Trampoline for children - How to convince wife NOT to get one

I would guess his kids were.

 

You just lost about three-quarters of America with your actual understanding of statistics.

 

Am I missing part of the article? I see nothing that says trampoline sales have tripled, so I am not sure how you came by your dismissal of the warning.

 

He's saying the stat is thrown out there ominously but it is meaningless without context.
You need to provide context with a corresponding stat that indicates trampoline use.

For example, if I'm writing about high school football and I say that offensive touchdowns in the Quad County League were up 20 percent last year, that sounds significant.
However, if the league increased from 10 teams to 12 teams, offensive touchdowns actually stayed static. The number of teams increased by 20 percent, accounting for the increase in offensive touchdowns.
The stat outside of context is meaningless.

 

Duh, really Buck? Thanks for that primer. My point is, by the end of his post he was dealing with a statistical "conclusion" that trampolines are actually safer. There's no information to support that conclusion. No offense to Zag, but I'll probably go with the AAP's word on safety matters.

 

No, my buddy's family brought out their trampoline from storage and he got his foot caught in the springs.

 

Well, I'm sorry to insult your intelligence, but he's not drawing a conclusion that trampolines are safer. He was positing that IF three times as many trampolines are in use THEN the stats indicate better safety.
The reason, I think, he creates that hypothetical is the lack of any real comparative baseline stats provided in the Reuters piece.

To understand whether safety warnings might have led to a drop in pediatric trampoline injuries, Linakis and his team looked at data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. They found a 113% increase in these injuries between 1990-1995 and 2000-2005. During both time periods, 95% of the injuries had occurred on home trampolines.

'The "dramatic" increase was likely due to the increased availability of home trampolines, Linakis and his colleagues say. People can now purchase a backyard trampoline for about $200, they note in their report in Academic Emergency Medicine, and 1.2 million new trampolines were sold in the US in 2004.'

If you'll notice, we're getting a lot of information, but we're not provided any means of comparison. We're still not told how many trampolines were in use from 1990-95. We're not given any data for comparison.

So, we're given a comparison at the outset - twice as many trampoline injuries occurred 2000-05 as did 1990-95, but we're never given any contextual information.
Zag created a hypothetical to illustrate: IF there are three times as many trampolines in use THEN the trend indicates fewer injuries per trampoline.
I tried to create a similar hypothetical to illustrate the ommision from the Reuters report.
But since you already have a grasp of it, I'm sorry to be pedantic.

 

I am not thrilled with trampolines, only because they are usually not used or supervised properly. Even with the best parental intention, there are often more than one kid on the tramp at a time, there are often no spotters and the "safety net" give a false sense of security, especially if teh kids can bounce higher than the net itself.

If you absolutely need a trampoline, here are the design and use guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

DESIGN
• A safety pad should cover all portions of the steel
frame and springs.
• The surface around the trampoline should have an
impact-absorbing safety surface material.17
• The condition of the trampoline should be regularly
checked for tears, rust, and detachments.
• Safety harnesses and spotting belts, when appropriately
used, may offer added protection for
athletes learning or practicing more challenging
skills on the trampoline.
• Setting the trampoline in a pit so the mat is at
ground level should be considered.
• Ladders may provide unintended access to the
trampoline by small children and should not be
used.
BEHAVIOR
• Only one person should use the trampoline at a
time.
• In supervised settings, the user of the trampoline
should be at the center of the mat. The user of the
trampoline should not attempt maneuvers beyond
capability or training, thereby putting them at risk
for injury.
• Personnel trained in trampoline safety and competent
spotters should be present whenever the
trampoline is in use.
• Even in supervised training programs, the use of
trampolines for children younger than 6 years of
age should be prohibited.
• The trampoline must be secured and not accessible when
not in use

 

Get a basketball goal and let the teenage kids go wild on your trampoline.

 

Don't do it. Period.