Trampoline by cartoonist Maeve O’Keeffe

Cartoons from frazzledmammy.com
Trampolines – beware of bumps, bruises and broken teeth!

Summer is here and so are trampolines – but beware of bumps, bruises and broken teeth!  Have you similar memories, dreadful disasters or funny stories to share? Post to my blog, Facebook frazzled mammy or email: [email protected] 

With the first hope of summer sunshine, out come the barbecues and garden furnishing.  We go a bit mad, don’t we, with great intentions of planting summer bedding, outdoor painting and DIY?  Not to mention dusting down the trampoline?  But beware – this innocuous apparatus can be a dodgy danger zone!   

I’m reminded of one mum’s story about her twelve year-old when playing at his cousin’s birthday party.  The kids were happily bouncing, laughing and leaping while the adults were chatting.  Bash!  Smash!  The lad tripped, his teeth and costly braces slammed against the trampoline’s metal frame.  Incisors shattered.  The brace broke and blood spurted.  What a catastrophe.

After recovery from initial shock and a frantic search for dental expertise, economic reality hit home.  And where was sympathy from Mammy?  “You eejit!  Those braces cost a fortune.  How am I going to afford a new set?”  After all, wasn’t she the mother who’d nagged him about wearing a helmet to hurling or gum shield for football?  The lad was in bits, no doubt more terrified of his mother’s wrath than broken teeth.  But years later and now a young man, he sports a gleaming smile, thanks to his mum’s persistence.  So as these springboard gadgets are revamped for another summer’s bounding, remember – a fraught mother’s temper can be far more terrifying than trampoline tooth tragedy!

Contact   blog :  frazzledmammy.com   Facebook: frazzled mammy   or e-mail:   [email protected] 

©Maeve O’Keeffe 2014

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *