Preschoolers Working NY Farms Have Higher Injury Rate Than Older Kids

Results of a one-year study looking at thousands of children of farm families in rural, Central New York revealed that preschoolers were injured more often than older kids and that nearly one-quarter of their injuries were serious, severe, or life-threatening. When adjusted for hours working, children ages 0 to 6 years had an injury rate that was three to four times higher than that of older children, ages 7 to 19 years. Researchers from the Bassett Research Institute are presenting these and other findings this week at the national meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Seattle.

"The increased likelihood as well as the severity of injuries in these young children is extremely worrisome," said Anne Gadomski, M.D., M.P.H., Attending Pediatrician and Research Scientist with the Bassett Research Institute. "But we were surprised to learn that toddlers are working at all. While we knew that the lack of other child care options forces many farm families to bring their children to farm work sites, more than half of these young children are reported by their parents to be working." Gadomski pointed out that Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) standards do not apply to most family farms because they employ less than 11 individuals.

In addition, the federal Hazardous Occupations Order for Agriculture, that restricts the activities children under age 16 can perform, does not apply to children of any age working on a farm owned or operated by a parent.

The Bassett Research Institute followed 2,432 children, ages 0 to 19, from 848 farms in 15 counties in rural, Central New York for one year to determine rates and types of childhood agricultural injury, farm tasks, and average number of hours worked. More than half of the nearly 500 preschoolers averaged 4.2 hours per week of work performing various agricultural tasks. These tasks included, in order of frequency, unloading or loading hay, feeding hay to horses and cows or feeding milk to calves, raking, baling, and other tasks with large animals. The research showed that preschoolers have higher agricultural injury rates (1.34 per 100 FTE) than children ages 7 to 19 (0.45 per 100 FTE).

"From a developmental as well as public health perspective, children under age six years are not ready to perform agricultural tasks," said Dr. Gadomski. "Now that we find that preschoolers who work on farms are injured more often, it should follow that this is not a safe activity for children of that age group. At the very least, children working on farms require close adult supervision."

Bassett researchers are currently developing and testing agricultural tasks safety guidelines for kids ages seven to 19 years.

Bassett Healthcare is a leading provider of health services in the Central New York Region, offering quality primary and specialty care services targeted to address this region's health care needs. For more information, visit www.bassett.org.