A shocking statistic 15 per cent of Australian farm deaths are children
Growing up on a farm is often remembered and endorsed as an ideal lifestyle, but being a kid on the land can be a dangerous affair.
Key points:Approximately 15 children are killed on Australian farms each year, an AgHealth Australia study has found, and many more are seriously injured requiring hospitalisation.
Almost one in every six farm deaths is a child under the age of 14, with children making up 15 per cent of all farm fatalities.
Farmer and mother of three Katherine Myers said she was shocked to learn the statistic.
"Everyone sort of mentions that farms are dangerous places, but I never really realised how serious those numbers actually are," she said.
"It makes me think much more seriously about how we weigh up our kids' involvement on the farm."
Water a major dangerMs Myers works on the family's seed potato farm in Tourello, north of Ballarat in Victoria, with her husband.
"Being able to raise kids on a farm is incredibly special and it's one of the few chances a parent has to involve their kids in their workplace, but it's really brought home to me that we need to make sure we do this in a very, very safe way," she said.
ABC Rural: Jane McNaughton
)Kidsafe Victoria general manager Jason Chambers said a farm's role as a workplace and home presented unique hazards.
"In Victoria, children in regional areas have higher rates of unintentional injury and death than children in metropolitan areas," he said.
"One of the major hazards we see is bodies of water â€" particularly dams do pose a drowning risk for children, but for toddlers anything that can hold just a few centimetres of water can pose a drowning hazard for them.
"When we think about regional and rural properties, there are often a lot of water sources for animals and farm work, so it's not just the big bodies such as dams, but water tanks and a whole range of other things."
Supplied: ANU
)Danger on wheelsMr Chambers said vehicles and machines also had the potential to be fatal.
"Quad bikes are really dangerous â€" we have seen at least 23 Australian children die in quad bike incident since 2011," he said.
"But also other motorbikes and farm vehicles, such as tractors, pose a really big hazard and then there are things, such as animals, horses and injuries that occur from riding them, but also cattle and other animals as well."
ABC Rural: Jane McNaughton
)Mr Chambers said children being actively involved in farm life was important, particularly as a lot of those will be the next generation of farmers coming through.
"It is great to have them involved but it's really important to take a look at age-appropriate tasks that they can do, and make sure they are supervised," he said.
"It's important to explain to kids and teach them why things are dangerous, where the out-of-bounds areas are and what they can and can't do.
"Parents being role models for children will really help build that safety knowledge from an early age and help to keep them safe, while helping us keep safe on the farm as well."
'The kids love it'Ms Myers agreed that it was important to be a positive role model.
"I think as parents we all realise how much kids pick up from us, we've all been there where a child drops a word they weren't supposed to know from Mum or Dad," she said.
"Behaviour is exactly the same as language, kids pick up what they see Mum and Dad do. Things like wearing helmets and using seatbelts, we can't slip up, we need to make sure we're doing it all the time.
"It's impossible to explain to kids that they need to do something if Mum and Dad aren't doing it."
ABC: Anne Taylor
)Safety awareness continued to improve with every new generation of farmer, Ms Myers said.
"My husband takes a different approach to safety on the farm to what his father did, and I think my father-in-law is much safer than his father again," she said.
"The kids love it, especially the three-year-old. He wakes up every morning wanting to help Dad, and I suppose we've just got to make sure that we're involving him in age-appropriate activities.
"Whether that is going out and checking the sheep, he loves feeding pet lambs, or going around in his car seat in the ute with Dad â€" things like that."
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