Seat for a kid on the foot rest floor board

BlazNT · May 24, 2017

bertsmobile1 said:
Not soft at all but not stupid either.
There is molly coddleing and there is unnecessary & unacceptable risk.
Some where between the two is intelligence.
My kids rode on my motorcycle , on the road in front of me on the edge of the tank til they were tall enough to ride on the back after I fitted higher foot pegs for them. This is something that is not allowed any more .
However they wore protective head gear, leather gloves & leather shoes and I rode in an appropriate mannar.

And I made my grandson ware all the stuff needed for mowing. Ear protectioon, long sleve shirts, pants and sun glasses. He can run one by him self although I do not let him mow yet. Too many ways to hurt yourself while mowing alone.

bertsmobile1 · May 24, 2017

Mattj2235 said:
Well this has been interesting. Like I've stated before, my sons safety is priority number one. If I felt that he could not handle riding, he would not be riding. I make him wear ear muffs, safety glasses, and our seat belt when we ride. As well as when we shoot the .22 pistol (minus the safety belt), and shred the pastures. You see, as much as I hate to admit it, my wife has the last say when it comes to the safety of our son. Trust me, If she felt anything was unsafe, it wouldn't happen. Yes, things happen in the blink of an eye, I am more than aware of that having a toddler. My initial question was if anyone had every done or seen anything like that. I have a 54' Hustler Fastrak that has a pretty large floor board, with enough room to add a seat with handrails and a seat belt and cushions. Thank y'all for the entertainment.

So you put a seat with belt on the foot board of the ZTR then you have to either climb over him to get on or mount from the side which is quite difficult to do without standing on the deck which both damages the deck and creates a slip hazard for you.
Now I have no idea about how open the area you are mowing is so if there is the chance of a tree branch slapping him in the face.
Then what happens if there is a rollover ?
Heavens I have flipped more ZTR's in the first year of the new business than I would care to admit to.
Are you going to extend the rop so the child won't get crushed between the mower & the ground ?
Then when you accidentially lift the front and he claps and cheers yelling "do it again daddy" will you resists the temptation to pop an even bigger wheelie to impress your son ?
Too easy , too stupid.

Down here they banned children under 12 riding on or driving tractors ( of the farm kind ) why ?
Because it was the highest cause of death & dissableing injuries of children on farms.
So what happened ?
All the "nanny state won't stop me " idiots put there kids on quads
Guess what is now the greatest cause of death and disableing injuries to kids in rural areas ?
5 children killed last year 76 with permenant disabling injuries 162 hospital admissions.
Would you put a seat on the hood of your car and drive it around the fields with your son on that ?

Mattj2235 · May 24, 2017

cruzenmike said:
Before I put in my 2 cents, I will give you a little background. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Occupational Safety and Health from one of only eleven accredited colleges/universities in the nation. I have worked on high-risk, billion dollar construction projects as well as in the general industry (automotive specific). My entire career has revolved around hazard recognition and mitigation, employee training and implementation and management of safety programs that help ensure that people go home at the end of the day in the same condition that they arrived in. That being said, consider this: Having your child on your mower ADDS risk to a situation where no risk (to him) exists if he is not riding on it. Outdoor power equipment is simply NOT for children to use or to be in close proximity while in operation. Manufacturers place all kinds of warnings on consumer goods not only to protect themselves, but the people who use their products.

Now, while you may be thinking that I am of the opinion that children should be in a bubble to keep them safe, that is not the case. Kids get hurt playing on the playground or riding a bike; that is normal. Here is question for you . . . When you son shows his future wife a scar on his leg from falling off of his bike when he was five, will she think anything of it? How about when he shows her a scar on his leg from where your lawn mower ran his leg over and broke his tibia. What will she think then?

Plain and simple, the risk of injury in your proposed situation is too great for any parent to be comfortable with. While it may hurt to watch your son cry for 2 hours while you cut the grass, I promise you it will hurt much less than if he was injured while riding with you.

Do the right thing and keep him safe, where he is safest; in the house!

Mike

While my wife and myself are both college educated, like you, we both understand the risk and reward of our son riding. I have also worked in high risk construction sites and have been responsible for the well being of many men. Like I've stated in my previous posts, my sons safety is priority number one. I'm having the thought that most of the replies are from either men who have no children, or men who have grown children. (Commence the opening of Pandoras Box) For the ones who have small children, this craziness is not that far fetched. I want my child to ride with me, I want my child to learn that things are not scary as long as they have the respect for them.

bmuone · May 25, 2017

My response was from one who has children and grand children. I admit I let my children do things that I bellow like a screaming banchee when I see my grand children doing them. Something about them grand kids that make a person extra careful. So when you get your grand kids Matt I would bet you do the same thing. Just looking at the same thing through older eyes.

