100 Deadliest Days on the Job – Keeping Teens Safe at Work
This is a sponsored post with AIHA about teen workplace safety.
Summertime is here and teens all over the United States are working jobs to earn some extra cash when they’re not in school full-time. As the 4th of July approaches, the AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association) warns that teen workers are in the midst of the 100 Deadliest Days on the Job. The AIHA warns that teen workers are twice as likely to be injured at work and that summer is the deadliest time for teens at work. With 4 teens in our home, this is very concerning to me as a parent as I want them to learn responsibility and eventually get jobs without the fear of them being hurt or even worse. Those who are looking for temporary jobs or start a long-term career may get in touch with an agency that provides employment assistance.
“Of the 1.6 million US students aged 15 to 17 who are employed, 40 will lose their lives to work-related injuries and some 60,000 will be rushed to emergency rooms with life-altering injuries, many due to the lack of proper workplace safety education,” said Deborah Imel Nelson, PhD, CIH, the Immediate-past President of the Board of AIHA, “We have a responsibility to educate our youth about workplace hazards. It is time to incorporate workplace health and safety education into the curriculum of grades 7 through 12. Together, we can reduce teen deaths and injuries by educating teens about workplace health and safety.” If they get injured while performing their work duties, they may hire a workers compensation lawyer to help them seek workers compensation benefits that they are entitled to.
AIHA is urging Americans to visit http://bit.ly/TeenWorkSafety to contact their local, state, and national lawmakers to demand that critical workplace health and safety education be included in 7th-12th grade curriculum. In these cases, you need to look for a safe workplace. Check out my site, https://www.untethered.space/, to see the work space fitted to your needs.
About the Youth@Work – Talking Safety Curriculum
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with educators, industry leaders, and state governments has developed the Youth@Work – Talking Safety curriculum. The curriculum is free to download and provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to identify, reduce or eliminate hazards at work and respond to emergencies. The curriculum is tailored to address the specific rules and regulations of each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has developed a related program called Safety Matters designed to help OSH professionals engage with students.
About AIHA®
Founded in 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is the premier association of occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. AIHA’s 8,500 members play a crucial role on the front line of worker health and safety every day. Members represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government and academia. Learn more at www.aiha.org.
Do your schools teach about workplace health and safety?
[wl_faceted_search]
When I went to school they did but as of now, I don’t know as things have changed. But I will be sharing your information with my friends who have teens who will be looking for jobs soon.
It is so important to make sure a summer job does not turn out bad. My daughter has an internship in a lab and I hope safety is their highest priority.
My oldest is almost 14, so he will be working soon. I do worry about his safety and hope that when the time comes, he IS safe.
I have to admit I’ve never thought about how much more likely teens are to be hurt at work but thinking back to my teens and some of the things managers got me to do – yeah I can see it happening I can’t imagine many others agreeing to do the things I did.
I’ve never thought much about teens being hurt in the workplace. I never knew the stats of how many teens are hurt badly and even lose their lives in work-related incidents. I think all schools should teach safety in the workplace to teens. It’s the smart thing to do.
Ours doesn’t as a general course. However, our trade school program does. I think all teens need to know these things, though.
I’m a bad mom when my teens worked they never did anything that was dangerous. This was an eye opener for me to read. All workers should be safe as possible.
My youngest does learn certain aspects regarding safety at whatever location he is interning at. I worked starting at age 12. Sadly it’s my experience that jobs teens can have are dwindling, therefore decreasing discussion on the entire matter.
I don’t know if our schools teach this or not. I also had zero clue this is such a major issue. Scary stuff!!
Oh wow! It is hard to imagine that some companies don’t do enough to keep their teen employees safe. It shoudl be a part of a their curriculum
I had never given much thought to this… until now! It’s totally true, though. My daughter will start summer jobs next year and it can be worrisome to know how many hazards there can be in the workplace.
Glad to see that there is training for these teens. Getting hurt on a job is common but with training maybe teens will be smarter.
Wow. Those are some pretty startling statistics. I had no idea that there were so many unsafe places our teen are working at these days. My teen will hopefully be careful.
Some places train on this better than others. I’ve had some jobs that were the absolute worst and really sharing and training the correct protocols.
This is a great reminder. It’s awesome that there are training for teens.
I know some teens that work in very hot conditions, either cleaning hotel rooms or running in and out of a kitchen all day waitressing. It’s definitely a dangerous time of the year for anyone to be working, but teens still think they are invincible and need to be reminded to take care of themselves.
As the mother of a teenager who will start her first job within the next year or so, this is great information to have. Thank you for sharing.
Being out there in the working field can be quite dangerous depending on what job you have. As a mother myself, I would want my child to be safe and away from harm.
How scary! You think you’re sending your teen off to earn money and gain some skills and they get killed! I wonder what the primary cause is and how. Driving? Working on construction etc. so it can be pinpointed and addressed. What a tragedy.
I definitely think this kind of safety talk should be included in the curriculum because so many enter the workforce completely clueless. This sounds like a wonderful way to get them ready for that next stage in life.
I definitely think this kind of safety should be discussed. Safety always comes first.
This is so important to know as a parent and to keep your kids educated as well. Safety at work is something they need to be educated about.
You are so right! The safety of our teens must be on the first place, that’s why we need to do everything possible to create safety work places and a good education.
Keeping them safe takes a lot of planning and looking ahead. Especially the older they get!
Wow I had no idea. It’s so important to keep our teens safe.
I was a teen hurt in a workplace so I think about it often. Having one out of 8 about to endeavour into the world of employment, I am trying to make him super aware
My kids’ schools taught workplace safety. It was a big help when they were old enough to work part time during the summer. It is best to educate the kids that summer jobs are not just for earning money, but for keeping themselves safe while at work too.
What an interesting post! I’m glad I found out about this. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I am glad you are bringing awareness to this issue. I honestly hadn’t thought about safety at work for teens recently, but I am glad you reminded us. I have a few years to go but this is important to all parents. Thanks for sharing.
What an interesting post. Not sure my school was talking health and safety about anything outside of school related but it is essential that they start doing it
Teens are energetic and always on-the go and they are also good at work, but they should never we abused their enthusiasm. Pay them well and keep them hazard-free.
I never knew a lot about teens being at a extraordinary high risk of getting hurt at work. This is very good to know though, thanks for sharing!
I think i it is an important topic to tackle, but I’m guessing most schools don’t talk about it.
Even though 40 lives is a small number in comparison, it’s crazy to think that it’s even a statistic! Crazy!