Child’s death a reminder: Lawn mower safety needs to be taken seriously

I‘ve been sitting in front of the computer for what seems like years now, trying to figure out how to start this column. There’s no easy way to talk about the death of a child, a toddler. There’s no easy way, no way at all, in fact, to turn the clock back an hour before the accident happened and use the knowledge gained in the horrifying minutes that led to his death to prevent it. No way to soothe the sorrow of my friend, his aunt. No way to comfort his father, who walks through his days in a fog of guilt.

It was a lovely Oregon summer day. His dad was mowing the lawn with his riding mower. Tanner was playing in the yard with his jump rope. He was well out of the way. Then suddenly, he wasn’t. The only saving grace, if there is one at all, is that the child died instantly.

The family wanted me to tell this devastating story because they don’t want this to happen to one more child. This is only a local column, and I’m pretty sure that not everyone within reach of this newspaper reads it. But if I can help prevent even one death, or one injury, then I’ve accomplished something.

There are more than 60 million power lawn mowers in the United States, and a stunning 68,000 lawn mower injuries are treated in our nation’s emergency rooms each year. Nine thousand of those injured are children under the age of 18. Approximately 75 people die as a result of lawn mower injuries every year, and 15 of those are children.

Lawn mower injuries can be cuts and scrapes, bruises or broken bones. They can be burns, eye injuries or the amputation of a hand or foot. They can be crush injuries or brain damage. Or, as in Tanner’s case, death.

According to the journal Pediatrics, despite a voluntary standard for lawn mower safety the rate of lawn mower injuries among children has hardly budged over the last 15 years.

Maybe the lawn mower manufacturers can make their mowers safer by equipping riding mowers with a “no mow in reverse” feature for example, or by making hot mower parts inaccessible. But those of us who use lawn mowers need to treat them like the dangerous pieces of machinery that they are.

For our sake and the sake of our children:

“Keep children out of the yard when mowing the lawn. Better yet, keep them inside the house with an adult keeping a close eye on them.

“Don’t even think about having a child ride with you on the riding mower. Children fall off. There’s a reason there’s only one seat.

“Prepare your yard before you mow. Pick up rocks, dog bones and Barbie dolls. Rotating power mower blades can turn such objects into missiles traveling at 100 miles per hour.

“Children younger than 16 should not be allowed to operate riding mowers. Children younger than 12 shouldn’t operate walk-behind mowers.

“Anyone operating a mower should wear sturdy shoes. No flip-flops allowed. Dress sensibly – wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, gloves and eye protection.

“Always use a mower with guards and a cutoff switch.

“If you have to mess with the blades, turn the mower off and remove the spark plug. Then there’s no chance of it starting up accidentally.

“Think before you mow a steep slope with a riding mower. People have been seriously injured when that heavy piece of machinery tips over.

My friend Val and her family want to wake up and discover that what happened on that beautiful Oregon day was only a nightmare, the kind you CAN wake up from, and that Tanner is still galloping around the yard, carefree and alive. They know that can’t happen.

But they want you to help spread the word that lawn mowers can be killers. That we can prevent the loss of a hand or an eye, or a child.

That every time we take care, we can honor Tanner’s memory.

Dr. Stacie Bering is a Spokane physician. Contact her with general questions and topics for future columns by mail at Dr. Stacie Bering, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane WA 99210 or by e-mail at doctorstacie@mac.com. She cannot answer personal medical questions in her column.