Trampoline for children? Read these tips first
The good weather, the evenings (and the mornings) eternal with the children at home, and if we get a nice elastic bed to have a great time? No doubt it is an option if we have the enough space so that our children have another leisure option without leaving home. Now, this fun has risks and you have to take them into account.
Each year they are 51.000 European children who are injured in elastic beds and they have to go to the emergency department for this reason, according to the figures that come from the European database on injuries and accidents. These are the data that the Spanish Association of Pediatrics in Primary Care, AEP, puts on the table to warn about the dangers of this fun and give some advice about it.
Danger of injury with trampoline
According to the AEP, the majority of injuries (and even deaths) caused by trampolines occurred by different reasons: collisions between bodies, bad falls on the bed after a jump or acrobatics that ended up outside of it.
At this point, pediatricians say that most accidents occur in trampolines installed at home when more than one person uses them. They also specify that it is the person who weighs the least (who may well be the smallest person in the house) who is most likely to be injured: "Children under 6 years they are especially vulnerable to injuries in trampolines, "they warn.
Most injuries occur in the neck, extremities, face and head. Of these, pediatricians warn that those of the head and neck are the most dangerous.
Given this, it is normal to think that presence of an adult front is security guarantee. Although obviously an adult should always be watching, the fact is that more than half of the injuries that occurred in trampolines occurred when there was an adult. "However, it has been shown that the presence of a trained observer considerably reduces the risk of an accident," they say.
Keys to buying a trampoline
Against this background, pediatricians have developed a small guide with useful tips for families who want to buy a trampoline or who, already having one, want to use it safely. These are the keys:
- Check that the trampoline meets the European requirements stipulated in the standards EN 913: 2008 and EN 13219: 2008 - Gymnastics equipment. However, there is no specific standard for trampolines for domestic use.
- Choose a trampoline surrounded by a safety net to avoid falls or acquire a safety cage with the trampoline, to reduce the chances of the child falling and hitting the ground.
- Check that metal frames and bars are padded and that there are no holes in the élastica bed where the fingers can get stuck.
- Buy safety pads or make sure that the model that is acquired contains them and that they cover the springs, the hooks and the frame. The pads should be a different color than the trampoline.
How to place the trampoline correctly at home
Once we have the trampoline at home, we must take into account a series of guidelines so that its placement is completely safe.
- Place the trampoline away from fences, garden furniture, trees, cement surfaces and other play areas.
- It must be placed on a flat surface, soft and absorb impacts (soft grass, wood shavings, sand or padding).
- Never place the trampoline on a hard surface (cement, solid earth) without having previously placed mats or a protective net.
- Cover the springs and gaps to prevent children from getting their fingers or skin.
- Access must be through a fenced door It must remain closed when the trampoline is not used or the supervising adult is absent.
Do not allow children to use a ladder to access the trampoline since it facilitates unsupervised access by younger children.
Tips for children to play on the trampoline
Likewise, it is necessary to teach the little ones that they should take off all the necklaces and clothes that can be hooked. They should not carry sharp objects either. It is our responsibility to inspect the trampoline every time it is used in order to verify that there are no holes and that the frame is not damaged. Do not forget to check that the pads are correctly positioned and the clamps are closed.
After these previous tips, pediatricians provide these recommendations to follow while children play:
- No matter how big the trampoline is, do not allow more than one person at the same time: encourage the children to use it in turns.
- Do not let children do cartwheels, since a bad fall can cause paralysis or spinal fractures.
- Do not use the trampoline if it is does not have the pads necessary to cover all the springs, the hooks and the frame.
- Children under 6 years old They should only use trampolinesuadas for your age and height. Remember that trampolines are not recommended for very young children and babies.
- Do not let children get out of bed elastic in one jump.
Damián Montero
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