Lawnmower Safety, Keep Your Children Safe

Summer time is lawnmowing time and each year in gardens all over the country, accidents with lawnmowers happen to young children. In America alone, the number of children under 19 who are injured each year is reckoned to be about 20,000. So if you have an electric powered or a petrol lawnmower, following some basic safety rules could prevent a child in your family adding to these statistics

Riding Mowers are mostly the petrol lawnmower type and it is with these machines that the most serious injuries seem to occur although children are also hurt in accidents with push, or walk behind mowers. Here are some safety hints which if you enforce in your garden will keep your children safe.

Ensure that your lawn is clear of any obstacles such as children’s toys, stones, twigs and any other debris before you start mowing. Both Cylinder Mowers and Rotary Mowers can throw these into the air like small missiles and cause serious injury, especially to eyes.

It is perfectly natural that children want to help in the garden and especially that they would want to help to mow the lawn. The guidelines are though, that no child under the age of 12 years should be allowed to use a mower of any kind and that no child under 16 should be allowed to operate a riding lawnmower – and even then, only under supervision.

If you have a ride on mower, do not give in to your child if he or she wants to sit with you while you mow the lawn. The most serious injuries happen to small children who fall from ride on machines. The child could be run over completely and lose a hand or a limb or suffer other injuries that will scar them for life.

Make sure that children are well away from the area where you are mowing. If young children are in the garden when you are working, never assume that they are still where you last saw them. If you can, try to arrange for another adult to supervise them whilst you are mowing or ensure that they and your pets are safely indoors.

It is now possible to buy powered mowers which have a handle which stops the machine as soon as you let go of it. This is a great safety feature as the mower stops moving straight away. Never drive a lawnmower in reverse unless it is unavoidable. In these circumstances, look behind you, look all around you and then look again before moving the machine as it is very easy to overlook a small child who is standing close behind the mower.

Powered mowers are a wonderful time-saver but whether you have an electric or a petrol lawnmower, they attract children like a magnet. I hope that the tips I have provided will help to keep children safe in your garden.

Want to find out more about using a petrol lawnmower, whether this is a rotary mower, a cylinder mower or a ride on mower, www.thepetrollawnmowerguide.com has all the information you need.