Kids love this, but it’s sending them to hospital in their thousands.

Trampolines. There’s no doubt that they’re at the top of a lot of wish lists this Christmas.

And who doesn’t love bouncing on them? They’re irresistible to kids of all ages … as well as slightly tipsy adults (we’ve all been there). 

But if you read the accident statistics, you might want to tell your kids that Santa couldn’t fit one down the chimney.

Trampolines are responsible for so many hospital admissions that an official warning has just been issued in the UK. About half of all kids seriously injured at home can be blamed on trampolines. Considering that not everybody has a trampoline, that’s a pretty high figure.

http://ivillageau.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/files/1trampoline09122014.jpg Can't look. Can't look.

The biggest danger is when there's more than one person on the trampoline. If a small child lands just as an adult is jumping, the impact is the same as if that child had jumped out of a first-floor window.

The warning in the UK comes after years of scary reports in Australia. Last year it was revealed that eight kids are hurt on trampolines in Australia every day, with injuries including fractures, dislocated joints and head wounds.

In 2009, a five-year-old Australian boy died when he got tangled in a clothesline hanging above the trampoline.

Even though trampolines are becoming safer, the number of injuries is not falling. Researchers think safety netting could be giving parents a false sense of security.

http://ivillageau.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/files/2trampoline9122014.jpg This is more like it.

I have to admit, I shudder whenever my kids go to their friends' houses and make a beeline for the trampoline. All the kids want to jump on it together, and I become Nagging Mum, yelling out, "One at a time!", trying to zip up the netting and pulling out all the toys they've taken in with them.

I've got plenty of friends whose kids have broken arms or legs on trampolines, even when they weren't doing anything stupid. I don't want my children to spend the school holidays in a plaster cast. But it's so hard to get them to play responsibly on something as exciting as a trampoline.

http://ivillageau.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/files/3trampoline09122014.jpg Now this is all kinds of wrong.

If you are buying your kids a trampoline this Christmas, here are some safety tips:

Has your child been injured on a trampoline?

Want more? Try:

A unicorn that poops rainbows. And 8 other wishes to Santa.

Make sure this heartbreaking accident doesn't happen to your or your friends.