The toddler time activity you should NEVER attend

Mum’s warning about the dangers of trampolines for kids under six goes viral.

Kait Ellen shares her warning on Facebook to make other parents aware of the danger associated with indoor trampoline parks for young children after their toddler broke his femur while gently bouncing.

“Colton fell and broke his femur, the strongest bone in his body, while innocently jumping alongside his dad and I. We were NOT bouncing in the same square as Colton when the injury occurred. We were in the squares right next to him.

We come to find out, according to the America Academy of Paediatrics and the America Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons “children under the age of 6 should never use a trampoline.” (RCH also recommends the same in Australia)

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 paediatric orthopaedic 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 3 year old self as he adjusts to life in a hip spica cast for the next 6 weeks.

We share this with you today to spread awareness that these facilities are specifically advertising for Toddler Time, when in fact toddlers should be no where 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.

Please help us by sharing this story!”

Her post has gone viral with over 200,000 shares and nearly 40,000 comments.

The RCH website also states “Trampolines are not suitable for children under 6 years of age. They should be considered sports equipment, not a toy. Use enclosed trampoline nets to avoid falls from trampolines. ”

Last week we actually shared a post calling for backyard trampolines to be banned after 12 accidents in the past week just in NSW! Read more on that here.

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16 Comments

- - mom94125 said
  - 05 Sep 2017
    2:07 pm
wow i never knew that there was an age limit for trampolines. poor colton! that would be hard for him to get through recovery

- - mom19782016 said
  - 16 Jul 2017
    5:22 pm
I was unaware that their soft bones were not meant to be bouncing repetitively!

- - hopefullyheidi said
  - 15 Jul 2017
    12:36 am
Exactly what Nact said described about the net actually happened to our trampoline! Usually I secured the trampoline with tent pegs, but one day I had been mowing and forgot to put them back in. The one time I forgot we had extremely strong winds and the trampoline ended up halfway over the neighbours fence and destroyed the net. It was lucky it was a large trampoline and got caught on the fence, otherwise who knows what damage could have eventuated.

- - mom101628 said
  - 13 Jul 2017
    10:10 pm
Never knew there was an age limit for trampolines, but must admit mine were much older before they started to jump on one.

- - natct said
  - 13 Jul 2017
    7:34 am
My son got a trampoline when he was 3 and now at 10 has never had an accident or fall and there is no net as they are too dangerous here. The wind can catch in the net and flip the trampoline so they won’t even sell them here. My youngest has been on the trampoline with her brothers as the three usually bounce at the same time and apart from a few small mishaps there has never been an issue. She has been bouncing since she could walk and at 4 has never had a problem. Hope Colton makes a good recovery.

- - rachel1970 said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    4:41 pm
Actually my friends son broke his leg in two places at a blow up type trampoline place!

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    10:47 am
Wow! I had no idea this could happen- only parks I’ve considered have specifically stated an age limit and my kids were too young.

- - rovermum said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    9:41 am
Ooh, this poor boy. Does this only apply to trampoline parks for kids of this age? Is there something stronger and sturdier about their tramp material vs a backyard tramp? Interesting to note, but I’ve never loved trampolines and particularly don’t like the new enclosed version. Accidents waiting to happen.

- - taynik46 said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    7:10 am
who knew that bouncing on a trampoline had an age recommendation! – I have been to a trampoline indoor facility and was worried about my girls bumping heads or something on there.

Poor Colton, I hope he makes a full recovery

- - Ellen said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    4:34 am
Aw bless you, poor little darling ! Hope Colton recovers well and soon. Thanks for the warning.

- - june11 said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    8:57 pm
Thanks for the warning. Does this article refer to trampolines with nets around them? I know a 2 year old who has just been given a “springfree” one with a very high net attached around it.

- - youngoldlady said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    8:42 pm
Never knew there was an age limit for these. My four year old’s do not go to these places as I am worried some other child might bump them. They do have a trampoline that has a handle for keeping them stable.

- - BellaB said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    3:11 pm
I knew to be careful, but I didn’t know of the age recommendation. Thanks.

- - mom206279 said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    3:10 pm
Wow! Poor little kid. I never knew they had to be over 6.

- - nealsq said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    1:38 pm
I didn’t know they were 6 years and over, thanks for sharing and I hope little Colton feels better fast!