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Farming and agricultural businesses routinely expose teenagers of all ages to potential risks and dangers associated with agricultural labour
Teenagers of this age, 12 – 13, are sometimes referred to as early teens. They are likely to be present on a farm either because their family manage the farm, or because they are children of employees not associated with the family, but are employed by the business.
They could also be actively involved in work on the farm, either as a type of work experience, or a type of holiday job.
Whilst this is normally very acceptable in agricultural practices, it is very important that there is an understanding of the development capacities at this age, and how this can expose them to certain types of risk that could result in death or serious injury.
It is imperative that anyone responsible for the management of a farm or agricultural business understands this, and make sure that any task or related activity that teenagers of this age are involved in is safe, and where ever possible supervised if necessary
When talking about developmental issues around this age, it is important to remember that these are general guidelines, and that a specific risk assessment should be done on each individual teenager who is in any way involved in farm work or agricultural activity.
There is a general presumption that teenagers around the age of 12 and 13 are somewhat rebellious, can be easily distracted, and can sometimes lack a clear focus. There is also a belief that they are more inclined to take risks than other age groups
A lot of these beliefs around developmental issues of this age are based both on the experience of professionals who work with teenagers in this age group, and a general societal understanding of the period between being a child and an adult.
As such, it is highly appropriate to be aware of the main types of risk for this age group in order to prevent any type of death or serious injury.
The main type of risks normally revolve around being injured by getting entangled in any type of equipment or machinery, trauma to the head and spine result from accidents whilst using atv's and motorcycles and the physical falling off structures and machines.
Teenagers of this age range also often believe they are stronger than they actually are, and often cause themselves physical injury, such as spraining a muscle or breaking an arm or a leg by undertaking work that they are not actually physically capable of doing.
As such, it is really important that this age group are given low risk tasks to do, or be involved in. These can include hand raking and digging, operating a lawnmower or a garden tractor, but not a ride on mower, and a very limited use of certain types of power tools, so long as the teenager is supervised
A very useful area of work for these teenagers is to assist with certain animals, both in the preparation of feeding, the feeding itself and different types of work that involve the welfare of the animals.
Teenagers of all ages should not be exposed to any type of work that could have a serious impact on their emotional health, which would be likely to include the slaughter or inhumane treatment of any animal in their care.
Peter Main is a freelance writer who specializes in agriculture and related matters with all major manufacturers, such as farm and construction machinery, tractors, utvs, lawn and garden tractors, and snowblowers. He also writes extensively about all areas of tractor finance, including credit scores, insurance and loan pay offs.