Do you allow your kids to be nearby when you mow the lawn?  

:( This sounds like a terrible accident, and I'm sure the parents are wishing they could rewind the clock and make a different choice. I don't have children myself yet, but I do often think of parenthood as a daunting thing for the future. All those right choices to make! So many different combinations of things that could go wrong with simple everyday tasks, and having responsibility for another life. It sounds like the mother made a bad choice here.

When I was a toddler, my mother left me to my own devices while she pegged the washing out. I was playing shop with a deckchair as my counter. It was one of the old-fashioned types. It suddenly decided to spring shut on me and the metal bar took the end of my thumb with it! I know my mum felt bad, because after all she was responsible for my care, but that was just an accident too.

I'm not sure how I'll cope when I'm responsible for little people all of my own. I'd like to think I'd always make the right choices, and yet ...

Whew! that really HURTS!!!
kids should not be allowed to go nearby... when i was a kid or even as adult now, i don't come near where someone is mowing the lawn, but i stay near enough to smell the newly cut grass :-)

i have quite a large lawn, and it needs mowing fairly often.

when my son was much younger (he is 9 now) my dad used to come and mow the lawn for me, my son stayed with me while my dad was out in the garden.

now if i decide to do the lawn myself, i don't mind if my son is out in the garden with me, but he is older now and knows not to come close to me or the mower while i am buys cutting the lawn.

i fell very sorry for both the litte girl and her parents, they must feel terrible, but domestic accidents happen, and that's just life... yes more could have been done to prevent this, but be honest, how often do you think that you are going to be putting your child in danger??

My 4 year old goes outside with me when I mow the lawn I am not going to leave her inside unattneded. I don't mow near her though I make her move to the other side of the yard and I would in no way mow under the swingset while she was on it. I feel bad for the mother but also wonder what was she thinking mowing around the swingset while her daughter was on it she should have had her daughter play on the other side of the yard while she mowed around it.

My kids are 9 and 6 and I let them play outside while I mow the lawn. I don't mow where they are playing and they have to stay away from the lawn mower, but they are old enough to understand this. When I need to cut where they are playing I turn the mower off and ask them to move to where I have already cut.

Thanks for sharing here. I think the fear was an outcome of the love and affection which every parent has for the kids. But if we apprehend things, it will be difficult to live. One can not move on the road due to possibility of being run over by a truck, can not move in train or plane due to possible of an accident.
DR.B.SARAF Ph.D.

This is really unfortunate but in all reality, you hear about accidents like this all the time! My children do come out in the yard with me...BUT they do know that they are to be on the opposite side of the yard when I am mowing. Alot of the time there is only one adult here and alot of yard work to do so this is our only alternative. If they come anywhere near my husband or I, they are told to move back. Alot of the time I am able to sit them at the patio set in the chairs and they are told to stay there until I am done. They are pretty good at following directions.

My little one has a little plastic lawnmower she likes to play with so that she can 'help me' do the lawn... I don't let her come anywhere near me, but ask her to 'mow' the other end of the lawn where I can see her clearly. I don't think that anyone was really to blame in the incident you mention as it was started by the little girl falling off the swing. (not entirely unforseable, but at least unexpected...).
The fortunate thing is that the damage was not more severe - It's hard looking our for your little ones all the time, it's those that neglect their kids that make my blood boil - this was presumably just an unfortunate accident

I know of and have seen kids that have gotten injured of killed by lawnmowers, and severly hurt by lawnmowers.

I do not let my kids be outside near where people are mowing lawns.

All it would do is take one rock thrown by the lawnmower to hit them just right and it could kill a person.

Mooch

My children are not allowed outside if someone is mowing. I have never once mowed the yard in my entire life because of this. I was not allowed outside as a hild. As a teenager my mom used lawn mowing as her quiet time so my help was not needed and I have been the one in the house watching the kids while someone else mowed ever since. When I was living on my own with the kids someone was paid to come mow for me because no amount of money was worth more to me than the children's safety.