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Abstract
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Rights of children have been an important issue in Sweden for many years. The Ombudsman for Children is a government agency tasked with promoting and advancing rights and interests of children in Sweden on the basis of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1). In 1979, Sweden was the first country in the world that made it illegal to hit children, both at home and in school (2). Sweden is also well-known for its efforts to protect children in traffic, with measures such as the rear-facing car seat (3).
Sweden is a country with <60,000 farms, dominated by family operated farms. Their children grow up in an environment that includes not only a significant experience of living close to nature, but also being close to a workplace that might be both risky and unhealthy. In the old days, the farms consisted of many people who were always available to share the care of children. However, nowadays, often one parent works away from home and small children go to daycare or stay with one parent on the farm. There are no official statistics on child injuries on farms, but there is reporting by the media on time to time serious injuries and fatalities among children as well as adolescents by farm tractors and machinery, ATVs, horses, and other large animals (4).
Children on farms and in rural areas have been an important component of different health and safety programs, but research in this area has been limited. Inspiration for Swedish initiatives and actions often came from US organizations such as the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety in Marshfield, WI, Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, and the Progressive Agriculture Safety Days, as well as participation in the Childhood Agricultural Safety Network. In 1996, Swedish activities took on this issue of sharing challenges and possible solutions regarding children on farms during the US-Nordic Conference on Rural Childhood Injury Prevention in Stockholm (5).
Language: en |