A mum has warned other parents about the dangers of trampolines after her son broke his thigh bone, from his hip to his knee.
Kait Ellen, from the US, said she felt “compelled” to share what happened after being advised her three-year-old shouldn’t have been on the trampoline.
“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,” she wrote on Facebook on Friday 7 July.
“Colton fell and broke his femur, the strongest bone in his body, while innocently jumping alongside his dad and I.”
Ellen said that according to the America Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children under the age of six should never use a trampoline.
She wrote: “This is due to the fact that their fragile bones are not meant to withstand the repetitive pressure from jumping.
“We had no idea and were shocked to find this out from our pediatric surgeon during Colton’s hospital stay.
“Our lives have been turned upside down since Colton’s accident and every day is a struggle for his sweet three-year-old self as he adjusts to life in a cast.
″We did want to make one thing clear... we were not bouncing in the same square as Colton when the injury occurred,” she added.
“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.”
HuffPost UK contacted The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to see if the same advice was true in the UK. The organisation confirmed that their advice reiterates what AAP stated.
“60% of injuries occur when more than one person is on the trampoline – with the smaller person the most likely to be hurt,” the spokesperson said.
The advice on their website reads: “Trampolining isn’t suitable for children under the age of six because they’re not sufficiently physically developed to control their bouncing.
“Adult supervision is no guarantee of safety. More than half of all trampoline accidents occur whilst under supervision. However a trained ‘spotter’ can greatly reduce this risk.”
For more trampoline safety advice, read RoSPA’s guidance here.
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