It’s all fun and games until a tree loses a branch.
A tree-lined backyard is great for the whole family, especially living in the city. Kids benefit immensely from trees. But what do you need to know about parenting and tree safety to make sure your trees and yard are safe for your kids?
This is not a bubble-wrap kid post, or a free-range parenting screed. Trees are unique in kids’ lives in ways it is hard to remember as adults, but they’re also different in ways it can be hard to understand unless you’re acutely aware of them. This is a dilemma that occurs in many areas of modern life, and we’re here to try to simplify it a bit – from our own perspective as owners of a tree care company.
Making Backyard Trees Safe to Climb for Kids
Do you have a future arborist on your hands? Climbing trees is a lot of fun for most kids — it may be how many of us arborists got our start in the business! Despite the risks from falling, experts say it’s a reasonable way for kids to exercise and to learn calculated risk-taking.
But a group of avid young tree climbers is even more reason to make sure your trees are well-maintained. Kids don’t tend to be the best judges of whether a tree is safe or in good shape, so it’s up to you to verify that any tree that may be a temptation is stable.
Easy Ways to Kid Proof Trees
The first steps are the simplest.
Always ensure young children are supervised, and that you’ve examined your yard for potential hazards. Make sure kids are kept away from features like pools or a hot barbecue or fire pit.
At the start of the summer season, make sure any decks, lawn furniture, playscapes and other features children will use haven’t incurred damage over the winter. Snow, ice and time can cause boards to rot, splinter or break.
1. DIY Solutions for Tree Safety with Children
In a world where everything seems to be a risk and there is so much to know as an adult – let alone as a parent – another DIY list with waaaay too many unrealistic goals isn’t that helpful. We know. Think about tree safety as a way of seeing, not another thing you have to learn. Once you see all the hydro wires and trees around you, you’ll wonder how you didn’t before. When it becomes second nature, it’s less work. We are passioante about this – you don’t have to be. No one can do it all, and the reality is there are very few incidients from tree climbing.
- Talk to your kids! Talk about the risks, about safety and how to be responsible
- Talk about how to call for help, and when to ask for assistance and what to do if they feel unsure
- Learn about different types of trees and the different risks they pose
- Always check trees for communication or electric wires, and train your kids to look for these risks
- Check for big dead branches, broken branches or dead sections of trees
- Look for rot or dead sections on the trunk of the tree, or lots of mushrooms growing the the grass
- Supervise children playing in trees and have a first aid kit ready
Always ensure young children are supervised, and that you’ve examined your yard for potential hazards. Make sure kids are kept away from features like pools or a hot barbecue or fire pit.
At the start of the summer season, make sure any decks, lawn furniture, playscapes and other features children will use haven’t incurred damage over the winter. Snow, ice and time can cause boards to rot, splinter or break.
2. Tree Maintenance for Safety
With small children around, you need to be extra cautious about the maintenance of your trees. You should regularly inspect trees over the house, yard, garage, and other areas for any signs of decay or damage.
It’s a great idea to have your trees pruned regularly to make sure there are no signs of damage or disease, and that any dangerous branches are removed. To check for signs of damage, look out for trees or branches with a lack of leaves or discoloured leaves, browning or dust on branches, and cracks or breaks in branches.
You may find individual unhealthy branches on a green and healthy tree. These branches should be removed as soon as possible to avoid the risk of them falling in a storm, strong winds, or other conditions.
3. Remove Dead Trees, Limbs and Stumps
Small dead or dying trees may not always be a priority for adult homeowners to remove. These can be a hazard for young children, who may try to climb on or hang on brittle bark that could snap easily.
Your yard may also have stumps from previously removed trees. These can be a tripping hazard for kids running around a yard. They can also attract pests like termites. Especially with kids around, it’s a good idea to do stump removal or stump grinding in your front and back yards.
4. Hazards From Plants and Berries
Any parent knows kids love putting things in their mouths, and trees and plant matter are certainly no exception. Some tree species are benign for local birds and animals to eat, while others may look especially tempting to young eyes. What should you know about tree safety and poisoning before your kid takes a bite out of something in your yard?
