University of FloridaSolutions for Your Life

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Publication #FAR0087

Childproofing Outdoor Areas1

Donna Davis2

Although we hear a good deal about childproofing our homes, less attention is given to the potential hazards of the outdoor areas where our children play. Yards, garages, work areas, barns and stables, whether on a farm or in a suburb, can present dangerous, even deadly situations to children.

Barns and garages are both places where children can easily find stored items that, from their view, can be great play places. Children climbing in shipping crates and on stacks of logs and utility trailers have been killed when these makeshift toys shifted or toppled and crushed them. Broken equipment and stored chemicals can also lead to tragedy. How can you protect your children from harm at home and on the farm? (Lehtola, Brown, & Eversole, 2002)

Extension safety experts recommend that you increase your family's awareness of dangers and reduce risk by starting with a safety audit. Walk through your garages, barns, and shops with your children to identify potential dangers. Explain to them why things are off limits, rather than just telling them "Don't" (Lehtola, Brown, & Eversole, 2002).

Once you've completed your safety audit, consider what actions need to be taken. For example, lock sheds and barns and remove all keys from machinery and equipment not in use. Fence off hazardous areas, including retention ponds, and cap wells. And of course, store hand tools, power tools and toxic chemicals out of reach. Teaching your children about safety and taking the time to secure unsafe places can be the difference between life and death (Lehtola, Brown, & Eversole, 2002).

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our Web site at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/457.mp3

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/457.wav

References

Lehtola, C., Brown, C., & Eversole, C. (2002). Childproofing your yard or farmstead. Retrieved June 12, 2006, from http://www.nasdonline.org/document/183/d001586/039-childproofing-039-your-yard-or-farmstead.html

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR0087, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published March 2009. In the interest of time or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Donna Davis, Senior Producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Reviewed by Suzanna Smith, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.