Don’t swing your grandkids by their arms

If you have grandchildren, have you ever been asked to give them a swing by their arms when you’re playing? While it might seem like a bit of harmless fun, there is now a serious reason why you shouldn’t be doing it.

Experts have issued a warning to parents — and in turn grandparents — that despite the desperate please of children for a swing, doing so by the little one’s arms is a definite no-no.

Because your young grandchild’s joints aren’t properly developed and their ligaments are looser when they’re little, picking them up by their arms and swinging them around has a greater risk of arm dislocation, where the radius bone in the arm gets pulled from the joint.

Such an injury is more commonly referred to as Nursemaid’s Elbow or Toddler’s Elbow and is often experienced by children between the ages of one and four. It occurs when the arm is yanked.

Naturally, it can be quite painful, and the only way to treat it is for a health care professional like a doctor or nurse putting the bone back into the correct place.

While some children are more prone to this occurring than others, the whole thing is avoidable by simply not giving into temptation and declining whenever the grandkids ask for a swing by their arms.

Have you heard of Nursemaid’s Elbow or Toddler’s Elbow? Do your grandchildren ask to be swung by their arms when you’re playing with them?