Re: Trampolines
From: Julie Gallagher (jgall63gmail.com)
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2019 05:45:42 -0700 (PDT)
Trampolines are so dangerous to children that the American Academy of
Pediatrics advises against any home recreational use of trampolines. The
Mayo Clinic's guidelines for safer trampoline use include no child under
age 6 should be on it, an adult should be present at all times, and only
one child should be jumping at any time. Obviously, these guidelines are
impossible to enforce in a cohousing open space situation. Trampolines
should be in a fenced, locked back yard. I didn't know any of this until I
googled "trampoline emergency room" and the information about trampoline
injuries is pretty horrifying. It's a tough choice to make. At Cantine's
Island, one family has a trampoline on private property that's away from
the common area, but occasionally it's carried into the central green for
birthday parties (to the consternation of some). The kids have a blast on
it and none have been hurt in over a year, even though there can be four or
five kids on it at once. Yet ....

Julie Gallagher
Cantine's Island Cohousing

On Wed, Apr 17, 2019 at 1:51 PM Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <
cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> > On Apr 17, 2019, at 11:54 AM, Kathryn McCamant <
> kmccamant [at] cohousing-solutions.com> wrote:
>
> > IMHO, if those of us want who live in intergeneration communities, want
> to keep and attract families with kids, we need to be willing to make
> reasonable accommodation for kids play.... fort building, bike jumps and
> trampolines are the kinds of play many remember as favorite childhood
> memories....but the insurance companies and attorneys would likely tell us
> to forbid such things. Let's not let the fear of liabilities ruin kids
> play.  Life is full of risks, and one of them is the risks of growing up
> being better at video game play than creating your own play in the great
> outdoors.
>
> I totally agree. But the problem for some community members is the
> financial risk— some have no extra money and live from week to week.
> Another reality of diversity and generational inclusion.
>
> If a child is hurt or killed the whole community would share the risk if a
> law suit were filled. And many parents  would have to file a suit in order
> to pay their own medical bills. And the parents of neighborhood  children
> wouldn’t hesitate to sue.
>
> Part of maintaining affordability is caution.
>
> I loved the story Rob Sandelin used tell about his community and its pile
> of dirt. It was left over from digging out basements and was supposed to be
> hauled away. But the kids loved playing on it so much that it remained
> instead of being replaced by a playground.
>
> There are many  ways to be active and free and creative outdoors that
> don’t involve the relatively high risk of physical damage from unsupervised
> use of a trampoline. Unicycles? Obstacle courses?
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
>
>
>
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