Some trees and shrubs common in Ontario yards to look out for include:
- Black locust
- Buckthorn (berries)
- Burning bush (all parts)
- Chokecherry (seeds)
- Gingko
- Hemlock
- Horse chestnut
- Hydrangea
- Juniper (berries)
- Rhododendron (all parts)
- Wisteria
- Yew
The Ontario Poison Centre recommends knowing the names of all plants and trees found in your backyard so that you can identify what your child may have consumed in the event of any problem.
5. Keep tools safely stowed away, and well maintained
You may rely on tools like clippers, lawn mowers and saws to keep your garden maintained, but you’ll want to ensure those tools stay out of reach of small hands. Also make sure any pesticides, insecticides, and other garden chemicals are stored safely in a space that’s off-limits to your children.
If you’re having any heavy work done in your yard, whether you’re doing it yourself or have hired a Toronto arborist, make sure kids are kept safely away from work areas and equipment is out of reach.
Tree Safety Myths
Myth 1: It is unsafe for kids to climb trees
According to a study from 2018 – and an informal survey of our friends – there were fewer kids hurt tree climbing than in organized sports in the United States, in the periods surveyed.
It’s totally natural for kids to want to climb trees, and it should be encouraged! The problem is less kids climbing generally, and more the question of tree safety itself, and supervision.
Myth 2: It is totally safe for kids to climb trees
Nope. Small and young trees will be damaged by being climbed, while many trees in urban areas are in very poor condition and are at risk of failure.
When anyone climbs a tree, there is a risk of: tree branches breaking, contact with electricity (!), falling, getting stuck, insect/bee attacks, animal feces / toxic contamination.
The More You Know the Better
Not every tree has these issues, but some have all of them. Not every climbing situation is dangerous, but if you’re not looking or checking, absolutely they can be. Not to be alarmist, but one of the highest recorded causes of death in arboriculture in North America is contact with an uncovered power source like a transmission box.
In other words, in many instances the individual in the tree did not know or appreciate the danger of the situation. Not all trees or tree situations are created equal.
Myth 3: Dead branches aren’t heavy
Dead branches are heavy, period. There are tiny sticks that are not, but so often we hear “Oh, it looks a lot bigger on the ground,” about large branches. In the sky, they look small.
The Danger of Falling Branches Explained
A 2-3in diameter branch that is 6ft long and 40ft in the air may seem small. That same branch could knock you out, break bones, or worse were it to fall unimpeded. We know! We wear helmets and protective gear for a reason, but it doesn’t mean that branches don’t slip through and cause serious damage.
“Struck by” is a term used to denote an injury from a falling branch to a worker underneath, and is a leading cause of injury for tree crews. Event he most cautious workers will have occasion to be struck, but we are adults with equipment, training and foresight.
Why Children Are at Greater Risk
Kids play outside a lot compared to adults, which means they are more exposed to risks from trees. Plus, they don’t have the knowledge, life experience or development to be able to appreciate danger like adults do. Trees aren’t monsters waiting to strike, but they are also not entirely safe. Not every kid crossing a road gets hurt by a car, but some do. The same with trees.
Children and youth with no understanding or personal protective equipment are at risk of significant injury when playing underneath or in trees with deadwood and storm damage. This is not to say any deadwood is unsafe – simply that as a parent or guardian, inspect your trees for large branches, or lots of dead wood. Or, have use come do it for free.
Myth 4: Dead trees don’t fall over
Trees fall over because they are giant levers. When standing perfect upright, the weight is distributed equally. In the course of regular life, however, nothing is perfectly distributed. Trees respond to wind, sun, and other environmental conditions to change their shape and growth habit.
They are heliotropic (grow towards the sun) and will develip “reaction wood” or thickening to help steady against other forces like gravity and wind shear. Reaction wood is like a muscle that helps flex against the force applied to the tree. However, it can take many years or decades to form. (If you thought bulking up a bit was slow, talk to a tree!)
