Guest Author - Gwenn Schurgin O´Keeffe, M.D. , F.A.A.P.

It never fails. In fact, not only can I count on this, so can you:

2 kids + 1 back yard trampoline = injury

The injury can be mild to major and can involved one or both kids but it WILL happen and often includes sprains, contusions, lacerations, head traumas, spinal traumas, dislocations, bumps, bruises and concussions. Safety nets don’t prevent these from happening; they just prevent your kids from getting injured on the ground.

You may think that most sound parents, including ourselves, would be swayed by the reams of data that support the dangers of trampolines and keep their kids off. But, more times than not I hear parents say “What can I do? She (or he) just loves it so much!” This is usually mentioned to me during an evaluation for an injury, by the way. Now do you see why I’m worried?

Bouncing is fun but it is impossible to bounce in totally control. Three rules come into play that I can always count on. These rules, while based in science, are my own creation and come from years of treating kids with similar injuries from bouncing substrates:

1. Whoever goes up, must come down.
2. The bigger you are, the harder you fall.
3. If there is something that can cause hidden harm, it will.

Part of the issue with back yard trampolines is the actual rules are hardly ever followed. How often have you seen “spotters” by the sides? How often is there just one bouncer on at a time? What about height? Most instructions say to keep the bounce “low” – does that occur with your kids? What about supervision? Let’s be honest, the rules if followed make sense but no one follows these rules at least.

The American Academy of Pediatrics feels so strongly that trampolines are dangerous that in 1999 they reaffirmed their policy that backyard trampolines should not be used by kids. The data cited in the policy was amazing and cited a 140% increase in trampoline-related injuries between 1990 to 1996 all in home-based trampolines. Honestly, is the bounce really worth it?

Trampolines are not the only backyard summer danger, however. Recreational toys with water are close behind. I’m not talking about pools, that’s a topic that deserves it’s own column. I’m talking more about the small backyard slides and novelties such as Wham O!’s Slip N’ Slide and the Six Flag’s Backyard bonsai inflatable water slide. In fact, you can apply the same three rules I use with trampolines with a few small modifications:

1. An object in motion will stay in motion…unless something stops it (usually something big like a house or person).
2. The bigger you are, the faster you’ll slide – and harder you’ll hit the object in #1.
3. If there is something that can cause hidden harm, it will – and you’ll likely slide over it – and not see it because you’ll be moving too fast. See #2.

In addition to the dangers of movement and collision that are very similar to trampolines, the element of water poses extra risks. Even small amounts of water are drowning hazards for small kids. Water makes things slick which can easy cause kids to trip and fall, making whatever is on the ground now in harm’s way. And, nearby electricity is an electrocution risk, especially if the actual water slide requires electricity to operate. To add insult to injury, most of these small backyard water slides have height and weight guidelines that are designed to avoid injury in older, and bigger people which are all too often ignored. All in all, a set up for someone getting hurt. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

By the way, if your neighbor won’t respect your safety rule for your child when you talk about your concerns with their back yard stuff, whether a trampoline, slide, or anything for that matter, the question to ask yourself, is whether the fun is worth the risk?? I’m thinking “no” but that’s just my 2cents.

So, to bounce or not to bounce? Not. It really is that simple. To slide or not to slide? Slide...just not in your backyard. It's that simple, too.