For the boys' joint birthdays, Tim's daughter bought them a trampoline. Tim hates them. He thinks they are dangerous, but this had a net surrounding it. The springs were covered. It seemed as safe as something like that could be. The biggest danger would be if they both got crazy bouncing and and bonked noggins or something.
We went to help her get it set up yesterday. The setup is definately not a one person job. It took a couple hours, but we got it done.
The boys were very excited. Over the moon excited. Their mother told them that the number one safety rule was that the net enclosure needed to be zipped shut before they jumped.
As we were getting ready to leave, I happened to look over and see them jumping away. The net enclosure was unzipped. I walked over and said, "What is the safety violation here?"
They both looked at me and the oldest boy stopped jumping and zipped the enclosure up. And I gave them a repeat of the lecture their mother had already given them. I wound it up with a waggling finger and an admonition: "Safety first, boys!" They cheerfully repeated it back to me.
After school today, they ran to play on their new favorite thing, and in their excitement, well...safety did not come first. One boy is headed to Pittsburgh with a badly broken arm. Both bones are broken, and the bones have twisted across each other. It's pretty gruesome.
Today was not a happy day.
Oh my goodness that didn’t take long. We had two of them, neither with nets, and somehow we made it with no major injuries. Hoping for a speedy recovery. Is the trampoline a goner?
ReplyDeleteShe's beside herself. She wanted to put it up for sale from the hospital. My husband convinced her to wait until they returned from Pittsburgh, otherwise she'd be fielding calls from people while trying to focus on her little boy. I feel terrible for her.
ReplyDeleteOh no! :(
ReplyDeleteTrampolines are one of the most dangerous things around; that said, we had one with a guard and a gymnast daughter who did all sorts of moves on there that she shouldn't have. So sorry to read about the accident; it does sound gruesome. Hope he heals up as quickly as possible.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh. I wasn't expecting that and I am sorry to hear. I wonder if the side nets and zipping up, even if it is not zipped up, makes kids less cautious? As another commenter said, we never had these safety nets and coverings and the last thing you wanted to do was hit the springs or go off the trampoline.
ReplyDeleteOh my, that sounds pretty horrible. I hope the poor boy recovers well.
ReplyDeleteMy 8 year old great niece had a similar accident. She only broke one arm though.
Oh how sad - I remember when we bought our boys a trampoline they pinched each other to check it wasn't a dream! It was the best and most used item we ever bought them - what a pity that you should have such an accident. Here in the UK there was much controversy over nets, many holding to the view that they are more dangerous than their absence. We did not use them but we did have a very large trampoline and insisted on 'one at a time' - at least while we were looking.
ReplyDeleteYoung bones heal well - I hope all is better soon.
He fell right out of the doorway space? I guess it had to happen, but if he could have fallen in any other direction ...
ReplyDeleteWe have one with nets and spring covers like yours and thus far, our girls have escaped five or six years of the thing without injury. But they are pretty timid compared to boys their age so it isn't surprising that someone still got hurt.
ReplyDeleteThey played on it frequently the first summer and then rarely since. In fact, I don't think I have seen either of them jump on it in a couple years though they sometimes go lay on it to read a book in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. My big worry now is when and how to decommission the thing. The foam padding on the net poles has long since disintegrated, the spring cover is nothing but loose fibers and I'm guessing the stretchy center is just waiting to split someday. Then it will take me how many hours to tear the thing apart and $15 to get dispose of it at the dump. I really can't wait.
Hope the youngun' mends fast and well.
Ed, if you’re willing to spend a few bucks, there are wonderful junk removal companies that take stuff like this off your hands. I know you’re a DIY-er, but I highly recommend taking this shortcut when the time comes to get rid of the trampoline. You can focus your time on the projects you enjoy more.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that only one person should be on a trampoline at a time. Not only can they collide, but the base loads and unloads and if one child lands while it is loaded by another serious injuries can occur.
ReplyDeleteI hope he recovers quickly and all heals up perfectly. Poor guy!
ReplyDeleteOh no! Do you know any details about how it happened? Were they jumping together? Two at a time is always risky because one can land on the other.
ReplyDeleteThe summer camp I attended as a kid had an in-ground trampoline with huge gaps at the sides between the springs, and every once in a while someone would fall in the gap and scrape themselves up. I'm sure lawyers would NEVER allow it now, with good reason!
Oh dear. I hope the bones mend quickly.
ReplyDeleteOh my, how disappointing! That's a hard way for a child to learn a life lesson. I'm sorry for him.
ReplyDeleteOh no. I hope it is a speedy recovery but it doesn't sound like it will be. So very sorry. And this is why Mrs. Shife would never let me get a trampoline for the kids.
ReplyDeleteHere in the part of Florida I live it is hard to get house insurance if you have a trampoline. My grandkids had one and after 6 or 8 months the insurance asks them about anything new, when they said a trampoline they wanted to cancil there plan or raise the rates. The kids were losing interest so it was easy for them to give it up.
ReplyDeleteA grewsome accident. I am so sorry their mother was careless about "safety rules". What is her penalty?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the little fellow himself, his brother unzipped the net to get off, and he kept on jumping. He bounced over to get off, it sounds like and bounced right out the opening.
ReplyDeleteHe only broke one arm, Jaycee, but he broke both bones in that arm.
His mother really wasn't careless at all about the safety rules. She told them very clearly about the rules. There were two of them. The net enclosure had to be zipped up before they could jump, and no one but no one was allowed UNDER the thing. She's a single parent of two very active boys. She was going between the house and her car carrying stuff in, and it happened.
https://jeanieinparadise.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-i-am-trampoline-police.html
ReplyDeleteOr rather - how I know the term "supracondular fracture"
BTW - my leg break would have happened net or no net.
My niece's foot break happened with a net.
One at a time on the trampoline.
Oh Jeanie. I'd forgotten this little tidbit. I saw my own comment on it. I answered a text from my daughter-in-law on the way to Pittsburgh. I explained what had happened. Her only response: "And this is WHY Iris will NEVER have a trampoline.
ReplyDeleteTo be perfectly honest, the idea of only one jumping at a time had never occurred to me. I wonder why not. It's a perfectly sensible thing.
Good heavens. Disaster. But fixable at least and possibly a lesson learned (or possibly not). Our neighbour has one in which several children have bounced about wildly without injury for years. I had a solo shot on it one day and in the space of just a few uncontrolled bounces wrecked my back for about a week. Never again, but then I was aged 56 at the time, six foot four in height and 14 stone in weight, and really should've known better. The youngsters had a good laugh at me though.
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