Posted by Billy NY on April 19, 2012 at 10:53:27 from (67.248.100.3):
In Reply to: Kids driving tractors posted by Keith Molden on April 19, 2012 at 09:52:16:
Your concern is a valid one considering the results that could happen, and the fact that you "let him do it" then having to live with that on your conscience.
On the other hand, after proper instruction, safety instruction and demonstrated ability of the kid to be safe, maintain control at all times, and know/practice operating well within the safe limits of the tractor/equipment, many many of us were able to do that, like Nancy said, out of need or what have you and we're all here today, and still have those skills. Not all kids are alike, not all adults are alike either, so the adult needs to be comfortable with what he sees, the attitude of the kid, the kids ability to operate said equipment. The person instructing a youngster needs to recognize whether a kid or untrained person, after instruction and demonstrated seat time, that they are in fact capable and understand the cosequences of not practicing/operating said equipment safely.
Would I allow it, maybe, I would still lean towards letting kids be kids and keep em off and away from equipment, unless there was a serious interest and over time I could properly instruct and have the kid demonstrate that he/she fully understands what is involved and what could happen. Some kids do well with these things, take it seriously and want to learn, respect and what have you to get the opportunity to do this kind of work. However in all honesty, those are just some thoughts, if one loves their kids, don't ever take chances period, there will be plenty of time as they mature to learn if they want, start too early and be to aggressive about it, is a mistake, kids attention spans are short, not all, but most.
Some of the things I did as a kid with my dad, I would absolutely not ever practice, like riding the fender while using a rotary mower, a mower conditioner, baler or nothing attached. I rode the fender all the time, I knew what would happen if I fell off, I was comfortable doing it, so were most kids in those days, but hit that bump, slip, fall, get caught........ absolutely not, never, no way at all, its just plain stupid, even if it seems ok at the time, don't do it.
I do know what the results of a 640 ford tractor with a rotary mower can do to a person, it happened just over the hill from me, the gruesome remains at the scene, will always remind a person on how to respect equipment, he got bumped off the seat, under the tire and through the mower at full throttle, mower was also set low.
My first experience with a tractor was when I was a real young pre-school kid, with parents that were actually kind of ignorant and new to parenting, I did not have the benefit of detail orientated, communicative parents, in fact I have a low opinion of many things they did in those days after growing up, many of my friends had the same situation, so its more of a generational thing. Point is, I climbed up on our JD 2010, started fooling with the console shift lever and knocked 'er into neutral and went for a short ride. Someone was nearby, but the fact I got that far was ridiculous, well that was not the only thing that did not get me. They sprayed the barn for flies, and right around the time I could walk, I touched the stall boards, and that stuff went through my skin and it narrowly missed killing me, things like that, parents in those days were busy, working, not much time for kids, you had to figure it out on your own.
Later on we owned a ford tractor dealership, and that is where I learned quite a bit. My first experience was with a 64' 4000 S-O-S, easy tractor to learn on, slow gears on the low end, and I was probably 8 or so. I learned to run the baler, keep it straight on the windrow so my dad could toss the heavy bales, I could not pick em up that well, so it worked out. Learned to rake, and then spent a lot of time with that tractor and a rotary mower. By the time I was 12, I learned quite a bit, but by no means was I an experienced operator, I never pushed my luck, though there are a few times mowing with a 2010 that I experienced the "pucker" factor, side hills, though nothing drastic, nor actually too steep, that gut wrenching feeling took over and I learned by doing that I did not like hills with those taller kinds of tractors, that ford was a LCG or center of gravity was so much lower, I never worried. These kinds of situations are where a kid without the experience can make on bad decision and something bad happens, adults with years of experience too, as we have all seen.
It was helpful to have learned early, we had the dealership, the nearby dairy farmer, planted most of our ground, so you learned a lot by watching. He used to bale for us sometimes, and I'd ride in the cab, watching, learning, great guy and we've been friends all these years, things I learned then from him, my dad and so on, were very helpful when this farmer needed some help due to health reasons, in the recent past.
Your question/discussion topic plagues a lot of people due to the risk, I would always lean towards never taking risks with kids and equipment. Dozer & backhoe which I am very familiar with, thinking about a kid operating these things as well as you say, he must have a good teacher, I would not rush things, being in a cab strapped in by a seatbelt would make things a lot less risky, that and safe terrain. It really is a rock and a hard place as he can't learn unless he gets some seat time, but at what age, ability, maturity can you safely recognize he is ready ? By the same token you could have a myriad of other things happen in life that could cause injury or death, so at what point does a parent or responsible person allow a kid to operate equipment on their own ? I think its just as bad to shelter kids, they need to "weather" a few things here and there, best teacher there is; experience. I think its great discussion material, great to see kids learn, pat em on the back for a job well done, as well as becoming a productive person in the workplace operating equipment. Some of the modern equipment today is so much easier to learn on, in contrast, there are some tractors I'd never let a novice on or near, much better to start with something easy to learn and take it from there.
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