PEI Federation of Agriculture urges farm families to sign safety contracts
CBC News | Posted: March 14, 2016 11:02 PM | Last Updated: March 14, 2016
'It's really important that parents sit down and choose age-appropriate tasks for their children'
A new program from P.E.I.'s Federation of Agriculture encourages farm families to sign a contract that details exactly what farm tasks children are allowed to do.
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It's important that we do take the time and actually realize what our children are capable of doing on the farm. — Charlotte Crooks, P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture
The federation is promoting the Be an Ag Safe Family program during Canadian Agriculture Safety Week, which began Monday.
"They are encouraging families to sit down with their children and take some time to actually go through some of the risks and hazards that we can find on the farm," said Charlotte Crooks, the farm safety co-ordinator for the P.E.I. federation.
The contract can be found online, Crooks told CBC News: Compass host Bruce Rainnie, and families can work on it together.
"Rather than just saying 'don't do this or stay out of this area,' actually sit down and have some discussion about some of the real-life accidents that do happen, and have some hard conversations."
Filling out the contract gives it that special emphasis, she explained.
"So the parents sign it, the children sign it, it gives us a way to get a commitment from both sides of the family, to do their best to work toward safety," said Crooks.
It's not just kids who have to learn about safety— sometimes parents unwittingly expect too much from their children, Crooks added.
"Sometimes we feel that our children are tall, or their legs are long enough to be driving a tractor, or driving the forklift but we have to remember that their mental ability isn't the same as that of an adult," she said.
"And sometimes the decision-making and quick thinking isn't there. So it's important that we do take the time and actually realize what our children are capable of doing on the farm."
The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association website has the printable contract, plus all the information, including a list of age-appropriate tasks for children, to help parents determine what tasks are suitable for youngsters.