Farming is the most hazardous industry in the U.S. with increased risk to those who both work and live on a farm especially with children. Every day 33 children are injured on farms and ranches. However, children raised on farms also enjoy certain social and health benefits. This is a prime example of what researchers call the “Farm Kid Paradox.”
Kyle Koshalek, the Project Manager at the National Farm Medicine Center on the Farm Kid Paradox Project shares more on the studies being done to bridge the gap and tailoring safety information with parent-reported benefits of farm life.
Until now, researchers have explored these risks and benefits separately, creating a gap between farm parents and safety professionals. The National Children’s Center for Rural Agriculture Health and Safety at the National Farm Medicine Center is conducting research on parents with children growing up around both beef and dairy cattle.
“We’ve been told by both farmers and safety professionals regarding work ethic as something being highly valued and seen by employers, even off the farm, as a great experience and skill set that would be beneficial to have,” says Koshalek.
The five-year research study consists of in depth interviews, free listing activities (listing of items children can and can’t perform on the farm and benefits /risk of each one), and also talking to agriculture safety professionals.
The three questions they want answered are:
- What are the perceived benefits and risks of raising children around livestock?
- How do farm parents and safety professionals differ with the risks and benefits they perceive?
- How can exisitng injury prevention materials be refined to better leverage strategy to reduce these differences?
This project will unite farm parents and safety professionals around a common goal: reducing risks and enhancing the benefits to children who live and work around livestock. Ultimately, including both the risks and benefits in safety materials will help bridge the gap between safety professionals and farm parents, leading to more useful, relevant and attractive safety resources for farm families, helping them reduce injuries from livestock.
Koshalek adds, “We are looking at how safety materials about children and livestock can be adapted to be more realistic and be better utilized for parents and safety professionals, this way children can remain safe but also receive those great benefits that farm life can provide.”
They are still recruiting farm parents specifically for the dairy research side who have kids ages 9-18. If you are a dairy parent and are interested in enrolling in the research study, contact 715-389-3786 to discuss more about the study and get scheduled for an interview.
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