• Safety Tips:
• Personal Safety: Enjoy the Rides
• Statistics: Carnival Safety
• Summer Safety : Tips for Enjoying Carnivals & Fairs
• One opinion, open for discussion: Fair & Carnival Memories

Personal Safety: Enjoy the Rides

With summer now in full swing, many families will spend at least one afternoon or evening at one of the thousands of carnivals sponsored by local religious or community organizations.

Carnivals can be great fun for young and old alike. Kids will enjoy the rides and games while adults will have fun catching up with friends.

Yet, as with most outdoor activities, there are some precautions you should take to ensure your family’s visit to the carnival is memorable as well as safe:

• Before boarding a carnival ride, take note of any height, weight, age or other restrictions. If your child does not meet the minimum requirements, do not allow him or her to board the ride. Remember, these requirements are designed to ensure the safety of all riders.
• If your child appears reluctant to board a ride, do not force him or her to do so. Many rides cannot be stopped once they are started and there’s no telling what a frightened child might do to exit a ride.
• Listen carefully to the instructions given by the ride attendant. Similar to the minimum requirements discussed above, the instructions given by ride operators are meant to protect you and the other riders.
• Take a few minutes to observe the ride attendant and operator. While most carnivals provide extensive training to their employees in the areas of ride operation, customer interaction and safety, there are some that are not as diligent. If it appears as though the ride attendant or operator is not being as attentive as you think he should be, or if it seems as though he is uncomfortable operating the equipment, it’s probably wise to skip that particular ride.Never run when boarding, exiting or in the immediate area of a ride.

The following statistics were obtained from the Outdoor Amusement Business Association (OABA) website:

• Approximately 500 carnivals travel throughout the U.S. each year.
• Approximately 80% of carnival ride injuries are the result of failure to properly follow the instructions given by the ride attendants, and not from mechanical malfunction.
• It is estimated that 350 million people nationwide visit carnivals each year; half of them will go on at least one amusement ride.
• The Consumer Product Safety Division (CPSD) reported 1,609 injuries involving carnival rides during the period from August 31, 2001 through July 30, 2002.
• The CPSC also reported 10 deaths attributed to amusement park rides in the 15 year period from 1987-2002.
  

With so many different itineraries, some families (especially those with older children) may find it easier to ‘divide and conquer’ so that each person gets to take part in their favorite activity. Before you go your separate ways, however, take some time to go over a few safety tips with your family.

First, designate a meeting place and time. This may seem like an obvious thing to do, yet, many parents don’t take the time to do it. Instead, they assume they will periodically meet up with their kids along the midway during the course of their visit, but end up spending unnecessary time tracking everyone down when it’s time to go home. If you plan to be at the carnival for several hours, plan one or two additional times for everyone to meet, just to ‘touch base’.

It is also a good idea to instruct your children to remain on the fairgrounds. While it may be difficult to imagine why your kids might leave the fairgrounds (after all, they’re probably the ones that wanted to come to the carnival to begin with) they may be pressured into wandering off by friends.

Next, make sure your kids aren’t carrying large sums of cash. While they should have enough for ride tickets, games and perhaps some food, it’s probably not a good idea to let them have any more than $20. Many kids can’t resist the temptation of letting other kids know that they are carrying large amounts of money, and unfortunately, by doing so, they make themselves vulnerable to having their money stolen.

Finally, remind your children of the importance of remaining cautious around strangers. Carnivals and fairs can sometimes attract transients and people of questionable character who will try to victimize children, especially those not in the company of an adult. Encourage your children to immediately alert the authorities or the first adult they can find if they feel the slightest bit threatened.

Carnivals and fairs can be a terrific way to spend a summer afternoon or evening; by exercising a little caution, they can also be very safe.

One Opinion, Open to Discussion: Fair & Carnival Memories

For as long as I can remember, fairs and carnivals have been a staple of my family’s summer. Although I was born and raised in central New Jersey, my parents’ roots are in northeastern Pennsylvania and so I spent a good portion of each summer visiting relatives in that area. In the summer, we didn’t have to look at the calendar to figure out the date of the local fairs.

My very favorite though was (and still is) the Harford Fair. Held every year during the 3rd week of August, the Harford Fair gives 4-H’ers in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna County the opportunity to show off their prize animals, produce and crafts. We try to catch at least one animal judging each year (either cattle, swine, goats or horses). The pride these kids (some not much older than my 7 year-old daughter) have in their animals as they lead them around the show ring, is wonderful to see.

We also make sure we walk through all of the barns to see the different animals. My daughter loves to see the pigs, especially at mealtime when they are anxiously (and not so patiently) awaiting their food. There are also many hands-on exhibits (including goat milking) that give kids the chance to see what it might be like to live on a farm.

While our annual visit to the fair will probably be as close as my kids will get to actually living on a farm, it does give them a small glimpse of what that type of life might be like. And, they’ve come to look forward to it just as much as I did (and still do).

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