To not let 4 year old go to trampolining party?

[thegreatestgiftthatipossess]

My 4 year old (with hyper mobility) has been invited to a trampolining birthday party. He's never been to one before because I've read it's not safe for under 6s. I've also got a few doctor/nurse friends who said they would never in a million years allow their children to use them.
I wouldn't be able to go on the trampolines with DC, as I will have recently given birth.
Am I being over cautious in missing the party? Also not sure if I should be honest with the mum (a good friend) or say we already have plans.

My point is that, without any specific instructions to avoid any activity, I was forbidden to do anything, which had the effect of worsening my condition. And I was fucking miserable.

Maybe put him on the sofa with an ipad

My point is that, without any specific instructions to avoid any activity, I was forbidden to do anything, which had the effect of worsening my condition. And I was fucking miserable

Mitzi I do get how unfair that would see when you were young but at the other end of the scale, my DD wasn't diagnosed with hEDS until she was 9.

She was a very sporty, very competitive kid & because we didn't know how dangerous it was for her, we let her do anything & everything & she often excelled at different sports, even competing inter county. Unfortunately due to the hEDS she had a constant stream of injuries from relatively minor accidents, which led to the diagnosis, but has also left her with ongoing pain in all of the sites of her old injuries & unfortunately that's a lot.

So as unfair as it felt at the time, it would have done you a big favour

That’s a singularly obtuse response Vulpine.

Nobody is saying that the child should never do any physical activity.

All people are saying is that the child’s condition should be managed sensibly, and medical advice should be followed. It is common for the hypermobile to be advised by experts (ie not A.N. Other member of the public who knows fuck all about the condition but nevertheless doesn’t ‘believe’ in it, but a properly trained doctor or physiotherapist) to avoid trampolines.

I was advised - by both a physio and a paediatrician- not to let my very hypermobile four year old on them. As somebody who is hypermobile myself, I bloody wish my parents had been advised properly on how it should be managed, or I wouldn’t be suffering the daily pain I do now.

For the idiot at the back who likes to comment crap when they clearly don't have a clue ...
Taken from the NHS website, which aren't known to be great with understanding hEDS

It would be hard to find a professional dancer or competing gymnast who isn't hypermobile.

And it didn't do me any favours to be sat in the armchair watching TV when everybody else was doing what I wanted to. The absence of muscle tone meant my joints were so unstable, I developed spinal problems aged 13.

Strangely, since I've been doing exactly those exercises - which they still don't suggest anyone bans on the off-chance, they say avoided for longer, which indicates a recent diagnosis/injury/increasing joint stability by strengthening the muscles - I haven't had the joyful sensation of relocating my shoulder from where it's poking halfway out of my back where someone has pushed past me on the bus, multiple steroid injections or dropping to the ground because my hip has come out.

No idiots over here at the back. Just one who is pretty pissed off that Psoriatic Arthritis has rushed to fill the space that hEDS filled at first. And that children are still facing the 'Can't do anything, you'll only hurt yourself if you do' experience forty years after my mother was not told to stop me from doing any activity I wanted.

@Vulpine yes that's right, because I won't allow my 4 year old with a medical condition go to a busy trampoline park with loads of excitable kids and I won't be able to watch them with a newborn, ALL physical activity or educational/enriching activities simply must be ruled out. The only alternative to trampolining is sitting on a sofa with an iPad.

You know there's more to life than trampolining, right? However did kids of the 80s and 90s manage to do anything before trampoline parks became a thing? Did we sit on our arses all day because of a lack of trampolines?

I'd decline via text if possible, something like, thanks so much for the invitation, unfortunately whatnot has hyperlinking so can't do trampolines. Perhaps your child would like to come to us for a play date though?

It's a standard joke that there's regularly an ambulance parked outside our local trampoline place. YANBU at all.

It would be hard to find a professional dancer or competing gymnast who isn't hypermobile.

Agreed, but they do tend to pay for it in later life! Whether the game is worth the candle might vary from one person to another.

I agree with you, MitziK that exercise and strengthening muscles is vital for those with Hypermobility. It does, however, have to be the right type of exercise. Trampolining, for example, is unlikely to be more beneficial than it is risky for a 4 year old, as they simply don’t have the wherewithal at that age to be mindful of how they are landing. Perhaps for an older child or adult, it would be possible to bounce in such a way that knees and ankles are not hyper/extended, but I know my four year would never manage it, especially when excited. She wouldn’t be able to grasp the importance of doing so, either, in anything other than a ‘mum says’ type way.

And it didn't do me any favours to be sat in the armchair watching TV when everybody else was doing what I wanted to. The absence of muscle tone meant my joints were so unstable

Mitzi

My photo comment was not aimed at you, but at Vulpine, & I don't why you would think it was

Re this comment though. I totally agree with that, it does sound like you were let down. It's not no exercise or sport at all, but no contact or repetitive strain type sports such as trampolining. If muscle has been built up in other ways, then some who are less affected by the condition can try trampolining & other sports under hyper mobile experienced supervision. which obviously isn't this party

It IS very important to keep fit, but it needs to be done with care.

