Mom’s Viral Post Is a Sad Reminder of the Importance of Trampoline Safety
It’s hot AF outside (because summer), and like most parents, I’ve been trying to find ways to entertain my children that won’t involve them getting heatstroke. A trampoline park seemed like a great idea and I’ve always been pretty confident about trampoline safety. It would allow my kids to run around and burn off energy while I sit on a bench in air conditioning and occasionally look up at them while I play on my phone. Buuuuuut as much as I want to spend time indoors, I do not want to spend time in the emergency room like this poor mom, whose young son suffered an insane injury from jumping on a trampoline.
Kait Ellen, a mother of two, wrote about her son’s horrific experience in a Facebook post that has now gone viral about trampoline safety.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159011623870707&set=a.10150352742425707.596949.588370706&type=3&theater
Ugh just look at that poor sweet baby.
Her Facebook post reads, “As hard as it is to relive the past 12 days, we feel compelled to make other parents aware of the danger associated with indoor trampoline parks. Colton fell and broke his femur, the strongest bone in his body, while innocently jumping alongside his dad and I.” She later clarified that they “were NOT bouncing in the same square as Colton when the injury occurred. We were in the squares right next to him.”
Colton’s injuries will require him to wear a spica cast for the next six weeks. A spica cast, which is sometimes referred to as a hip cast or body cast, immobilizes the hips and thighs so that bones or tendons can heal properly. So. Her three-year-old has a cast from his hips to ankles. Can you even imagine explaining to a three-year-old why he can’t walk around? OMG.
Kait then dropped a huge piece of knowledge. “According to the America Academy of Pediatrics and the America Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons ‘children under the age of 6 should never use a trampoline.’ This is due to the fact that their fragile bones are not meant to withstand the repetitive pressure from jumping.”
Holy shit. I had NO idea. BRB gonna take that trampoline out of my Amazon cart.
Kait and her husband are hoping that their story will help other families. “We share this with you today to spread awareness that these facilities are specifically advertising for Toddler Time, when in fact toddlers should be nowhere near trampolines. We hope by sharing his story it will prevent a child and their family from experiencing the trauma and heartbreak associated with trampoline injuries in young children.”
I’m honestly thankful to this mom for sharing her story, because she might have saved my four-year-old from a terrible injury.
(Image: Facebook / Kait Ellen)
