Kids and skateboards= injuries

Phyxius · #1 10/30/2007, 07:59 AM

How many of you lucky parents have had the lucky fortune of having your child get into the skateboard fad?
I think I`m putting a stop to the fad in my household as of today. Son has been riding them for yrs now and I never liked them. When I was in the 6th grade in the 70s I was doing an Evil Kenevil(?) freestyle down the hill by my house and did a major tumble. Shattered my knee and spent a long time in PT. Father made my skateboard disappear after that one.

Jump ahead to my son....At age 9 he was sitting on the board flying down the hill by our house here and got his fingers under the wheels. Result was surgery on 2 fingertips to repair the damage. Next day he was back riding but saying it was ok because he was keeping his injured hand held up....
11 yrs old and takes another dive resulting in a severe sprain to his wrist and ankle. He recovered and my sister in law gave him yet another board for his Birthday a few weeks later.
Yesterday at 14yrs old he was off school for district teachers work day. Riding with buddies he took yet another spill landing on his wrist. 2 fractures to the bones in his wrist breaking the distal radius and ulnar bones. Wife spent a few hrs at the hospital with him last night and I get to take him to the orthopedic Dr today to have it set properly and casted. They put it in braces and wrapped it all up to keep him comfortable for the night till we get there today

I think its time for me to make his skateboards disappear also. I know kids are kids but the injuries seem to be getting bigger and better as he goes. Luckily none have been a head injury but who knows when that will happen.

Just curious if others have kids into things that cause them injuries and wish they were not...I know when my daughter first started riding horses at the age of 7 and was jumping these monster size horses at age 8 over jumps most adults gawked at it made me REAL nervous. Shes 19 and still competes regularly but I have gotten a little more comfortable with it now.

Aliie · #2 10/30/2007, 08:24 AM

I'm sorry your son is hurt yet again and I really hope he gets better soon.

He doesn't seem to be taking his injuries very serious when HE SHOULD. These injuries will effect him later in life even if it is minutely. I don't want to scar you but thought you should know.... my son's friend was a skateboarder and fell as they do, got lots of small scrapes and a few minor cuts here and there. He got a staph infection from one of them and never recovered, he was 14 years old.
Seeing his parents and sister bury him was something I'll never forget, not to mention the students that were effected. Soon after that there was a sharp decline in the skaters eagerness to do wild jumps and take high risks. Most just skated for the fun and thought more about what it might do to them.
Like I said I'm not trying to scare you but you might want to mention this to him just because it happens and they are not invincible like they seem to think. My son recently had MRSA and had to have emergency surgery to save his finger and now has permanent damage from the infection.
Tell him he is more important than skating and you would be devastated if you lost him. Hope all goes well with the transition.

kevy_kev1 · #3 10/30/2007, 09:01 AM

I skateboarded for about 15 years and all those injuries sound about par for the course. Multiple broken fingers, bones, rolled ankles and many pulled muscles. But if I could do it again I would do it all over the same way. It was some of the best times of my childhood when we were out there riding around.

dc · #4 10/30/2007, 09:08 AM

I can't even imagine. Seems like there's a limit to what a parent should allow for their kids safety. Unfortunately all that fun will come back to haunt him.

uscgbeachbum · #5 10/30/2007, 09:08 AM

I skated for years while growing up. As kevy said those injuries are pretty normal for skateboarding. Of course it also sounds like they aren't wearing their safety gear. While I did break my wrist while skateboarding (got wristguards from Santa that year) it is virtually impossible to break a wrist with a wristguard.

crp · #6 10/30/2007, 10:10 AM

Brandon skates. Never broke anything or needed stitches yet but he's had quite a few bumps and bruises.

The funny part about this is all of his cousins and best friend laughing. Also notice, it's Take 2!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoid=17063235

J. Montgomery · #7 10/30/2007, 10:14 AM

A friend of mine (mid-20s) recently broke his ankle skateboarding and ended up with a plate and six screws holding everything together!