Even without hypermobility, trampoline parks are very risky for 4 year olds. If as a childminder I can't get insurance so I can let other people's children go on trampolines as the risk of injury is so high, I wouldn't risk my own children either.

I know several non hyper mobile people who have injured themselves from sprains, broken bones to a fractured spine! No way I would take a hyper mobile child. I'm not that keen on taking my kids who are not hyper mobile tbh.

Small kids,are not going to be doing somersaults in trampoline park. They will jump a few inches maybe and run around. Why don't you take him to a quiet session and see for yourself? Or go with him to the party and go on the trampoline . alongside him. At that age they just running about and jumping a little.

Hypermobility here...but exercise is good. Take dc on a quiet day and go on with them so they not trying crazy flips... Trampoline parks don't have springs popping out !

Yeah, what could possibly go wrong with small hyper children with no spacial awareness or impulse control flying through the air in a confined space?

That said, I do let my child (5yrs) play on trampolines and those types of places. She's knocked her head a few times, apologized to other children a few times for jumping into them, but generally she's had fun and so have the other kids she was jumping with.

You know what's best for your child. If you're concerned, save trampolines for another time when he's older. He's not going to miss out on childhood because he missed a birthday party.

@Embracelife Or go with him to the party and go on the trampoline . alongside him.
Not sure that's going to work with a newborn

Why is this a discussion he shouldn’t go I’m thirteen and from experience there is many risks on trampoline and if he had hyper mobility then you’ve got your answer

My DC (who has no medical problems) came off a trampoline at a party and ended up in hospital with concussion. Personally I think that any activity party for small children is mildly dangerous unless it is carefully supervised, which really means that numbers have to be small. I also know small children who've been injured on bouncy castles at parties.

The one near us seems much safer for little kids as they have a separate soft play and contained mini jump for under 5s. they also can't go on any of the more risky looking aparatus. Having said that, i still take my dc 4 in the main jumo area and have alsways found it very safe and everyone is very closely watched by the staff. Actually I would say the level of health and safety probably takes all the joy out of it for bigger kids !!

I’d duck this one gracefully if I were you. My six-year-old twins have had a few parties at these places.
They have older siblings and a trampoline in the garden so are a bit savvy but still come back with bruises and the occasional nosebleed.
At 4, with Hyper mobility and mum hampered with a newborn?
You should definitely be regretfully busy that weekend .

I live in Belgium and trampoline parks here are not for the under 7’s. My dd is 5, and even if I could, there’s no way she’d be going to one - she is tall, strong, has great balance and spends hours on our trampoline at home, but is no contest for the older, larger and rather excited children who would be there at the same time. I have no doubt she would be hurt.
Hypermobility or not, my answer would be no.

I’m a trampoline coach, for adults with disabilities. Trampolining is an inherently risky sport for ANYBODY, but there are more risks where there are physical conditions that may increase the risk of injury.

I teach adults who are hyper mobile, it’s not a condition that means they can’t do it. But it means more care needs to be taken. And the sessions are one person on the trampoline - or 1 + me.

Trampolining is has many benefits - great exercise, great fun. But it is NOT a low risk sport and needs to be learned properly imo.

I have never and will never let me kids go to a trampoline park. Scores of kids and adults, minimal supervision, multiple trampolines of varying tensions and people jumping from one to the other and their body having to cope with the shock, people not following rules and jumping more than one to a bed, people overestimating their abilities and showing off, and so on and so on.

No thank you.

DD is older with a different disability. She was aware of the invite and really wanted to go.

We went with her and ended up spending an hour sitting on a trampoline. 🤢

I'd have avoided it if I could.

I have EDS and both DC have hypermobility. I've always encouraged as much sport as possible and the results so far have been good; I limit them in terms of being silly and taking huge chances, but trampolining in sensible conditions has always been very good for them both.

I'd offer to go (and pay for yourself) so you can teach him how to jump safely and with common sense. I wouldn't refuse the invite though; most parties are fabulous when you're 4.

I have Hypermobility Syndrome, I'm almost 50 and can do the splits still even though slightly over-weight. I suffer with pain some days, but the one thing I know is that exercise of all sorts is super important to develop muscular strength, which will help combat injuries. I was a super active child but the only broken bone I had was jumping off a roof thinking I was a super-hero. Most of my HMS - "injuries" are from being in bed and "sleeping funny". Let your kid go jumping, but go with him if you're worried? I am not sure it's a good idea to wrap kids in cotton wool.
As an aside from the trampolining park, make sure your kid develops a keenness for sports which encourage core strength. i.e ironically, gymnastics.