Having “The Talk” With Your Kids

We had to have “the ATV talk” the other night. My 5 year old was talking ATVs like he was planning to go out and take a spin around the section. I’m quite sure he knows how. I asked him if he could touch his feet to the foot rests when he’s on the seat. “No.” “Well, then you can’t drive the 4-wheeler.” I know, it is incomplete logic, as explanations go, but it was enough. “When can I drive it?” “When you are as old as Bubba, you can drive a 4-wheeler.” (That’s his older, teen cousin.)Keeping kids safe is no small task. Especially, when they are around equipment, motor vehicles, electricity, or bins on a daily basis. Have I talked about safety enough? Have I been an example of safety in my own life? Do they know what to do in an emergency? Those are questions that I often think about as I watch my little man head out the door to play in the yard. That 4-wheeler is sitting right there for him to climb on and start but I hope he doesn’t.South Dakota Farmers Union will have a farm safety trailer on display at the South Dakota State Fair this year on 3^rd Street. Go check it out with your children. It just might save their lives someday. At the very least it will be a great conversation starter for you to talk safety.