Sk8r · #8 10/30/2007, 10:14 AM

He likes the 'flying' sensation---many of us do. Ice is a LOT safer...for one thing, because you do it only on a specific surface which can't be had on the street. If you've got a local rink, get him on skates and put a helmet on him while you're at it. The kid will still get bumps and bruises, but unless you stick your hand or face under somebody's skates or use your elbow for a one point landing, you're not going to the ER over it. Talk him into learning figures: hockey's great, but if he wants to jump and spin, let him try a triple axel...he'll get thrills enough learning to land that, and you sit in the stands, sip a nice hot drink, and applaud on cue.

LauraCline · #9 10/30/2007, 10:44 AM

This might be the unpopular answer here but, if he were my son - the skateboard would be already be gone. 2 of the 3 injuries you've described sound fairly serious. So far he's been lucky that it hasn't been worse but those injuries may have an impact on him in the future (take it from me, when I was 12 - I fractured my leg in 13 places while rollerskating). Besides the safety factor, there's also the financial impact of the doctor visits, time off work/school, prescriptions, etc. Not to mention worrying the daylights out of you. He will probably be ticked off at you for a while for it but he will get over it. Parents have the duty to keep children away from something that is repeatedly causing serious injuries.

Phyxius · #10 10/30/2007, 10:58 AM

Sk8r,
Not many rinks here in NC but thats a good idea. Growing up in NY we could skate at the parks, rinks and the frozen Barge canal in the winters. Let him work out his energy and get some speed also.

Actually can get him to wear the helmet all the time but hates to wear any other gear. He actually made a comment a little while ago that he may cool it for awhile so maybe the pain and injury factor is setting in.

Aliie,
No worry about the scare factor as we have lived it already. If you can get it he has probably tried to. At 4 yrs old he spent a week in the hospital with Meningitis and that was a good scare.
He has had both staph and septic infections in the last 2yrs. Has a nice nickel sized scar on the back of his knee that the Drs believe may have come from a bite but got nasty fast. It actually created a hole you could stick your finger in and had to be packed for awhile and dressings changed constantly. They were bombarding him with drugs so it wouldn't get into his system and create major problems. The tell you if it spreads into his organs it could end up possibly fatal and that will scare you. He has broken his foot, stitches to his ear from jumping off the bed at 6(Superman can only fly in the movies he now knows) and hitting window sill, sprained ankles, stitches in arm, broken fingers and etc.

Love my kids and don't see why he continues to do things that can create some minor and major injuries knowing it has happened before and can happen in the future. Surgery, stitches and broken bones really does not seem like its a "Good" recreational idea. I prefer him to stick with his RC trucks and get outside with his friends that way. Soccer and baseball teams are his other likes that have brought no more than scrapes home over the years.
The thrill factor is getting a little over rated in my wifes book right now. When he did it yesterday we didn't even know about it for 2 hrs before one of his friends thought he should tell us our sons wrist was getting huge.

My views are changing in my old age as I rode skateboards, rode dirt bikes, built forts in trees 20ft off the ground, had bottle rocket wars, shot crab apples at each other with sling shots and other stupid things. I look back now and realize I really shouldn't be here with some of the dumb stuff we did for a thrill. I want my kids to live a pain free life and outlive me if at all possible.

Aliie · #11 10/30/2007, 11:02 AM

I hate that you and him have already gone thru this. Unfortuantely his is more apt to get it again. He's made it thru a lot and maybe he thinks it's no big deal but later in life he'll regret the aches and pains he'll have from it all. I hope you can come to a common ground on this....if not pull out the "I'm the MOM that's why"

Phyxius · #12 10/30/2007, 11:14 AM

Aliie,
It will have to be the "I`m the DAD thats why". Wife has already done it to him. I`m home with him today since we went to the Orthopedic guy and they set his wrist and placed it in a brace and temp cast. Thurs they will hard cast it after the swelling has gone down. It will be good time for a heart to heart talk about all this. Maybe we can come to terms on a safer and more controlled version of these activities. Hate to take away all his likes but just make things safer and less Dr/hospital likely in the end.

