411: Dangerous Summertime Toys and Activities

411: Dangerous Summertime Toys and Activities

Here in the Sunshine State, we are blessed with nearly year-round beach weather, during which pools are always in season and outdoor playgrounds are always in use. Still, our friends from out of state are just getting ready to plunge into summer, a time of warmth and enjoyment for students who are out of school.

While the warmest months are pleasurable in many ways, our personal injury lawyers know that summer fun can oftentimes turn into summer pain. In this blog, we are going to outline some dangerous summertime activities that children should engage in with great caution and with adult supervision.

  • Swimming in Pools
    • According to an article by MarketWatch, studies have shown that during the summer, a child drowns in an inflatable/transportable pool once every five days.
    • According to PoolSafely.gov, last summer over 200 children drowned in pools between Memorial Day and Labor Day; 143 of those children were under 5 years of age.
    • In order to protect children from the dangers of drowning in built-in pools as well as inflatable pools, parents should ensure that proper fencing is erected around the perimeter of the pool area. Furthermore, inflatable pools should have the water emptied from them when they are not in use.

 

  • Using Pogo Sticks
    • Bouncing around on these seemingly innocuous toys can lead to some serious injuries. For some reason, while parents rightly require that their children wear helmets while riding bicycles, those same parents do not require helmets to be used while jumping around on a pogo stick. The truth is, if the pogo stick hits a bump in the road, an uneven brick, or any other inconsistency on the otherwise flat surface, the rider of the pogo stick could be tossed violently forward (or backward), leading to grave wounds to the face and/or back of the head, not to mention cuts and scrapes to the rest of the body.

 

  • Jumping on Trampolines
    • The year before last, there were roughly 95,000 injuries due to jumping on trampolines – there were also 22 fatalities. In jumping on the trampoline, one not only runs the risk of falling off of the trampoline, but also of knocking into or landing on top of other people who are also jumping on the trampoline. In order to reduce the likelihood of injuries resulting from incidents on trampolines, it is advisable that only one child jump on the trampoline at a time and that protective netting be affixed to the outside perimeter of the trampoline such that the child jumping on it is unable to fall off the side.

Summertime should be a time of fun and relaxation. That said, making sure that you have fun in a safe way can increase the chances that you’ll be able to enjoy as much of the summer as possible!

Even with all of the safety tips available, accidents still happen. So, if you or a child you know has been injured in an accident due to the negligence of another, please contact us for a free consultation. You can reach us by calling 561-266-9191 or by emailing us at daronberg@build.simple.biz. Our personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg look forward to assisting you!

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