Will Wilkoff, M.D. has seen his share of injuries from trampolines and “monkeys jumping on the bed”:
While trampolines may not generate an alarming number of injuries here in Brunswick, I can tell you that mattresses do. At least once a month we see a child who was injured bouncing on (or often off) a bed. Most of these injuries are of the superficial hematoma, split lip, chipped tooth variety. But a significant number are not so trivial. My personal list includes one ruptured spleen, one fractured femur, a couple of tibial fractures, a few handfuls of broken clavicles, and a dozen or more mild concussions.
This pediatrician from Maine feels there should be an emphasis on these other bouncy objects:
While I applaud the AAP for making its current statement on trampoline safety, it may be time to form a working group tasked with addressing the issue of bed bouncing. Currently, the sum total of our prevention effort on this risky behavior comes in the form of a nursery rhyme.
Recite along with me:
One little monkey jumping on the bed.
He fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
As a start, we should include this admonition on every mattress tag.
Read Dr. Wilkoff’s column in Pediatric News here:
Read AAP policy statement on trampoline safety here: