Do we buy a trampoline??

[dannyboyle]

Two children aged 8 and 7. Both have been on and off badgering us for a trampoline for a few years, mainly when they have been to a friend or next door.
I’ve always been a bit reticent due to stories of injuries and already having swing set etc however starting to rethink this.
Does anyone have any particular views that may help the decision process please?

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MNHQ

We bought a trampoline last year and it’s honestly been the best thing I’ve ever bought them! The swingset is obsolete now!

I've a few friends that are medics and they absolutely wouldn't have one due to the awful breaks they see. They've put the fear into me so I won't have one either! I'm thinking of a climbing frame/wall/slide combo for mine

We got one when DD turned 4 and it's been amazing. It gets her outside almost every day. We've got doctor friends who recommended the spring free ones as they're almost totally safe. Not cheap but absolutely brilliant.

Managed to get all through to teens without one. I couldn’t stop my kids going on other people’s and yes they both got bad injuries but I was never getting my kids one and I made that clear to them and why. They had swings, huge paddling pools, slides, footie goals etc.

My problem with them is that kids all want to go on and bounce together which is the dangerous part - that’s why it’s not allowed at trampoline play areas.

It depends how much you hate your neighbours.

They are very annoying to non child owning people when the DCs shriek and squeal and boing for hours on end. Plus they gawp at you over the fence.

I was so glad when the kids next door decided they were to old for theirs.

Auntie
Understand. We don’t really have neighbours however so not really an issue.

Part of my reasoning is that friends that they do go to have trampolines with no netting at all. So would rather have one at home with netting that they can get their fix on!

I've got a large one and two boys - they were 6&7 when I bought it and they're now 10&11. It was expensive but it has been absolutely money well spent - they are out there all the time, even in the near darkness/rain. They play football on it these days (not sure what the game is but I think they take turns being goalie or something). They are now old enough to go to the nearby park to play footie but for a few years, the trampoline in the garden was their favourite way to play together.

They have both been in accidents leading to A&E - 6 times between them - but none of their injuries have been from the trampoline (football, running into things, falling off things). So my view is that the trampoline is just one of MANY risks they take in their lives.

And on balance, the fun and sibling bonding they get from it is worth the risk (I let them climb trees, walk on the top of walls etc etc....all risks but part of being a child).

PS just realised my message suggests they don't go on it anymore but they do.

My GD got injured by the netting , she caught her foot in it , broke her knee . Needed an Operation and 10 months of physio

I’m always a bit at the medic friends who don’t buy trampolines for their kids. I have quite a few doctor friends and they’ve all had trampolines in the garden since their eldest was at least 2 years old. I’ve never heard of or known a nurse or doctor completely ban a fun garden toy for their children!

Get one OP. Our last one died last summer after 9 years of service. We’ve bought another bigger one this month and kids are outside everyday jumping and exercising. My children never got bored of their last trampoline and it was used constantly for years. Money well spent imo. And accidents can happen anywhere, we haven’t had any accidents on the trampoline yet (touch wood) but they’ve hurt themselves in every other way at school and away from the trampoline.

Buy one.

As kids we had ours, for years, back in the days when netting wasn’t a thing, with not a single accident...bar a drunk friend of my parents falling off. The 4 of us plus friends were always on it, larking about, making up games, doing all kinds of flips etc. Great fun.

Buy the biggest one you can fit & afford.

You’ll get a lot of ‘work of the devil posts’ - people can be very vocal about their hate of them, and be completely OTT about the ‘danger’ 🙄

We bought a normal one and dug a big whole in the garden so it’s level with the grass. Perfect solution so no height to fall off, no netting required and no accidents with 5yo and 2yo in the past 2 years. But only one on at a time, and no U2’s on trampolines because of his displacement.

Personally I wouldn't, speaking as a parent of a child who was injured on one.

DS was at a relatives on one (with safety features like netting etc) and broke his humerous- had to have an emergency op same day as the docs were worried about the blood supply to the arm. He had pins put in and then had to have another ok to take them out again.

I personally don't think it's worth taking the risk.

Absolutely not. My kids are both gymnasts (daughter elite) and more than capable of using a trampoline HOWEVER for me, trampolining is at gymnastics. It's not for messing about. Same goes for trampolining parks.

The very fact that it's all fun and games means that safety goes out of the window. Never mind possibly breaking a leg on one, you could snap your neck. Not a cat in hell's chance in this house!

No way would I get one for my dc. They've given up asking now. I had a bad injury on one when I was a teenager that still causes me pain nearly thirty years later. I know three ER doctors and one nurse and they all refuse to let their children have one. One of them told me that the top two leading causes of broken bones in children are trampoline accidents and falls from monkey bars.

There'll always be people coming along with horror stories 🙄 OP we are on are 2nd trampoline and they are the single most used toy we have ever bought. They have been worth every bit of what we spent on them.

And this is coming from a parent of a child who had 3 fractures by the age of 5. But none on the trampoline. Dd has a really nasty femur fracture just falling off her scooter but you don't hear people saying medics would never buy their kids a scooter as they're so dangerous.

They get hours of enjoyment on it, and asking as you have a betting and make sure their safe you'll be fine. Dd is a gymnast and it's perfect for working on tricky moves.

You won't regret it.

Go for it. Get a octagonal or rectangular trampoline which give an even bounce unlike the round ones which send you into the middle.

We've had one for years, very well used between 3 children and we've had no accidents (touch wood!)
They could just as easily get a nasty break falling from a swing or climbing frame in my opinion.
We have always had a safety net and I really don't like the ones without. I would say they are fairly safe if used properly and sensibly.

We got an in ground one and at 13 the gymnastic kid is still using it daily.

They are very dangerous, but there are things you can do to lower the likelihood of injury:

Buy a spring free one
Bury one so it's at ground level
Use a safety net
Have a 'one-at-a-time' rule
Keep a close eye on it and make sure it's kept in good condition

Oh and I meant to say, ban back flips etc

Ours has been brilliant.

Kids love it. Teens snog on it. Excellent for sunbathing (says the cat).

We have a spring-free, so not annoying to neighbours.

We had one set in the ground, it was great for years and had the bonus of being an easy wildlife pond when the dcs had outgrown it.

Money well spent here too. Need to get a new one this year.
No netting. No one has ever bounced/fallen off. No spring covers. Spring covers seemed to make them land their feet on the springs 🤔 Took the covers off and it's never happened since.

Have heard of two injuries from them, both were ankle injuries but nothing else and they are everywhere here! Do make sure t o set rules, if someone is getting on off, or sitting down or has fallen, the other can't bounce until they're right again, careful going by the entrance, that sort of thing.