When most parents today were growing up, their parents didn’t think twice about a lot of activities that are frowned on today. At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we understand why this can be upsetting to some people but we want them to remember that these new rules are for the health and safety of everyone. When it comes to kids, it’s not surprising that parents would take extra precautions to keep them safe.
If a parent has a specific concern about whether or not a specific situation is safe for their child, the best thing for them to do is to speak with their doctor. However, as a personal injury attorney who handles a wide range of injuries including broken bones and spinal cord injuries, whether or not kids should jump on trampolines is a subject Attorney Vargas has an opinion on.
Consider what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say
The American Academy of Pediatrics took this issue on and they ended with a strong advisory against using trampolines at home. In fact, they published an article in the magazine Pediatrics and asked parents to forbid their children from using home trampolines due to the potential for significant injury.
Note that they didn’t say that trampolines can’t be used at all. What they said is that children shouldn’t use home trampolines. This is different than the trampoline parks that are popping up all over the country, where special steps are taken to ensure safety and where there are adults actively keeping an eye on kids at all time.
Having more than one child on a trampoline can lead to double the danger
Most of the time, when a child suffers a catastrophic injury on a trampoline it’s when they weren’t be supervised or if they used the trampoline while other children were using it. In fact, according to a study done by the Los Angeles Times newspaper, about three out of four injuries on trampolines happened when there were at least two people bouncing at once.
How many injuries would you guess there are every year?
What if you had to guess how many trampoline injuries there were every year? Would you be surprised that the most reliable stats show that there are an average of almost 100,000 trampoline injuries every year? Most of these are minor, soft-tissue injuries like bruises or minor strains, but more than 3,000 trampoline injuries result in hospitalization every year.
Why are kids becoming more interested in trampolines?
You may have noticed that kids are much more interested in trampolines than they were a decade ago. This is partially due to the fact that, as we mentioned above, trampoline parks are opening all over the country, and it’s partially due to the fact that trampoline is now a competitive sport that’s even done in the Olympics.
For kids who really want to trampoline, make sure there’s always an adult supervising. Add extra padding to the frames and springs, and keep ladders away so younger children won’t climb up. For adults whose children have been injured on a trampoline, contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to see if you might have a personal injury case.
