PARENTS OF BOY WHO DIED ARE TRYING TO EDUCATE KIDS ABOUT FARM SAFETY

Farm family hopes to prevent accidents, like the one that killed Matt Scott.

Parents worry about their kids. They worry about where their kids are, what they're doing, who they're with and whether they're safe.

Elaine Scott was like that. She worried about her son Matthew. And she thought he was safe on the day he died.

On Oct. 16, 1990, Matt was on the family farm, playing with his brother, Kevin, in a grain wagon. The corn in the wagon began to drain through the wagon's center, and the boys were swept along with it.

The corn was up to Kevin's neck by the time his uncle pulled him out.

Smothered by corn

Matt wasn't as fortunate. He died of injuries and suffocation after being smothered in the corn for eight minutes. He was 10 years old.

"We don't want kids to think that they're invincible, that it (can happen) on another farm but it won't happen here," Matt's mother, Elaine, told Children's Express. "We want them to realize (that) it can happen anywhere, to anyone. It does happen to anyone."

For the past two years, the Scott family has been trying to deal with the grief of losing Matthew. They all have been through a roller coaster of emotions.

"Denial, disbelief (that) I'm going to wake up any minute . . . anger at other people who were around and at God for letting it happen, at yourself for letting it happen . . . There's really no way to put a label on it and say, `This is how I felt,' " said Matt's sister, 17-year-old Angela.

Support group helps

Elaine Scott was devastated at first. "It's just totally consuming," she said. "It takes a long time to go through the grief process. We're still working through most if it. We've been involved with a support group, also, of people from our community. That has been a tremendous help . . . picking up the pieces and getting us through the day."

Since Matt's death, the Scotts have been on a crusade. They now spend days visiting schools to educate kids on farm safety. They teach kids to respect the dangers of the equipment.

"You have to recognize that you're in a dangerous situation," said Ken Scott, Matt's father. "You're in a work area and you have to have training before you're turned loose out there."

The family believes farmers need to ensure that their children understand the hazards around the family farm. "We tell (farmers) to talk to their kids, to point out hazardous, dangerous areas," Elaine said.

Learning how machines work

In addition, farmers must make sure their kids understand how equipment works before they attempt to operate it, as well as "know the possibilities of things that could go wrong with that piece of equipment and just exactly what they should do if it does go wrong," she added.

The Scotts know firsthand that things can go wrong. Despite their new awareness, their son Kevin, 15, was injured on the farm in June.

The clutch had failed on a tractor, and he became pinned between a wagon and the tractor.

The past two years have been a period of pain and sorrow. The Scotts said they have learned that life is precious, too important even to risk speeding down the interstate.

"Put a value on risk," Elaine Scott said. "Is it worth it? I can tell you because I buried a child. It's not."