Lawn Mower Safety

Safety Alert: Lawn Mowing Safety

A few years ago a girlfriend of mine received word while we working together that her nephew had been in an accident. Her nephew was 10 years old and had been in an accident. It sounded pretty serious and she left at once to go find out what was wrong. What she found out was that her nephew had his foot cut off with a riding lawn mower. It would mean the next few years of him going through surgeres etc... Had they been careless with the lawnmower? No the parents were there yet an accident happened and this sort of accident happens to nearly 75,000 Americans each year with 10,000 injuries involving children. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children under age 16 not opperate a lawn mower. Now I know what many of you are thinking I too was mowing before the age of 16. My father had a lawn mowing business and his children (me included) all helped out. The thing is that children need to be taught about the safety of lawn mowers and be under close supervision. Here are some safety reminders about lawn mowers:

• Children should never ride as a passenger on a lawn mower. Children on riding mowers have the potential to fall and be run over by the mower, resulting in serious injury and/or amputation of the extremities.


• Any time adults are using a lawn mower, they should make sure to keep children out of the yard and in a well-supervised area to avoid injury.


• Lawn mower operators should wear protective gear including pants, steel-toed boots, goggles and ear protection, excluding portable music players.


• Make sure all debris (rocks, sticks and toys) are removed from the yard before you begin mowing. Loose objects can project out of the lawn mower and cause serious injury.


• Riding mowers have the potential to tip or roll over if used on slopes or steep hills, which can result in serious injury.

Resource I used was the Health Minute.