My response also came from one who has seen the darker side of carelessness. I am a retired State Trooper with 25 years of seeing the aftermath of anything fun you can think of.

No one here has ill feeling to you for any reason. People on this forum are here to help, advise and learn from others. And my read is they all care for the safety of little ones, everyone's little ones.

One thing I think you did manage to do and that is to awake several...including me...from our rocking chairs. Gave this forum a kick so thanks for that.

Be safe and always think down the road first.

BigKingClipper · May 25, 2017

I did this with my 3 cats! They used to prowl around looking for mice while I mowed. It was extremely frustrating, seeing as I like to mow in the dark quickly and efficiently. I ended up building a three-tier attachment to the hood of my kgro. Just locked it on the custom bracket that I made. I put the little cat beds and a swing gate on the front and voila! Problem Solved. They used to love mowing with me, and I even got to the point where one would sit on my shoulder while I mowed. He would bat at stray clippings that would fly up. It was pretty cool. Idk if I would do it with a human or not. I would love to see pictures of your idea though!

-BKC

reynoldston · May 25, 2017

BigKingClipper said:
I did this with my 3 cats! They used to prowl around looking for mice while I mowed. It was extremely frustrating, seeing as I like to mow in the dark quickly and efficiently. I ended up building a three-tier attachment to the hood of my kgro. Just locked it on the custom bracket that I made. I put the little cat beds and a swing gate on the front and voila! Problem Solved. They used to love mowing with me, and I even got to the point where one would sit on my shoulder while I mowed. He would bat at stray clippings that would fly up. It was pretty cool. Idk if I would do it with a human or not. I would love to see pictures of your idea though!

-BKC

I would love to see you mowing with your three cats. I am sure of one thing is that my cat would want nothing to do with it, she doesn't even care very much about riding in a car much less a mower.

wingrider · May 25, 2017

I've got a friend whose dad let him ride on the mower with him when he was 3 or 4 (about 45 years ago). His mom called on the phone about the same time as his dad was pounding on our front door with a bloody kid in his arms. He had fallen off, and when he went to get up, his foot went under the deck. He lost a couple of toes and a good chunk of foot. Still gives him trouble sometimes to this day. My dad got them 40 miles to the hospital in about 15 minutes, and he ended up being ok for the most part.

RDA.Lawns · May 25, 2017

Some of y'all need to stop reading the dam book and enjoy life. I grew up on farm equipment on a bigger farm than most you will ever see. Guess what !! By age 8 I was mowing grass on a riding mower. By 12 I was running a tractor plowing beens in the field by myself. Had my parents been by the dam book sticks in the mud like some of you are I'd probably be a grown up afraid of real work and no values. So if your comfortable in your abilities to attach a seat for your child to safely ride with you go for it!!!!

I wouldn't mow with a extremely young child on a mower with me unless I was on smooth ground though.

reynoldston · May 25, 2017

RDA.Lawns said:
Some of y'all need to stop reading the dam book and enjoy life. I grew up on farm equipment on a bigger farm than most you will ever see. Guess what !! By age 8 I was mowing grass on a riding mower. By 12 I was running a tractor plowing beens in the field by myself. Had my parents been by the dam book sticks in the mud like some of you are I'd probably be a grown up afraid of real work and no values. So if your comfortable in your abilities to attach a seat for your child to safely ride with you go for it!!!! I wouldn't mow with a extremely young child on a mower with me unless I was on smooth ground though.

I wasn't the only one that grew up on a farm. When I was 8 years old there was no such thing as a riding mower. I do remember a walk behind garden tractor with a reo style mower attachment that my father ran, but don't remember very much about it. As for my own children when they were young I didn't allow them any where near my mowers when I was running them and they lived with it just fine. My children had rules as they grew up from a very young age and they knew them. I still shut down my mow today if someone approaches me when I am mowing. I guess I am just a bad person.

Datadave · May 26, 2017

-Words of wisdom-
Always expect the unexpected and If It can happen, It Will happen at the most unexpected time

just saying

Seat for a kid on the foot rest floor board

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