electrostatics - How can I prevent my son building up static on his trampoline?

Whenever my three year old son plays on his trampoline, it doesn't take very long for him to start building up a significant amount of static electricity. His hair stands on end (which is quite amusing), but when I help him down we both get a nasty static shock (which is not amusing).

He finds the shock upsetting, and I'm concerned that it will discourage him from enjoying his trampoline.

How can I prevent the build-up?

One suggestion I have seen on a parenting forum is to ground the trampoline frame with a cable and a metal stake. However my understanding is that this would enable him to discharge by touching the frame (rather than me), but it would not prevent the static occurring in the first place.

If it's relevant, it's this trampoline and is on a grass lawn. My son bounces in his socks, no shoes. In case of link rot, it is an 8ft trampoline with a net enclosure.

Answer

Four possibilities come to mind, in decreasing order of feasibility:

1. 
   

   Is barefoot an option? I'm willing to bet it will significantly mitigate the buildup of charge.

   
   


2. 
   

   The two of you only experience a shock on contact because you are at different electric potentials. If you can't keep him at your potential, why not try to join his? Before helping him down, perhaps you could rub your (sock- or sneaker-) clad shoes on a thick rug kept near the trampoline. Then make sure the first surface he touches is a mediocre conductor (the ground may very well be sufficient). Unless he has an extreme buildup of charge, he probably won't notice the slow discharge through his feet this way.

   
   


3. 
   
   

   In labs containing sensitive electronic equipment, people often wear grounded wrist straps. If you are always connected to ground, you can't build up much of a charge. Of course, this could hamper more extravagant displays of acrobatics.

   
   


4. 
   

   In case all else fails, here's a last, entirely untested suggestion. You could try to either ground or insulate the trampoline surface itself. For instance, take some very thin wire (as in, thickness of a strand of hair, so it can't be felt through the trampoline) and run it under the trampoline. Basically, affix a grid of wire to the underside (leaving slack to allow for the trampoline surface to deform) and ground it. If charge has a harder time building up on the surface, it has a harder time building up on your son. Alternatively, engage in materials experimentation. There may very well be a spray-on coating that can be applied to the top of the trampoline surface that happens to reduce the chances electrons will be knocked free of it.