Does Your Kid Cut the Grass? Reconsider
Robert Latkany, MDJune 02, 2009
One of the sweet reminders that summer is approaching is the smell of freshly cut grass. Well, it turns out that not everything in those lawn bags is grass. We have all heard one of those horrific stories of someone’s finger being amputated from a lawn mower, but what might come as a surprise to you is that lawn mower injuries in kids are extremely common. 
Between 1990 and 2004 there was an estimated 9400 lawn mower injuries to children per year in the U.S. according to Vollman and colleague. The average age of the injured child was 10, and boys accounted for 78% of those injured. As far as the type of injury, they determined that 40% were lacerations, 20% were soft tissue injuries, 15% were burns, and 10% were broken bones.
Research Committee of the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of America by Loder et al reported that of a sample of 144 children with lawn mower injuries, 25% were injured operating the machine, 15% were passengers on a riding mower, and 58% were bystanders.
In a separate study, Vollman et al evaluated 85 children who suffered from a lawn-mower related injury just over a 4 year period in a single children’s hospital. A shocking 21% had amputations, most of which involved the foot or toe. The run-over/back-over mechanism was the top cause of injury at 22%, followed by blade contact at 17%, flying object 13%, burn 10%, and falling off a mower at 7%.
Most parents thought 13 years of age was the acceptable age to operate a ride-on lawn mower yet the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the minimum age be 16 years old. For more safety tips about riding mowers go to the guidelines from The Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Lawn mower injuries is Medpie.com's #4 Hidden Summer Health Hazard for Kids.
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