Posted By Jonathan Breeze Alec, It's a real problem with no easy solution other than using all possible sources (including Bob the Builder, the Archers etc...) to put forward the arguement that children & heavy plant is not an acceptable combination. It's all very well having laws in force, but until people accept the moral arguement that young & inexperienced people should not be put into harms way, accidents will continue to occur. Every summer our company has to pull the plug on someone doing work experience on a relatives farm when it becomes clear that work with machinery is expected. The problem is that our organisation ends up looking unhelpful & obstructive and in all probability the work goes on anyway. So I am convinced that (just like drink driving before) the media has to play a part.

Posted By Brian McMillan Singing from the same hymn sheet here! Getting the safety message across to children and young people is vital. Not only to ensure they are aware of risks and able to protect themselves but to pass on their knowledge on to people older than themselves who know no better. On many occasions I see reference to parental responsibility being the only thing that matters when looking at issues surrounding children and young people. Only a fool who would argue that parental responsibility was not important. It is often the case that the industries that suffer from the highest accident rates are not just the most dangerous but also engage employees who have had the lowest degree of safety awareness education whilst at school. Those lucky enough to be going into construction or agriculture (including all the land/ sea based industries) with the benefit of college or university safety education are few and far between in the manual trades. The end result can be a total lack of awareness or even worse an attitude that accepts intolerable risk as being "part of the job". The importance of empowering children and young people with the knowledge that could not only save their lives but that of their parents and workmates is vital. It is probably the case that some enterprises would not survive without the assistance of family members. This does not mean that it is acceptable for those most at risk to undertake the most hazardous jobs. The enforcing authorities are indeed too thinly spread to deal with all issues. There is no easy way to deal with the issues that are so obvious. By ensuring that people are able to understand the concept of risk and protect those unable to comprehend the magnitude of identified risk we are then doing what we trained to do. This is not about banning activites or taking food out of peoples mouths. This is about raising awareness in people that have a need to ensure that jobs are done, hay mown, sheep fed etc. All the work can be done. It just means that the correct person must undertake each task to minimise risks. After all, as has been stated previously, the work cannot get done if everyone does not pull their weight. This may mean that the younger people get what are perceived to be the boring jobs, but it is better to be bored than just a memory. I will watch this thread with interest.

Posted By Brian McMillan An interesting report on children living with and within agriculture can be found at the following link - http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr110.pdf The recommendations of the report detail much of what has already been highlighted in this thread