Off Topic Trampoline parks: Super fun...or super dangerous?

[LIGYMMOM]

Very true Aussie coach. What is stuck in my mind after all of this discussion is the image of a 16 yr old boy barreling into my 9 yr old girl.

 

[Uglybetty]

Lol, we went to see a possible senior school (age 11-18) tonight and while I was busy chatting to the PE teacher about how supportive they'd be of DD's gymnastics if she needed time off etc, I looked away from DD for a few minutes. Turned around a few minutes later to see DD doing tuck jumps, pike jumps etc on a trampoline. This thread flashed through my mind and it was all I could do to stop myself running over and yelling at the teacher....don't you know how dangerous these things are!

 

[emorymom]

While I'll agree with you that for the trained athlete or kid who gets a lot of vigorous outdoor play, the risk to benefit ratio is probably too high and I don't think sports teams need to be planning team outings to them. And yes this has happened to my family twice in 2013. My kids got to have the a-hole mom.

I'll defend these places to the extent that a lot of kids are living in a subculture where they get neither, and if this is the thing they manage to talk their parents into, they need the exercise and diabetes kills too.

Could they do a lot of things safer? Heck ya. But maybe they aren't.

But even saying that, there's no reason for *my* kids to be at the tramp park.

 

[LIGYMMOM]

Ugh...just came across this posted by a friend on facebook... yeah, I think I'm getting my answer alright. 20 yr old paralyzed at a trampoline park after landing on his head.
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/225302422.html#.UkVzUeMQKHN.facebook

 

[TXCB2004]

I took my almost 6 year old to one of these and was on the edge of my seat watching ginormous kids almost knocking her down every 2 seconds. She didn't care but scared me to death. We have a mini tramp in our yard, i think well stick to that lol

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and notice that the dad is stating that these kinds of activities have "inherent risks". and then he is asking for donations. please try to understand the following as rational, thinking adults (and consider what this means if Obama/ACA goes thru):

can you all understand why these parks are bad? your health insurance policies come with a 5 million cap. when you are a child, and covered under your parents policy, these policies also have a 5 million cap. when you become an 'adult' and take on a job, you will have 'employers health insurance' or you now young adult will take on their own 'personal health' health insurance product. regardless of whether you are a child covered under your parent's policy, or you are an 'adult' with your own, these policies ALL have a 5 million dollar cap.

now, as an example, your 10 year old child has leukemia. they now must go thru ALL that is required to attempt to save your child's life. and ALL of you should know as adults what your deductibles and co-pays are. and you understand that these policy limits and charges are within a calendar year.

think...how much do you think it costs after 5 years of treatment for leukemia? i have a close family friend whose child went thru this. 7.5 million dollars and 6 years later they were forced to file "medical bankruptcy". their child is still alive 2 years later, but now has a "pre-existing condition".

i hope you are all sophisticated enough to understand that "pre-existing condition" is a fallacy. even under this new ACA under Obama, SOMEONE WILL PAY WHAT IT COSTS FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION.

are you with me so far???

okay, now...this boy has broken his neck at a tramp park. he is now a quad. if his parents are smart, they will secure an Attorney and file suit. in fact, anyone that becomes injured in one of these places needs to file suit. they are all being led blindly in to the gas chambers with rhetoric about these places being good clean fun, good exercise, the antithesis of smartphones and television, and a "safe" place for your children to go with a false sense of security in that someone is "supervising" (oxymoron and fraud) your children on a Friday and Saturday night, while their friends are at parties drinking, doing drugs and getting in to trouble.

