Bouncing a toddler on granddad’s lap while mowing the grass might seem like an innocent rite of childhood, but careless use of these adult tools can lead to life- and limb-threatening injuries for children, emergency room doctors warn.
“Most injuries are lacerations or soft-tissue injuries from things being shot from underneath the mower,” said Dr. Tom Bruns, an emergency department physician at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. “Or kids slip and their foot goes underneath and the foot and shoes gets chopped up from the lawn mower blade.”
The number of injuries from lawn mower accidents rivals that of all-terrain vehicles, according to local hospital workers.
In 2008, four children suffered full or partial limb amputations at T.C. Thompson’s emergency department after lawn mower injuries. Over the last five years, 15 children have suffered similar fates, records show.
Across the nation, about 200,000 people — about 16,000 of them children — are injured in lawn mower accidents each year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports. Most injuries, such as severed fingers and toes, limb amputations, broken bones, burns and eye injuries, are caused by careless use and can be prevented by following a few simple safety tips, according to the National Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Bruns said any injury that results from the mower can be traumatic, because the blades are so sharp and they carry a tremendous amount of bacteria.
In worst-case scenarios, the injuries result in losing a limb, said Marisa Moyers, a registered nurse and pediatric trauma and outreach coordinator for the children’s hospital.
“These injuries are life changing,” Ms. Moyers said. “They require years of treatment and rehabilitation, and then there is the expense.”
Traumatic limb injuries also cause tremendous blood loss, which can be life-threatening, Ms. Moyers said.
“These children come into the emergency department in tremendous shock,” she said.
LAWN MOWER SAFETY TIPS
Do not allow children to ride as passengers on ride-on mowers.
Children younger than 16 should not be allowed to use ride-on mowers. Children younger than 12 should not use walk-behind mowers.
Make sure that sturdy shoes (not sandals or sneakers) are worn while mowing.
Prevent injuries from flying objects, such as stones or toys, by picking up objects from the lawn before mowing begins. Use a collection bag for grass clippings or a plate that covers the opening where cut grass is released. Have anyone who uses a ower wear hearing and eye protection.
Make sure children are indoors or at a safe distance well away from the area to be mow ed.
Do not pull the mower backward or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary, and carefully look for children behind you when you mow in reverse.
Always turn off the mower and wait for the blades to stop completely before removing the grass catcher, unclogging the discharge chute, or crossing gravel paths, roads or other areas.
Start and refuel mowers outdoors, not in a garage or shed. Mowers should be refueled with the motor turned off and cool.
Make sure that blade settings (to set the wheel height or dislodge debris) are done by an adult with the mower off and the spark plug removed or disconnected.
Try to use a mower with a control that stops it from moving forward if the handle is released.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics
In addition to injuries from the blade, there is a significant injury risk from the machines overturning. Those can result in crush injuries and broken bones, Ms. Moyers said. Most adult injuries are associated with those types of injuries, data shows.
“All the injuries are traumatic, but with children there is significant trauma for the family,” Dr. Bruns said. “This type of long-term disability impacts the family greatly. There’s a tremendous social stigma associated with growing up with a prosthesis, and then there is a lot of guilt for the family member that might be seen as responsible.”
Dr. Bruns and Ms. Moyers want parents and grandparents to know the dangers before letting children near lawn mowers, even when riding them around with the mower’s blade up.
“That conditions them to not be scared of the lawn mower,” Dr. Bruns said. “They can run up from behind and slip and slide under when the blade is engaged. Or the operator may not know they are in the yard and back the lawn mower over the child.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics says children should be kept indoors while grass is being cut. Children under 16 shouldn’t operate riding lawn mowers, and children under 12 shouldn’t be allowed to operate a push mower, the guidelines indicate.
