They have an entire webpage, entitled, “Babies sleep safest alone,” that pretty much misleads parents, in my opinion. While the page correctly states that co-sleeping can be dangerous, they fail to make clear that it is only considered dangerous in some very specific circumstances. In fact, parents can co-sleep with they children perfectly safely if they follow some easy (and pretty logical) rules. (See this page, from La Leche League, that lists the ways to co-sleep safely).

Here are some of problems that are caused by the above campaign:

• The webpage for the campaign actually seems to group the danger of SIDS with supposed (but wrong) presumptions that co-sleeping is dangerous. This is completely wrong and misleading. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that responsible co-sleeping with infants can actually reduce the rates of SIDS.
• Speaking of reducing rates of SIDS, breastfeeding also reduces the chance of your baby dying of SIDS. And what action can parents take at night to help their breastfeeding relationship? Co-sleeping! Of course, many breastfeeding parents successfully nurse their children and do not co-sleep. But many parents do find that co-sleeping has many benefits in terms of breastfeeding: helping the mother to breastfeed frequently during the night with little sleep interruption (and thereby helping to support a good milk supply), helping parents and babies to continue to be in touch with each other during the night, and making the baby feel safe and secure.
• The campaign missed the big picture. They fail to mention the many benefits of co-sleeping, while only mentioning the dangers. Many experts, including Dr. Sears, have pointed out the many benefits of co-sleeping, and how the scientific data does not, in fact, show a real danger to babies from the practice.
• They ignore thousands and thousands of years of human history. Human mothers have been sleeping next to their babies for quite some time now. If we look at the link from Dr. Sears mentioned above, we can see how it makes sense physiologically, how it probably helped (and still helps) human infants survive. Isn’t it obvious that hubris is at work when a bunch of crib manufacturers and a few government officials (from a western country that just happens to have a terrible rate of neonatal mortality and a skyrocketing cesarean rate) decide that they should wipe away millions of years of mother-child instinct?
• They assume that all parents are idiots, who either don’t care about their babies or are too stupid to follow a very short list of rules for safe co-sleeping. I admit it – I have met a few bad parents out there. Some parents really do not seem to care about their kids very much. But even though many parents are different than me, I’m working on the assumption that most parents actually do care about their kids and want them to be safe and happy. I’d wager that most parents are perfectly capable of following a few simple suggestions on how to co-sleep safely. When the government uses erroneous information and fear-mongering to force all parents to stop co-sleeping, then we all lose out. Even the good parents are filled with misplaced fear.

If you would like to co-sleep with your baby, read this link to learn how to do it safely: Sleeping Safely With Your Baby. It’s not neuroscience. If you can learn how to drive or how to use a stove safely, you can learn to co-sleep in safety. My husband has told me on more than one occasion how much he enjoys waking up in the morning and seeing one of our lovely children crawling over to him in bed. I agree – co-sleeping rocks.

Safety

That’s the #1 issue for me – the safety of my children.  I’m not keen on an activity that has a much higher incidence of head & neck injuries.  Most, if not all, kids can recover from a broken arm or leg.  Not all kids completely recover from a broken neck or a serious spinal injury.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that trampolines NEVER be used without professional supervision.  That’s a very strong position to take, and it’s been their recommendation since 1981.  While I’m sure that there are some parents who are very, very careful with their home trampolines, most parents – like most people – won’t give it more than a passing thought.  Here’s a summary of common injuries:

Broken bones/fractures (45%, usually from falling off)

Concussions and other head injuries

Sprains/strains

Bruises, scrapes and cuts

Neck/spinal injuries (12%, usually on the trampoline itself)

It’s the possibility of spinal injury that freaks me out.  The Utah study (the % numbers above) was done over 7 years, and morethan one out of 10 kids had a spinal injury.  I feel already that the chance of injury itself is high, but the 12% is too big a chance that an injury may be much more serious.

Here are the common causes of injuries:

Landing wrong while jumping

Attempting stunts

Colliding with another person on the trampoline

Falling or jumping off the trampoline (only 28% of injuries)

Landing on the springs or frame of the trampoline

I then checked out the US Product Safety Commission for announcements & recalls.  Their Safety Alert confirms the AAP findings and adds some numbers:

The CPSC estimates that in 2001 there were 91,870 hospital emergency room-treated injuries associated with trampolines


About 93 percent of the victims were under 15 years of age, and 11 percent were under 5 years of age

Since 1990, CPSC has received reports of 6 deaths of children under age 15 involving trampolines (study date not specified, likely from 1999 or 2000)

Another CPSC study states 11 deaths from 1990-1999

Compared to biking, the death rates sound pretty good.  In 2006, 77 people died from bicycle accidents (I’m ignoring the 90% who died in collisions with cars – the total number dead in 2006 is 770).  The difference is an estimated 3 million trampolines in use vs. 85 million bike riders (and about 540,000 total annual bike injuries).

