Trampolines and safety

There are a lot of trampoline accidents, but a lot of trampolines.

We bought one six years ago and our kids use it 8 months of the year. Easily hundreds of hours of total use.

You have to balance the injury risk against benefits of physical activity and being outdoors.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
You have to balance the injury risk against benefits of physical activity and being outdoors.
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Exactly. Perhaps kids who have access to a trampoline live longer healthier lives than those who don't. Getting out of the bed in the morning has an associated risk, yet most of us continue to do it most days.
 
Leo said:
Perhaps kids who have access to a trampoline live longer healthier lives than those who don't.
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I'd be open to evidence, but it seems like the there's a relatively high risk of small-scale injuries like sprains and breaks, but nothing catastrophic. Maybe head injury risk, but trampolines have enclosures now which make it very hard to fall off.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
I'd be open to evidence, but it seems like the there's a relatively high risk of small-scale injuries like sprains and breaks, but nothing catastrophic. Maybe head injury risk, but trampolines have enclosures now which make it very hard to fall off.
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Lack of impact forces would mean they are easier on joints than other activities involving running, jumping, falling.

All sporting activities carry risks of sprains and breaks, I don't know exactly where trampolining sits on that scale, having more than one person on at a time significantly increases the risk of injury. Some athletes use trampolines to speed up recovery from ankle sprains.
 
I dismantled ours this autumn. It was getting a bit wrecked and the kids weren't using it that much anymore. They got years of enjoyment out of it. Definitely worth buying one. There were a few bangs but nothing serious and no more than they could have gotten running around playing chasing. You have to monitor how many kids are allowed on it at one time.
 
Wouldn't let my kids near one. Go to any fracture clinic after a sunny weekend and look at the queue of tearful kids with their regretful parents. They should be banned as they place so much work on the hospital system. I'd ban bouncy castles, quad bikes and motorbikes along with them. I'd expect if RTE investigates went into a children's ED over the summer and did an audit with days in hospital, costing etc, most would be convinced. To any that think fractures simply heal in a cast that is not always the case. But I expect not to get too many thumbs up here as most are of the mindset that it wont happen.
 
Susie2017 said:
'd expect if RTE investigates went into a children's ED over the summer and did an audit with days in hospital, costing etc, most would be convinced.
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Yes but trampolines are in the garden of every third family with kids under 12 now. In Ireland they get literally millions of child-hours in use every year.

So you'd have to divide the damage done by the use, which is massive. I'm open to evidence, but from what I can tell they are not disproportionately risky, especially with enclosures.
 
Susie2017 said:
Go to any fracture clinic after a sunny weekend and look at the queue of tearful kids with their regretful parents. They should be banned as they place so much work on the hospital system.
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Go to A&E any Friday or Saturday night, when the pubs are open, and look at the queue of tearful drunks, or their victims. Alcohol should be banned as it places so much work on the hospital system.

Fixed your typos.
 
Susie2017 said:
Wouldn't let my kids near one. Go to any fracture clinic after a sunny weekend and look at the queue of tearful kids with their regretful parents. They should be banned as they place so much work on the hospital system. I'd ban bouncy castles, quad bikes and motorbikes along with them. I'd expect if RTE investigates went into a children's ED over the summer and did an audit with days in hospital, costing etc, most would be convinced. To any that think fractures simply heal in a cast that is not always the case. But I expect not to get too many thumbs up here as most are of the mindset that it wont happen.
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How about cars, should we ban them too? Car accidents can result in horrific injuries, hospitals are also full of people due to car crashes...
 
No they are not. Car crashes are relatively infrequent by comparison. Driving a car is a necessary risk most of us must take. We are qualified by way of a licence and pay insurance to compensate others in case we are involved in an incident. There are the rules of the road. Yes driving carries risks but if we dont speed, keep our distance and dont drink/take drugs then by and large we can mitigate a lot of that risk. If we are very unlucky then a drunk driver can drive head long into us at speed and cause us serious injury or death. It does happen. But not as frequently as injuries from trampolines where there is also no training or insurance in place when accidents occur. Your point about alcohol and ED is correct but not relevant to the discussion re buying a trampoline or not.
 
Our 10' trampoline has had great use for more than 10 years (hoovers up kids). Luckily, no injuries (though plenty or injuries falling of beds, bikes, walls and playing sports). It's like Trigger's broom with pretty much everything being replaced on it multiple times. Hope to take it apart next spring to reclaim the garden space. I can understand people's concern over trampolines though; I'd be disinclined to give mine to someone else lest their kids brain themselves.
 
Susie2017 said:
Wouldn't let my kids near one. Go to any fracture clinic after a sunny weekend and look at the queue of tearful kids with their regretful parents. They should be banned as they place so much work on the hospital system.
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A couple of years ago after media scaremongering. Crumlin Children's hospital said that trampoline accidents only accounted for 1.5% of presentations at their A&E. COVID restrictions seem to have shifted that to 10%, but as trampoline accident rates have risen, the overall numbers have remained pretty steady. The suggestion being that kids will get injured as they explore risk taking and learn their limitations, if they're not on a trampoline, they'll be doing something else.
 
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Leo said:
Trampoline accidents account for less than 1.5% of presentations to Crumlin Children's Hospital A&E.
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Did a quick google to see how many kids actually had to go to hospital due to trampoline accidents and there isn't that much information besides an Examiner article from June 2016 saying that trampolines account for 60% of bounce related admissions :) with the other 40% being from bouncy castles. Pogo sticking not causing any accidents that year. I've no idea if there were 5 admissions in that year, with 3 of them being from trampolines.


Make sure there's a net on it, don't let it get overcrowded and ensure you kids don't go full WWE on it (no piledrivers). Common sense.
 
SBarrett said:
Make sure there's a net on it, don't let it get overcrowded and ensure you kids don't go full WWE on it (no piledrivers).
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And check your knives at the entrance, obviously.

Although I'm not sure if a knife injury sustained on a trampoline would be counted in bounce related stats...
 
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