Top 6 Pumpkin Patch Safety Tips
One of the best parts about living in the Pacific Northwest are the weeks of early fall when the sun still shines and pumpkins are ready for picking.
While a trip to the pumpkin patch is generally a great time, injuries do happen. A pumpkin patch is often part of a larger worker farm and caution is required.
Below are some safety tips that parents should follow to avoid common pumpkin patch injuries.
1. Choose a pumpkin patch with age appropriate activities for your children and/or only allow them to participate in activities that they can handle. Not all activities aren’t suitable for all children. For example, it may not be safe to allow your 1 year old to ride a train pulled by a tractor without you.
2. Inspect ALL equipment before you allow your child to play on it! Do not allow your child to play on equipment if you do not feel like it looks safe. Alert employees to broken or damaged equipment.
3. Check your footwear. Farms are often muddy, slippery places. Make sure your footwear has adequate traction and support.
4. Even during COVID-19, many pumpkin farms attract crowds, which means a lot of cars. The makeshift gravel parking lots make it difficult for vehicles to stop quickly. Please discuss parking lot safety with your children before your arrive. Remind them to stay right beside you and wait until you say it is safe to walk through the parking lot or cross the street.
5. Look where you walk. A working farm does not always have the best terrain. It is not unusual for the ground to be bumpy, uneven and muddy. Corn stalks pushed to the ground and pumpkin vines also make tripping hazards.
6. Do not pet any animals or livestock. Animals can easily be stressed by visitors (especially when paired with the delighted squeals of young children). Animals get spooked and bite.
If you or your child has been seriously injured on a pumpkin farm because of the negligence of the property owner or an employee; you may be able to collect damages through a personal injury claim.
Call Northwest Women’s Injury Law in Edmonds, WA today for a FREE consultation! You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!