Additionally, children are actively taught to be safe on a bike by learning about traffic and common sense safety, with the majority of serious head injuries avoidable by the use of a relatively cheap helmet.  Some 45-88% of bicycle brain injuries can be prevented with a helmet, and similar increases in safety for trampolines *might* convince me that it’s worth the risk (more on risk in a bit).

Following are the safety recommendations for trampolines.  The starred items are the only ones mentioned by a major manufacturer while an online outdoor equipment store has an 18 point safety list:

Allow only one person on the trampoline at a time* (75% of injuries occur with more than 1 person involved)


Do not attempt or allow somersaults because landing on the head or neck can cause paralysis

Do not use the trampoline without shock-absorbing pads that completely cover its springs, hooks, and frame

Place the trampoline away from structures, trees, and other play areas

No child under 6 years of age should use a full-size trampoline

Do not use a ladder with the trampoline because it provides unsupervised access by small children

Always supervise children who use a trampoline* (though 50% of injuries occur while an adult is supervising)


Trampoline enclosures can help prevent injuries from falls off trampolines (28% of injuries)

Everything I’ve learned so far states that trampolines might be safe if used responsibly – VERY responsibly. Supervision by an adult is good to advise a kid who behaving dangerously, but 1) the kid might not hear, 2) the kid might not want to listen and 3) by then it might be too late.

It’s definitely not a good idea for my kids because of their age.  The Utah study notes that the average age of children was 7 and that 1/3 were less than 6.  Trampolines seem to be safer for older children and teenagers who are taught to use it responsibily, use it one at a time and are highly supervised by someone experienced and professional.  So, nay to the backyard trampolines and yea to gymnastics classes with a pro.  I imagine that a parent who gets trained by a professional would be ok as a supervisor.

Liability

My research into safety unearthed another issue that I hadn’t considered at all – liability.  In some cases, homeowner’s insurance will pick it up, but if there’s a serious injury I’m sure that the insurance company will try their best pin the blame on the homeowner.  The more likely scenario is that homeowner’s insurance won’t cover trampolines at all:

Insurance companies have watched the backyard trampolines quickly go from being a non-issue in underwriting to a factor used to disqualify a risk, and cancel homeowner insurance policies. Most Insurance companies will exclude any liability insurance coverage for household trampolines and will cancel policies when trampolines are seen during a drive by home inspection.

The main reason insurance carriers started excluding trampolines was in response to a policy statements of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which states categorically that trampolines should not be used at home, on playgrounds, or in physical education classes. Even with the proper safety measures in place.

Insurance companies have paid great attention to the latest statistics which indicate there are about three million backyard trampolines in use in the United States. With an estimated cost of medical, legal, insurance, and disability expenses resulting from trampoline accidents exceeding $270 million a year.

Some recent reports indicate trampoline injuries account for more injuries requiring emergency room treatment then backyard swimming pools do.

Insurance companies exist to make money, and if they consider the liability costs of trampoline injuries too high cover, that may be more telling than statistics on injuries and death.  The one freak accident can not only ruin the life of a child but devastate the homeowner’s financial life.  If homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover it, getting more insurance is the smart thing to do.  As one lawyer noted, it can be expensive to defend a lawsuit if you have no insurance company to pay the costs of defense.  $200-500/year makes extra insurance a very smart investment.

It is possible to hire a lawyer to write up a waiver, but I cannot imagine a sane parent signing such a document.  And you may not want to get the idea of litigation into another parents’ head to begin with.  Even with a waiver, the trampoline owner is on the hook to make sure that they have EVERY single aspect of safety and security covered.  A smart legal team should be able to make such a waiver moot.

My conclusion

My kids (3 & 5) are too young and uncoordinated to use a trampoline.  I’m so thankful that we have a relationship with M whereby he listens and understands our reasons, even if it makes him angry.  And he does get angry and he’s not shy at all at letting us know how he feels (or doesn’t feel) about us.  However, we’ve been talking for months about a gymnastics class because M has energy up the wazoo, and we’re going to make that happen right away to mitigate the effect of watching the neighbors on the trampoline (multiple kids, unsupervised and as young as 5).