PSA: Kids and Riding Lawn Mowers

[Pembo]

I'm a teacher, I had an IEP meeting today with a mom who is a surgical nurse. She has a 3yo patient who is on his 4th surgery in 2 days because he was riding on dad's lap as he mowed the lawn. The poor little guy lost his leg and they hope they saved enough for a prosthesis when he is older. He also has a jagged, open abdominal wound that can't be closed just yet.

Her warning: DO NOT let your child ride on the riding lawn mower.

 

[carj]

My son wears a prosthesis because he was born missing bones in his foot and leg and had an aputation at 10 months old. We were in one day for an appointment and there were 2 other kids who had missing lower limbs that looked similar to his.

I struck up a conversation with them about our kids and BOTH of those kids had accidents with lawn mowers!

As a kid, I remember riding the lawnmower with my dad or brothers and never was concerned about the danger. Meeting those children really made an impact on me.

Your post is a timely reminder for parents to use extreme caution with mowers. Just because they are common household tools, doesn't mean that they are not dangerous.

 

[ms_missy66]

That's a really great PSA. I'm always baffled when I see parents letting little ones around lawn mowers. It makes me nervous every time. :-(

 

[MSSANDRA]

And remember to ALWAYS know where your childre are when anyone is mowing and keep them far away. There is a 4 year old near our home right now that over a week ago was ran over my his grandfather. He has horrific injuries and is still in a drug induced coma.

 

[~Kristina~]

That is terrible. I'm prefectly content with my push mover for this reason, and my kids are scared of it - because of stories like these.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes, this is a good PSA.
I still remember seeing a rock hit my grandmother form the mower when I was about 8. She and I were in the yard while my grandfather was mowing the lawn. We were more than 6 feet away from the mower at all times. The mower blade hit a rock and threw it into her leg. It wasn't even a very big rock, but at high speed, it made a pretty big cut in her leg.

 

[liznboys]

I babysat for a little boy years ago whose arm was severed by his father who was mowing their lawn. I was pregnant with my oldest son at the time and after meeting that boy I vowed to keep my children far away from lawn mowers. My rule is that they can't be in the same part of the yard (backyard/frontyard) when it's being mowed. It always makes me uneasy when I see kids running around in a yard with the parent mowing.

 

[tinkermom23]

We have a friend who was mowing and a rock flew out of the mower and bounced off a tree. It came back and hit the guy square in the mouth and he lost 4 teeth, broke his nose, and got 2 black eyes. I told my husband that if a regular old rock can do that to a grown man, imagine what it could do to a small child!
When we mow, one of us will take the kids for a walk or to the park or something so they aren't even around. It makes me so nervous!

 

[Chris]

oh how awful. that poor child

 

[Tiffa]

My DH is a fireman/paramedic what amazes me is when we tell people its not safe and they look at us like we're stupid and say they have been doing it for years and tell their grandkids to hurry-up and get on. You can say it till your blue in the face but people do not listen.

 

[TKL SHOP]

That is terrible...I would never let dd ride on a lawnmower...Thanks for the great PSA

 

[DisneyRose&Boys]

You know, my 3 boys are older (15, 13, 12) and I STILL mow the lawn. They think I'm crazy, but I don't let them mow. It scares me even as old as they are.

Thanks for the reminder.
Rose

 

[badblackpug]

...and for everyone that mows the lawn...do it in shoes, not in sandals or flip flops. I had a patient who lost all but 1 of her toes mowing the lawn in flip flops. I have a friend whose son (the son is an adult) lost part of his hand when he tried to unclog the lawnmower blades. He was wearing an IPod and the mower was electric he didn't hear it running.

...and snow blowers not "blow" snow. They have blades in them! DO NOT stick your hands in a running snow blower to unclog them. Every year people lose fingers and hands.

 

[bartleby1]

This is a great reminder!

My DH and I have always disagreed on lawn mower safety. I will not allow the kids to be outside when he is cutting the lawn because I'm always afraid he wont hear them if they come up behind him and run in front of the mower or they could get hit by flying rocks/debris. He never believed me until last week when my neighbor was mowing her lawn and a rock kicked up and smashed her minivan side window into a gazillion teeny tiny pieces. She said it came up so fast and hit so hard. Imagine if that rock had hit a childs face!

DH finally agrees with me and understands why I don't want them outside when he's cutting the lawn.

 

[budafam]

DH takes DS on the lawnmower when he runs it. There could be an accident of course but there's a million things that could happen besides this. How does a child lose an arm? Didn't the person driving the lawnmower SEE the kid? I mean come on...

 

[only1alexa]

DH takes DS on the lawnmower when he runs it. There could be an accident of course but there's a million things that could happen besides this. How does a child lose an arm? Didn't the person driving the lawnmower SEE the kid? I mean come on...

Yes, just as a driver usually SEES a child running into the street right before he plows into him and runs him over with a two ton car. Doesn't mean the driver can stop/react in time and certainly doesn't mean I let my kid dart between cars since "a million things" could happen besides this. Same with riding mowers.
Allowing a young child to ride on a mower, even on a parent's lap, is careless.

 

[WantToGoNow]

There is a man at our church who lost his 4 year old dd. He was mowing their yard and the little girl was on his lap, she fell off and he ran over her. She not only lost several limbs but was partially decapitated - she died before they even got an ambulance there.

 

[all4fun]

Yes, just as a driver usually SEES a child running into the street right before he plows into him and runs him over with a two ton car. Doesn't mean the driver can stop/react in time and certainly doesn't mean I let my kid dart between cars since "a million things" could happen besides this. Same with riding mowers.
Allowing a young child to ride on a mower, even on a parent's lap, is careless.

I agree. And also, a child will go on living their life, quite happily probably, if they never ride on an adults lap on a lawn mower, or ride in the back of a pick up truck, or whatever else that is risky that "we used to do when we were kids, and survived". I am personally risk-averse so I guess it is natural for me to feel this way but I'd rather my ds miss out on some of those riskier activities than for me to see him maimed, disabled, or dead. The "fun" gained from them just isn't worth the risk, imo. Plus, if something bad happened to him because I thought "nothing bad will happen" then I don't know if I could live with myself. jmo.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I'm printing this thread and giving it to my DH and the in-laws! They all say I'm paranoid, but I had fit when I found out FIL was giving the girls rides on the lawn mower. MIL kept telling me how slow FIL was going ... sorry, but those blades aren't any less sharp in first gear.

 

[carj]

I agree. And also, a child will go on living their life, quite happily probably, if they never ride on an adults lap on a lawn mower, or ride in the back of a pick up truck, or whatever else that is risky that "we used to do when we were kids, and survived". I am personally risk-averse so I guess it is natural for me to feel this way but I'd rather my ds miss out on some of those riskier activities than for me to see him maimed, disabled, or dead. The "fun" gained from them just isn't worth the risk, imo. Plus, if something bad happened to him because I thought "nothing bad will happen" then I don't know if I could live with myself. jmo.

I agree. We also used to ride around without seatbelts when I was a kid, and our parents never heard of a carseat. As we learn more, we try to do better than the generation before us.

The fun isn't worth the risk. I think that people see it as an innocent, harmless activity. The reality is that children and lawnmowers, or other power tools are not a good combination.