Aliie · #13 10/30/2007, 11:19 AM

Oh sorry Mike, not paying attention to the sig line. Sometimes I'm the dad works better anyway. At their age, my son is 15, they sometimes can understand a good heart to heart better than being told. Just make sure he knows it's only out of love for him and not hate for the sport. Makes it a slight bit easier for them to accept.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Sk8r · #14 10/30/2007, 11:20 AM

24 ice rinks in NC, but none in Durham. Google 'ice rinks North Carolina' and maybe there's one near enough to reach.

I wish the young fellow luck and SOMETHING less damaging. Gymnastics, maybe?

dc · #15 10/30/2007, 11:29 AM

The boy is definately a thrill seeker, hopefully you can keep him down. Sounds just like one of my nephews, it was a long 18 years for my sister.

Fat Man · #16 10/30/2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phyxius
How many of you lucky parents have had the lucky fortune of having your child get into the skateboard fad?

Considering I got one about 45 yrs ago I hardly call it a fad.

You could always buy him a dirt bike.

Altpers0na · #17 10/30/2007, 02:14 PM

i say keep the board.

most of the bad skating injuries are due to bad decisions. your not going to change his decision making habits by taking away the board...

i would also make him sit thru some episode of scarred. nothing but extreme accidents w/ video... hard to watch... sorta faces of death but they lived..

TOURKID · #18 10/30/2007, 03:04 PM

Is he any good? I wished my parents would have helped me out with my hobbys. there are alot of people making a life out of skateing. columbus has more than a few skate parks. huge professional ones.. id assume the wood would have to be a lil safer than asphalt with pebbles n stuff.

My mom took away a few of my assperations because of grades (ballet/jazz, violin etc) I still havent forgiven her... eventually got a loud guitar instead.. lol

JJ21 · #19 10/30/2007, 03:53 PM

my one friend broke his arm while jumping stairs on a skateboard. It required a bunch of plates and screws, and now his arm is all deformed. Tell him to keep and always wear a helmet and safety gear no matter what. Even if he says that other skaters make fun of him for it, he WILL be glad for it when he sees some of them ending up in wheelchairs and possibly worse. Plus it gives you more peace of mind. Didn't mean to scare ya, just trying to help your son keep safe doing what he enjoys.

amoryodio · #20 10/30/2007, 04:05 PM

Last year I got 12 stitches across my nose and upper eye area after my board shot out on a handrail and I hit my face on the rail....somehow my skateboard got "stolen" after I refused to pay my dad back for the $800 doctor bill. (he made me go to the ER, so i wasn't going to pay for it) Luckily, my cousin got me a new one like 4 days after because it was my b-day.

My dad didn't really like that gift...oh, and there is still blood all over the concrete by the handrail where i hit my face...lol...

dc · #21 10/30/2007, 04:28 PM

LOL, well kids fail to see that sometimes we're just trying to keep them alive. Live your dreams when you are an adult and can afford it.

TOURKID · #22 10/30/2007, 05:15 PM

dc.. how can we live our dreams as adults?
we are much more cautious... more responsibilities...
the dreams change...

we gotta be around for bills.. pets.. a husband or wife. the best yrs of my life (so far) were between 17-20. Id go back in a minute. but i wouldent change a thing

sure would like to go back...

Fat Man · #23 10/30/2007, 05:32 PM

It's funny how behavior changed when I was no longer on mommy and daddy's medical insurance.

shouldabenacowboy · #24 10/30/2007, 06:03 PM

Wrap him in bubble wrap and lock him in his room....that will cure the situation. If he hurt himself multiple times riding a bicycle would you take that away?

just curious
SBC

dc · #25 10/30/2007, 06:10 PM

LOL, good idea...