10-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 26, 2003 B &±ds - 1 I Farm Safety Is No Accident Register Now To Attend Family Farm Safety Day LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor PARADISE (Lancaster Co.) Five children died from farm ac cidents last year in Lancaster County. “Even if only one had died, it’s sad,” said Don Ranck, who farms in Paradise. Sometimes children are run over by machinery and equip ment. Sometimes they get in ani mal pens, or play in bams i fall and Family Farm Safety Day is scheduled at the Bart Fire Company June 21. Families are en couraged to attend. Free snacks, lunch, sur prises, fim and prizes! through hay loft openings. Sometimes smaller chil dren wander away and fall into ponds or manure pits. Ranch believes that most farm accidents are preventable. He works with Dr. Albert Price, pe diatrician, on planning Lancaster County’s annual Family Farm Safety Day. Workshops geared to children between the ages of 8-13 years point out potential dangers and demonstrate safe ways to perform necessary tasks on the farm. Actually there are activities for the whole family. This year the event is sched uled for June 21, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Bart Fire Company, Bart. “I grew up on a farm, where safety was always number one (priority),” Ranch said. Since Don Ranck explains why his refrigerator door is tied shut to Jared Coleman, 8. Prepare Children For Financia HONESDALE (Wayne Co.) Would you like for your children to be money smart? Do you hope they won’t make some of the same mistakes you’ve made with money? Money is a complicated subject with lots of emotional ties. It is easy to pick up bad money habits like spending more money than you have and not saving any money. Children learn money respon sibility day-by-day. Their money education requires parental time, energy, supervision, some money, and the ability to let the child ex perience the consequence of a poor decision. Children who are taught early about money learn independence; they also acquire the money skills needed for de veloping self-discipline and confi dence. Teaching about money can be tricky, however, because you do not want to overempha size money and materialism. According to Kay Zimka, Col orado State Cooperative Exten sion even young children may leam about consumerism by watching their parents. then he and his wife Ginny have taught their four children (now adults) the importance of always being careful. The Rancks oper ate a bed and breakfast on their farm, which is visited by hun dreds of children. Ranch’s chil dren grew up teaching farm safe ty to tourists of all ages. “No one was ever hurt, but I don’t say that arrogantly,” Ranck said. “Accidents can hap pen anywhere.” Despite their best efforts, his own family had several “close calls.” It’s difficult to enforce safety rules at all times on a farm where parents are often busy with so many chores. One of the most difficult rules to enforce is to teach children never to run to ward tractors. It’s difficult for children to realize that a tractor operator cannot hear them or see them. “Children must be closely su pervised at all times,” Ranck said. Rotary mowers and all-terrain vehicles also posetnany dangers. Even if all the rules are fol lowed, accidents can happen. Ranck said that when he was 12 years old, he was hauling ma nure. The universal joint pin on the steering column fell out. The steering column came loose, causing the tractor to upset on an embankment and pinning Ranch beneath it. He was rescued just in time. Last year, the annual Family Farm Safety Day attracted 150 children between the ages of 6-18. But the event isn’t only for chil dren. Families are encouraged to attend. The event offers opportunities for adults to see some of the safe ty features other farmers devel- She offers these steps to help you teach your child about money: 1. Analyze your own attitudes about money. 2. Involve the child in the fam ily’s financial planning. A short and not-too-boring family meet ing might include a talk about what good things happened dur ing the week, what is happening regarding the plans for a family vacation or what decisions need to be made about money. You may even let the kids be in charge of the meeting. The idea is not to make the children worry about family finances, but to edu cate them about how the house hold runs or the limits of the family budget. 3. Communicate an attitude that budgeting is serious, but not frightening. Children can leam that savings, rent, house pay ments, and utilities are paid first, that allowances fit within the family budget and that when one expense increases, another must decrease. The importance of hav ing a financial plan becomes more vivid. * KomerV w** **' TP oped to make farming safer. Some Amish farmers have de signed equipment with safety fea tures that many other farmers aren’t aware of, according to Ranck. Ranck and other farmers teach safety workshops during the day pertaining to power take-off mo tors, mowers, chemicals, fire, gases, water, buggy rides, and hidden hazards. Because the classes are taught by farmers, they “Matching chores to children’s development is important,” said Dennis Mur- S, Penn State professor of agri ural engineering. “Injuries may occur because parents over estimate their child’s physical size and age without taking into account the ability to perform the job. You have to consider bal ance, strength, reaction time, coordination, attention span, and memory.” As children grow older, they need to learn how to drive trac tors and operate other equip ment. They must learn to drive tractors by watching. But there are right and wrong ways to ride along on the tractor. These con cepts are taught at the work shops. “Parents can tell their children (about safety rules) but the safety demonstrations really make an impression on children,” Ranck said of the educational event. As a pediatrician, Dr. Price saw some devastating cases of children hurt on the farm. He started the free Family Farm Safety Day to teach the impor tance of making the farm a safer place. Family Farm Safety Day is free for the family, but you must register early. Deadline for regis tration is June 9. To register, call (717)290-5945. Responsibility 4. Give each child over five years of age an allowance enough to teach how to make de cisions, but not so much that it’s wasteful. An allowance is given because the child is a member of the family and is not dependent upon doing chores or getting good grades. Doing chores is the child’s contribution to the family. You can provide opportunities to earn extra income when the child needs money for a special occa sion or wants to save for a special purchase. 5. Encourage long-term saving. Open a savings account and help your children chart their savings. This is a positive way to develop financial responsibility. 6. If your child wants to bor row money from you, use this loan as an opportunity to teach about using credit wisely. You can have a written contract stat ing interest charges, a repayment schedule and what happens when payments are not made. Explain that late fees can be charged if payments are not made on time. are more aware of the dangers, the practicality of safety fea tures, and the need to train children how to help on the farm. “Don’t climb on anything unless an adult is present and gives permission,” Ranck tells visitors on his farm. _ - 4| p Xpii. Hayloft opening and the need to keep openings closed to Dylan Coleman, 5.
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