It's Spring

(All) So Spring is here again (we're never sure it will arrive to upstate NY) and the lawnmowers were in full gear this past weekend. I couldn't help but remember some of the worst trauma cases I've seen over the years, children injured by lawnmowers and tractors. We know that approximately 9400 children (those under 18 yrs) are seen in the ED every year for mower-related injuries (AAP statistics, American Academy of Pediatrics). About one quarter of those children are less than 5 years old. Surprisingly, only 20% are due to riding mowers, the rest are from the walk-behind models!

As with most things Pediatric, prevention is the key. The AAP suggests the following:

• Children under 6 years of age should stay inside while a mower is in use.
• Children should not be allowed to ride as a passenger on a mower and they should not be permitted to play on the mower when it is in storage.
• Children should be at least 12 years old to operate a walk-behind mower and 16 years to operate a riding mower

Did you know that most riding mowers can cut while in reverse! Removal of this feature would go a long way in reducing the number of injuries. After all, do you really need to cut the grass while going backwards?