this is not about "inherent risks". it IS about 'guaranteed risks' and the concept of 'no/zero margin of error' when you take in to account the construction of how these trampolines are set up and how they are used. the question is not 'if'. the question is 'when' someone is going to become simply injured, catastrophically injured, permanently disabled or killed in a trampoline park. if you read my historical tutorial from the New York Times from 1962, you learn that the first opened in 1959. and by 1965 all were gone BECAUSE of litigation. history repeats itself 50 years later, a pig is still a pig and the United States is having difficulty paying its bills. this includes the medical industry, how care is delivered to our population and then who pays for it. then there is Medicaid, Disablity and Social Security. These 3 deliveries of "insurance" from our Government are currently underfunded and the GAO has stated that we are headed for trouble.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

now...how long do you think it's going to take for this father/son to burn thru the 5 million dollar cap on this boy's policy? and what we don't know is what this dad does for a living. and once this policy has been exhausted, who will pay for this boy's future care? does anyone have any idea what catheters cost? diapers? wheel chairs? medications to control bodily functions and to regulate body temperature? there is a plethora of other medical procedures that this boy will have to endure for the rest of his life. and they all cost a lot of money. and money that MOST people CAN NOT afford. it doesn't matter if this boy can stay on his parent's policy until he is 26 years of age. by then, his policy will have already been exhausted of the 5 million dollar policy cap and limits.

so then, what options will his parents have? and even if National/Universal Health Care were implemented, who will then pay? maybe our members from Canada and England can pipe in here. Bog? maybe you can explain how you are taxed up in Canada in order for your National Health Care to operate such that it does. i don't think i will be believed even though i have friends up there and they have explained to me in detail how it all works. and then you can explain how this predicament would be paid for, and by who, i your system.

please understand that this is NOT about the ACA/Obama plan and the system that we currently have and which is better. it's all a governmental smokescreen to get at your money. whether it's in Canada or any other country or right here in the United States.

so then, how will this dad pay? if he files suit and receives a generous settlement, how long will those monies last in the future care of a quad? and when those funds run out, you are left with my original question...who will pay for this boy's future medical care? where will he live? how will he pay for his living expenses once his parents pass away? who will take care of his on a daily basis? if he is fortunate enough to be able to drive, who will pay for the van and costs and insurance for this boy to get his self around?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

up and until this boy turns 18, his parents will be responsible for his medical costs. if the parents do not receive donations, insurance money, etc; it is possible that these parents will be forced in to medical bankruptcy. they have NO IDEA what is about to hit them up until that point.

i know and am aware of someone in this predicament today. over 20 years later fro suffering the same injury, but not on a trampoline. this person received a settlement in the form of an annuity in which this person will be paid a minimum of 5,ooo dollars a month for the rest of their life. and then there are the agreements, or what they call "subrogation" in order for various parties to share in other costs as i have listed above. well guess what? this person can't make it on their own each month. the spouse must work in order for them to live in some sort of comfort.

so once the boy becomes 18, who will pay? i'm sure the parents will keep their son in their house and care for them for as long as their life will take them. but there will still be costs. and unless this mom and dad are millionaires, they will not be able to afford all that is involved in taking care of their son. and donations and car washes and such are a limited and timely proposition. and they will end.

are you there yet? yes, this boy will end up on medicaid, social security and disability. and whose monies support this system of insurance? why of course...US. and though our system of Democracy inures that our citizens will take care of one another with the assistance of government, can you see WHY these trampoline parks are a detriment to our fiscal responsibilities?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

put simply, we can't afford them. soon, their insurance carriers will figure them out. they will pull the plug. and without insurance they can't operate. the California regulation could not have been more timely even though i personally think that they, and the other state governments, are 3 years too late. the trampoline parks continue to spread, the injuries have and will increase over time, the paramedics and ER Doc's will scream bloody murder and will tire of seeing school aged children, not to mention kids over 18, being brought in on stretchers under the call/code that is known in their profession as ALS. ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT. and the insurance company's currently providing insurance to these morons have not acted fast enough. and they will pay for what is currently taking place even after the trampoline parks are once agin no longer in existence. ALS and these services too cost a ton of money right down to the gasoline used to pick up and transfer these kids to the hospital. gasoline that YOU are already paying for thru the various taxes that we all pay no matter where you live. these services and personnel were intended to save your child, or even you, in the event of an unexpected, catastrophic and tragic life event. acute asthma, heart attacks, seizures, fires, car accidents, etc;

