Summer Safety: Are trampolines safe for children?

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Never allow more than one person on the trampoline at the same time. Credit: Frank May / PA Images

Trampolines are great fun and a good way to exercise during the summer months but they can be dangerous if you don't follow the right precautions.

Now they're a common feature in many family gardens, the American Academy of Paediatrics warned in 2012, that most injuries happen when children falls off or collide with another child.

According to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), approximately 75% of injuries occur when more than one person is on the trampoline.

Rules for children to follow:

  • One person at a time on the trampoline at all times

  • Don't try any risky stunts like somersaults or flips

  • Always try to bounce in the middle

  • To get off safely, stop bouncing then climb down, never jump off

  • Stay away from the trampoline when someone else is on it

  • Never sit under a trampoline when someone else is bouncing

  • Don't use the trampoline if it has a rip or a split in the mat

Children under six years old being particularly vulnerable to injury.

Head and neck injuries are the most serious injuries which can occur and RoSPA has urged parents that adult supervision is no guarantee of safety.