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Sociology of Agriculture and Food (SAFRIG)

The Role of Childcare in Farm Safety Sharon Adams*, Sharon Adams, Florence Becot,

Farm children face greater exposure to agricultural hazards than non-farm peers, despite longstanding safety recommendations that non-working children be kept away from hazardous farm worksites. While existing research documents injury patterns, little is known about farm parents’ strategies to keep their children safe, including their childcare arrangements, and how these influence children’s exposure to agricultural risks. We use survey data from 736 farm households with children under the age of 18 from 47 U.S. states. The univariate analysis provides insights on risk exposure and safety strategies, including childcare arrangements, while the multivariate analysis focuses on the factors shaping farm children’s hazard exposure. While two-thirds of respondents worried their children could get hurt, 9 in 10 still brought them along to work, and 10% reported a child injury. Children typically spent 1-6 hours on the farm in the previous week, with time increasing by age. School was the primary childcare for children ages 6-18 (84%), while children 0-2 were most likely on the farm with their parents (66%). Limited childcare options led 61% of respondents to have children on the active farm worksite. There was a statistically significant association between children being cared for on the active farm worksite and time spent on the farm (positive association), use of government programs to pay for childcare (negative), experiencing childcare supply program (positive), and availability/cost of childcare dictating if children are on the worksite (positive). These findings help explain why children remain in hazardous farm worksites and inform discussions on child safety in family-based agricultural systems. This includes the importance of addressing structural challenges connected to childcare access and affordability while toning down behavior-change interventions to convince farm parents to use childcare.