if you all can't see this difference between a trampoline park and the service that they provide and the important services that medical personnel provide and deliver to the public concomitantly, then i submit that you do some research on what this all means and the costs involved on both sides of the services.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and finally, this boy will be left with a "pre-existing condition". does it matter how much that might cost or under which system of health care that will pay for it? it just doesn't matter. our current health care system will not be available to this boy because HE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO PAY THE PREMIUMS FOR THIS PRE-EXISTING CONDITION. his/parents current health care provider will be looking to subrogate the claims and medical services that will be provided to this young boy. litigation, notwithstanding a less than protracted settlement, takes time. time that this boy and his parents can't afford. the clock on the claims and costs and deductibles and co-pays and out of pocket costs began the moment he was wheeled in to the emergency room.

please don't come back with a response that suggests that we all should not do anything in our lives at all and not take any risks. this is not about that. this is about the trampoline parks and the lives that they knowingly will permanently harm or injure families and children for several years to come even after they are gone. trampolines are not toys. they are not exercise equipment. they are not intended for cardiovascular/aerobic week end warrior therapy.

trampolines are gymnastic training devices to be used only in a qualified and certified teaching school where trampolines are used and supervised to teach children how to do gymnastics. that's all.

 

[Uglybetty]

I'm going to stay well clear of politics but in simple reply to the request for an explanation of how it works in the Uk. In short we pay "national insurance" from our earnings. The rate is 12% of earnings between £149 and £797 per week and 2% on earnings over £797 per week. It covers us for pretty much all emergency, chronic and routine healthcare (minor exceptions for the employed e.g glasses, contacts, subsidised routine dental care and about £8 per prescription). It also covers us for a basic state pension, welfare benefits for the ill/unemployed and elderly care in many cases e.g. Nursing homes. In terms of the cost of NHS care, there is no upper limit....ever! If it costs £10million a year to treat you, it will be covered for however long you live. The NHS is not operated for profit.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and to clarify, my post is not political. it's not about what's the best, who's the best or Obama or not.

it's about the money. it's all the same money. OURS! and as you pointed out above, it's out of your earnings. just like ours. we pay for one another in both systems. bring a few trampoline parks to your country and it will stress your system of health care. then your costs will go up.

England has about 57 million people. the US about 360 million. so the million dollar question is...how many trampoline parks in either country would it take to bring down our current systems? sounds like a ridiculous question, i know.

and it's about the kids...being led in to the fire by charlatans and well intentioned parents. think for a moment...what if everything you know and have read about the trampoline parks were the same for gymnastics clubs worldwide?

i think you know. bye bye baby.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

http://m.clickorlando.com/news/cent...rk/-/16721250/21469070/-/12q5tot/-/index.html

 

[JakeDaly]

We rented tramp park for sleep over so place to our self it was great 800 $ but not to bad when u get enough people parents had a blast to sore for like 10 days after but fun to watch the kids flip all over

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

One of the other team parents mentioned in passing that her dd is going to a party at a trampoline park soon. It took a lot to bite my tongue. This lady is great, I like her a lot and she's generally well informed so it shocked me that she didn't seems concerned in the least.
Because I'm coming from the ballet world first, where the company girls have clauses in their contract stating no risky activities such as skiing etc, I'm guessing that gymnastics is such an individual sport that it doesn't matter (to the team) in the same way..? The gym girls haven't been specifically told not to go (to the trampoline park or anything else risky). As a parent, it's a nobrainer to me to not allow stupid things during performance or competition season, to much has been invested by the athlete/performer and the parents to invite risk... Hmmm, I think I will go ask a spinoff question.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Locking this for the moment.

 

[bogwoppit]

I removed an offensive post and issued a warning. This thread will remain locked for now.

 

[JBS]

Epic fail.