Home Gardener......Scary Lawnmowing!

I saw something almost two weeks ago that made me wince, no it made me cringe.  A man here in town, in his early 30’s, was mowing his lawn with a traditional push mower and running along side the mower was a two year old. I know when he was born so I am sure he is less than three.  The guy was yelling at his son to go inside the house but he did not stop mowing.  The kid was in shorts and a t-shirt.  I am not even sure he had shoes on!

I was walking my dog.  I kept walking.  I was aghast that this daddy thought it was okay for a small child to be running along side of a mower in action.  This clearly was dangerous.  He was telling the child to go inside but he should have stopped his mowing and removed the kid totally from the lawn area.

But it gets worse. I returned like 15 or 20 minutes later, walking home, and went by the same house.  And there the dad was, weed whacking and this kid was there still, right next to his dad as he trimmed around the yard.  Dad was still yelling at him to go inside.  Was this small child listening? Nope. 

This situation was incredibly dangerous for a child.  I have a grandson almost 2 and I would never dream of mowing with him outside the house.  When my daughter was little (less then 13) I never allowed her to be around me mowing. 

A mower is a somewhat dangerous machine for any one near it who is not knowledgable and correctly dressed – sharp moving blades and slippery grass clippings.  And this situation had a nearby child who did not understand how unsafe his behavior was. But his dad should have! 

I write about this not to chide this man but to hopefully reach some people so they never ever allow a child to be loose in the yard when the lawn mower or other power garden tools are in use.  It is just a terrible idea.  No one wants anyone in their family to get hurt.  Parents need to keep such situations from occurring.  That is their parental duty, to keep their children safe.  Just put the kid in the play pen, or front of the TV, or give them a book to read or a toy to play with in the living room.  But don’t ever let them be in the yard and within ten or fifteen feet of you and any power tool. 

That’s my story and I am sticking to it! Now get out there and enjoy your late summer yard with all the flowers still blooming and the grass still growing fast….. Just be safe.