My mother emailed me yesterday to say that she’d bought a trampoline for the kids (and for her to exercise on) and asked if I’d have a talk with Army Boy about trampoline safety before they visited (which is today).
I had a minor freak out.
Now some might suggest that you can’t bubblewrap your kids. To you I say: yeah, you’re right. It’s totally too hot and they complain. A lot.
But trampoline injuries can be serious. More serious than regular sports. Mom’s backyard is all cement. The trampoline is apparently full-sized and comes with a net, so hopefully no one will crack their noggin. But it’s not so much my son I’m worried about. It’s the baby. She’s 23 months and doesn’t have that fear gene.
(Nevermind that children under six are not even supposed to be on trampolines. Not “with supervision”, just “not on” them. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/05/trampoline.html, http://www.tortslaw.com/html/trampoline.html)
So is life just supposed to suck now when she goes to Grandma’s? Is she just not allowed on that big toy out in the backyard? It’s stupid, stupid, stupid to tease a kid with a big toy. They go to Grandma’s quite regularly and I can guarantee you that she will want on it every day. Army boy is almost seven, he can understand basic safety instructions. The toddler … not so much. And not for a few years either.
What bothered me most was that no one thought to mention this to me before it was all purchased and was being set up. Yes, I know it’s not at my house so I have no say over its purchase. But if you’ve bought something that is for my kids that is potentially dangerous I want to know first. By not doing so, they undermine my authority by making a large purchase for my kids without any consultation at all. It sends completely mixed messages to the kids. Kind of like the time I didn’t want video games introduced to my son at all since I knew he’d LOVE them and want to play them all the time. He was three. Grandma introduced them. What part of “I don’t want him to play video games” was unclear. Or when they bought the loft bed that was six feet off the hardwood floor for a kid that wasn’t yet five. Then there are unknowns at work, family members I don’t trust who may be asked to watch the kids “for just a minute” while they are on the trampoline.
I don’t know if I’m coming or going right now, I have a large deadline looming and some work to do. One child has slept in and one doesn’t want to go to soccer camp because “it’s booooring”. (I’ll tell you what boring is… spending the day in your room while mommy works.)
But seriously, what would you do?
