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No, he wasn't being silly. My parents both worked in emergency medicine for many years. Trampolines are notorious for injuries. Parents make all sorts of choices about which activities are acceptable for their children, often based on the associated risks. Some parents will not allow backyard pools. Others eschew trampolines. Many, like me, wouldn't have either of them. I have never wrapped my kids in cotton wool, but some things are just above my acceptable risk threshold. A backyard trampoline is one of them.
No, he wasn't being silly. My parents both worked in emergency medicine for many years. Trampolines are notorious for injuries. Parents make all sorts of choices about which activities are acceptable for their children, often based on the associated risks. Right now, in neighborhoods across the nation, peewee football is struggling to survive, because parents aren't willing to accept the risk of injury. Some parents will not allow backyard pools. Others eschew trampolines. Many, like me, wouldn't have any of them. I have never wrapped my kids in cotton wool, but some things are just above my acceptable risk threshold. A backyard trampoline is one of them.
Oh, I agree that he had a point. And he never bought us a trampoline either. I'm just saying that he was making the point with a silly joke.
Trampolines are among the more alarming "toys" I see around. But then, I bought my sons skateboards - along with the helmets and pads, which they did actually wear.
I know they wore them even when I wasn't looking at them, because one time my son actually took a very bad spill on one, so bad and it shook him up so much that one of our elderly neighbors, who saw it happen, actually called 911 and an ambulance came out immediately. Note that I hadn't been called at work yet. Well, my son gave them my work number but they didn't call me - they just bundled him up in the ambulance, without my knowledge and even though he wasn't bleeding, hadn't been knocked out, and was protesting that he was fine (this was before everyone had a cell phone). At least a police officer did go to our house, since my son was INSISTING that someone call me, and my 18 year old daughter was home and of course she called me in a complete panic, crying and saying, "____ has been taken to the hospital in an ambulance and a policeman just came and told me!!!!!!!!" I rushed from work to the ER, ran in...and there sat my son in a wheelchair, with his helmet and pads in his lap, looking miserable and frustrated but unhurt.
He told me "I TOLD them I was OK." I said, "Does anything hurt on you?" and he showed me a bruised shin, and said, "When I fell, the breath got knocked out of me, so I sat on the curb to catch my breath and suddenly this ambulance just showed up and they told me I had to come with them!"
Wow.
Long story short, at least he had his helmet and knee pads on when it happened. But I've never seen anyone jumping on a trampoline in a helmet.
I was a gymnastics coach for many years, and we had strict rules about trampolines. One jumper at a time, coach must always be present, and only certain moves allowed (which varied depending on the skill level of the gymnast). Since then I have always been a little shocked to see backyard trampolines with five kids all jumping and flipping at the same time and no adult in sight. It is just a recipe for disaster.
No trampoline at my house. I know I wouldn't be able to monitor it sufficiently, and therefore the risk level is too high for me. No pool either, for the same reason. I don't mess around with a high risk of neck injuries or drowning**. One of my daughters broke her arm while roller blading, but a broken arm is one thing, and a broken neck quite another.
** Yes, they are allowed to jump on trampolines at the gym, and swim, under supervision.
I broke my arm riding a bike. A friend of mine broke hers walking a dog. Things happen.
I know your dad was being silly. I'm just saying, for the purposes of this thread, possibility of injury isn't a great reason to not engage in something fun IMO.
Possibility of injury isn't a great reason not to engage in something fun
Parenting words to live by right there.....don't want to rain on kid's fun....fun, fun,fun at ALL costs
Seriously if those aren't the absolute worst words of advice I have ever seen on a parenting forum....
Hey skydiving is fun! Shooting hand guns is fun! Diving into rock quarry lakes is fun, do it headfirst, adds to the fun!
Back on topic to trampolines..
How funny is a broken neck or permanent neurologic damage?
"Head and/or neck injuries accounted for up to 17% of all trampoline injuries and can cause the most damage; permanent neurologic damage occurs in 1 out of every 200 trampoline-related injuries."
Skydiving is fun, and I would never deny it to my child as long as it is of responsible age. Same with scuba diving, rock climbing, alpine skiing and other activities that may potentially kill you.
Possibility of injury isn't a great reason not to engage in something fun
Parenting words to live by right there.....don't want to rain on kid's fun....fun, fun,fun at ALL costs
Seriously if those aren't the absolute worst words of advice I have ever seen on a parenting forum....
Hey skydiving is fun! Shooting hand guns is fun! Diving into rock quarry lakes is fun, do it headfirst, adds to the fun!
Back on topic to trampolines..
How funny is a broken neck or permanent neurologic damage?
"Head and/or neck injuries accounted for up to 17% of all trampoline injuries and can cause the most damage; permanent neurologic damage occurs in 1 out of every 200 trampoline-related injuries."
Skydiving is fun, and I would never deny it to my child as long as it is of responsible age. Same with scuba diving, rock climbing, alpine skiing and other activities that may potentially kill you.
I feel the same way.
Hiking is fun.
Swimming is fun.
Camping is fun.
Bike riding is fun.
Should we stop all activities because you could get hurt? No way!!!
I'm with you two, there's always the risk of getting hurt in so many activities, that's not a reason to stop doing them, just a reason to take correct safety precautions (e.g. safety nets on the trampoline, wearing a helmet when riding a bike, using a parachute if you're going to jump out of an aeroplane....)
If you're concerned about neck injuries, you can always ban the kids from doing flips on the trampoline as that's the most likely to cause such an injury.
I would rather have my children doing sports, even extreme sports (although I would be worried to death for them of course) than doing drugs or spending their nights bar-hopping.
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