November 26, 2012
Injury prevention is the key to longevity in sports and activity. This is not to say that risk avoidance is preferable to smart activity.
For example, are all trampolines bad since the rate of injury is so high? I would say no. Our job is to teach our children safe trampoline use techniques and also provide a netted and well maintained trampoline.
When I see a trampoline without side netting, my first thought is that the risk of serious injury is greatly increased. My children know that the house rule is no jumping on trampolines without the netting.
Trampolines provide a medium for children to learn better positional sense in space. This will actually help them prevent injury when falling down in a sporting event.
Why is it that as we age we don't tolerate motion well, yet as a child we can go for long car and boat rides without issue? As we age, we spend less time rolling and playing causing our vestibular system to be less tuned to position sense in space. Then a long car ride becomes a nauseating event.
The answer is to get back on the trampoline with your children. Roll, spin and live as a child and smile.
Guided lives - not excessively controlled,