All of these factors and others like the spread and depth of roots all factor into the capacity for a tree to stay upright. Living and dead trees can fall over, especially in adverse weather. Dead trees lose branches and top weight which lessens the leverage force, but their roots can rot and stop holding them upright. Living trees can be very top heavy, enough to rip their roots right out of the ground. It all depends on the synergy of different systems working together, and the environmental forces acting on them.
Myth 5: If it’s been that way for awhile, it will stay that way
Trees don’t go to the gym. It takes years or decades for them to respond to environmental or site changes. The fact that any urban tree exists in one way does not guarantee that after a major event it will be the same. This is true for things like a derecho, but also construction, grade changes, getting damage by wind / thunderstorm, hit by a car, or attacked by a pest. As discussed above, the fact that a tree has stood and appeared a certain way doesn’t mean it is safer than other trees that may have changed appearance.
This is not to frighten, but to educate. Trees operate on a wholly different trajectory of time that we do, naturally. However, in the urban environment, they may be subject to additional stressors and changes that wouldn’t have happened through their millions of years of evolution. This can cause unforeseen events. A 200 year old tree is not necessarily stronger than a 20 year old tree, a 20 year old tree is not nessecarily safer than a 200 year old tree. In a nutshell, this is why arboriculture exists apart from forestry. Urbanity and humanity change trees and forests quite dramatically, and we have to learn to live with them.
Myth 6: Fallen trees never stand back up
The compression and tension forces present in teh roots of trees mean that there is always the potential for a tree to stand back up after falling down. While this is rare, there are many instances of it happening and it often involves children going to have a look.
Myth 7: Stand under a tree in a windstorm
Get as far away from trees in windstorm as humanly possible. Trees are not safe objects, they are not “rated” like a steel tower. No one has inspected public or private trees to ensure they don’t come apart at certain wind speeds.
I’m a Certified Arborist, and I own the company. I live in East York, Toronto, and on the day of the derecho in 2022 I was at home making the bed while my wife took our 1.5 year old to Withrow Park about a 20 min walk away from our home. I saw the Weather Canada watch, and then a few minutes later a warning. And then the emergency notification went out and I can’t remember between looking at the screen and pulling up beside them as the worst of the storm rolled through and I crammed them in the car, frantic.
The neighbourhood had numerous downed trees, hundreds of downed limbs. Our car almost got blown into a TTC shelter. We made it home, but my phone exploded with calls right after. We had calls from people trapped in cars struck by trees, homes destroyed. I could only imagine my family stuck or hurt like that. I thank god for our luck and delivery. But that storm has changed how I view our trees.
We have been extremely lucky in Toronto and surrounding areas to be mostly immune from certain types of ecological and environmental/weather disasters like Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and the like. We have a great asset in our urban canopy, but, it is wild (and needs to be kept that way). The changing and variable climate factors that are likely to arise in the coming years will create new risks from trees.
Don’t mistake natural beauty for safety on an individual level. Our trees/urban canopy are helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the city and are a protective layer, but that doesn’t mean they don’t harbour risks. This isn’t the Fables of the Green Forest, unfortunately.
Find a good Balance
Does your Toronto backyard need tree care to keep it safe for its youngest users? Call Vista Tree today for tree pruning, tree removal and stump removal needs.
As a parent, you need to trust yourself on safety. We’ve written this blog post not to shock or scare, but to give you information you may (or may not) need to make the best decisions for your kids and family. There isn’t eletrical hanging out of every tree, and sometimes climbing a tree is just climbing a tree. That is how we grew up.
But we also work with people who have have trees fall on their houses and cars, and we have experienced the scare of big weather events posing extreme danger.
The most important thing is to find a comfort spot, and find a trusted resource. Look at your trees your self first. Talk to your family and kids. Then, reach out to a few different reputable companies and see what they have to say. It is always best to have an idea of what you want, and to be open to hearing differently.
