X
theAsianparent Logo
theAsianparent Logo
Product GuideSign in
  • Awards
    • Parents' Choice Awards 2023
  • Pregnancy
    • Due date calculator
    • I'm pregnant
    • Trying To Conceive
    • Labour
    • After birth
    • Baby loss
  • Parenting
    • Parent's Guide
    • Relationship & Sex
  • Child
    • Newborn
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Pre-Schooler
    • Kid
    • Pre-Teen & Teen
  • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diseases-Injuries
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Meal Planner
    • Health
    • Allergies & Conditions
    • Vaccinations
  • Education
    • Pre-School
    • Primary School
    • Secondary School
    • Primary School Directory
  • Lifestyle
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Fitness
    • Contests & promotions
  • News
    • International
    • Health
    • Celebrity
    • Singapore
  • TAP Recommends
  • Shopping
  • Press Releases
  • Project Sidekicks
  • Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Become A Contributor
  • VIP

Mother warns others of the dangers of using a trampoline

3 min read
Mother warns others of the dangers of using a trampoline

Seventy-five percent of trampoline injuries occur when multiple people are jumping on the mat. The smallest and youngest participants are usually at greater risk for significant injury

When Indianapolis mother Carrie Clark heard that there was a new trampoline attraction for toddlers at her local trampoline park, she thought it was a great idea to let his son Cooper play there.

“I thought it was a good activity to get him exercise and maybe wear him out a little before naptime,” she told reporters. “I was a first-time mum. I thought I was just doing something fun with my child.”

At the trampoline park, Cooper broke his leg and returned home with a bright orange toe-to-waist cast that wrapped around his torso.

Now Carrie is left with so many questions, and she’s not the only one.

READ: This popular children’s attraction can be dangerous for kids

More and more people who has suffered from trampoline injuries are coming forward and letting their stories know.

Andrew Dodd is one of these people. “I did a double front flip and landed on my neck,” he said. The fall left him paralysed.

“The doctors said he smashed his spinal cord pretty good,” Andrew’s father Bruce said. “So they say he'll never walk again.”

Unlike Andrew, Cooper wasn’t doing crazy flips and twists. He was just jumping, a fact that Susan wanted to emphasise.

“Jumping,” she said, “just jumping with no other kids around him. And he's two. I didn't see how that could possibly break a leg. How can jumping just a few inches on a trampoline end up in a fractured left femur?”

An orthopaedic surgeon at Riley Hospital for Children, Randall Loder has bad news - fractures in children are very common.

“Paediatric bone is different than adult bone,” he explained. “The younger child's bone, it's softer. It's more compressible. It's spongy. Paediatric bone can fail relatively easily. If the forces are just right, it can snap.”

Some people think that a fracture in a child is a simple thing just to put a cast on, but they are wrong.

If a fracture reaches the growth plate, it becomes a different problem altogether. A soft cartilage tissue near the end of children’s bones, growth plates are responsible for a child’s ability to grow taller.

Once injured, the bone's ability is jeopardised. Other cases may require years of surgical intervention.

Trampoline trouble

Seventy-five percent of trampoline injuries occur when multiple people are jumping on the mat.

The smallest and youngest participants are usually at greater risk for significant injury, specifically children 5 years of age or younger.

Forty-eight percent of injuries in this age group resulted in fractures or dislocations.

Loder warned: “Once you've seen a child with significant growth plate problems and you know they have six or eight surgeries ahead of them in the future and, even then, they'll never truly have a normal extremity, you decide it's time to educate.”

If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the topic, please share them in our Comment box below.

Partner Stories
Parenting Lesson from a New Mum - Don’t Try to Do it All on Your Own!
Parenting Lesson from a New Mum - Don’t Try to Do it All on Your Own!
Celebrity Dad Mark Lee Shares the 3 P's of Raising School Going Children - Parenting Tips, PSLE Preparation & Protecting Your Child’s Eyesight!
Celebrity Dad Mark Lee Shares the 3 P's of Raising School Going Children - Parenting Tips, PSLE Preparation & Protecting Your Child’s Eyesight!
Bathroom Cleaning 101: A Complete Clean in Just 5 Minute Featuring Tips from Zoe Raymond
Bathroom Cleaning 101: A Complete Clean in Just 5 Minute Featuring Tips from Zoe Raymond
Welcoming a Newborn 101: 4 Handy Tips that All New Dads Should Know
Welcoming a Newborn 101: 4 Handy Tips that All New Dads Should Know

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

James Martinez

  • Home
  • /
  • Parent's Guide
  • /
  • Mother warns others of the dangers of using a trampoline
Share:
  • Best indoor trampoline parks in Singapore

    Best indoor trampoline parks in Singapore

  • A mum's strong warning about trampoline safety for kids

    A mum's strong warning about trampoline safety for kids

  • 'Family is Priceless': Malaysian Man in Singapore Rents 2 Buses So He and 60 Other Strangers Can Join Their Families for CNY

    'Family is Priceless': Malaysian Man in Singapore Rents 2 Buses So He and 60 Other Strangers Can Join Their Families for CNY

  • I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

    I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

  • Best indoor trampoline parks in Singapore

    Best indoor trampoline parks in Singapore

  • A mum's strong warning about trampoline safety for kids

    A mum's strong warning about trampoline safety for kids

  • 'Family is Priceless': Malaysian Man in Singapore Rents 2 Buses So He and 60 Other Strangers Can Join Their Families for CNY

    'Family is Priceless': Malaysian Man in Singapore Rents 2 Buses So He and 60 Other Strangers Can Join Their Families for CNY

  • I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

    I Try Tracy Lee's Hack for Egg Tarts and It's So Easy That Even Kids Can Make it

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Education
    • Events
    • Allergies & Conditions
  • Family Occasions
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Child Safety
    • Health
    • Diseases-Injuries
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Money
    • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diet & Weightloss
  • Normal Delivery
    • Cesarean Delivery
    • Behaviour
    • Secondary School
    • Formula Feeding
  • Ages & Stages
    • Latching & Concerns
    • Festivals & Holidays
    • Education
    • Pre-teen & Teen
  • More
    • TAP Community
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Sri-Lanka flag Sri Lanka
  • India flag India
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
  • Australia flag Australia
  • Japan flag Japan
  • Nigeria flag Nigeria
  • Kenya flag Kenya
© Copyright theAsianparent 2023. All rights reserved
About Us|Team|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

theAsianparent heart icon
We’d like to send you notifications for the latest news and updates on baby care and health.