.”
As kids start helping around the farm, the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety recommends taking age, size, and development into consideration before putting them behind the wheel of large machinery.
