If you have more than one DC and a trampoline...

[ICantPretend]

Do you enforce the one child at a time rule?

It's what puts me off getting a trampoline, surely this results in lots of fighting, and/or me having to stand out there constantly overseeing turns.

Or is there a better way for them to use it safely without constant squabbling?

I have a 12ft one for my almost 3yo and 4yo. There's no issues with fighting (or maybe I just don't hear them and they work it out!) and they don't seem to bounce high enough to hurt each other. It's maybe more of an issue with a bigger age discrepancy or just older kids?

We had one as kids (4 of us) with no nets and safety pads that fell off a lot and no one ever actually got properly injured on it. We were pretty cautious kids though.

Ah, see lots of positive stories but I read this and think twice ...

I did have an incident where youngest broke a wrist after eldest bounced and sent her flying ( we have a net just landed awkwardly on trampoline itself). Five years between them.

I now have a two max same size rule. Youngest are twins and eldest two weigh roughly the same. It is more fun with another so I feel like I’ve found a balance.

But lots of children break their arms in all sorts of ways. My DD did it when she fell over in a flat field.

Yes there is a risk of injury with a trampoline but there's a risk of injury with lots of things. There are lots of precautions you can take eg netting, zipped up, no tricks etc. Now we have teenagers our trampoline has become almost like an extra room. They sit on it in the sun and chat away for hours, which is lovely to watch.

Here we go.

You leave it to the kids to figure out themselves and stop being a helicopter parent. Back off and relax a bit.

No they both go on at the same time, can’t remember if it’s 12 or 14ft.

Only rules are no shoes, zip done up at all times, no handstands when on together.

They go on every day in spring/summer and it’s great exercise so for us the benefits outweigh the risk. I broke my arm really badly while out running.

Incorrect. The study you are referring to, which you obviously haven’t read, estimates that up to half of child activity-related admissions may be trampoline related. Activity related means they were doing a sport or recreational activity at the time. So a child admitted to A&E with breathing difficulties or having been in a car crash or any number of other reasons doesn’t count.
Stop getting your information from Daily Fail headlines or worse, other MN posts.

My understanding is it’s more of a risk when there’s a big size difference. My dc are v close in age so they & their friends are all similar sizes which probably helps. I don’t let adults on it with dc as from what I read that accounts for a lot of accidents (esp with alcohol involved).

I never wanted a trampoline but MIL bought one anyway (!) And tbf it has been much loved and used for over 7 years now without injury (touch wood).

I would add to this, check your net for UV damage after a few years, one of my DC's went through the net and ended up in a flower bed. Saying that, as others have said, they all bundled in together, a few bumps as expected, nothing serious. It was a sad day when it had to go (due to them going off to uni and not living at home)

We have a few rules for our trampoline but non of them include only 1 child at a time.
Our rules are normal safety rules like no shoes, zip fully down, no bouncing whilst someone is getting on/off, flips/tricks only when on solo, don't jump into the net and don't scream and shout.
They never used to come with nets but it's standard now.
Have 4 kids and the only injury we've had was a bit of a bloody nose and it was actually not a result of the trampoline because they were sat down but my youngest DC threw himself at his sister without warning. He got the bloody nose.

I lied up there - I’ve just remembered there was an incident on our trampoline that sent a child to the ER.

Some years we get a lot of caterpillars that shed hairs that cause allergic reactions. Our trampoline had sat unused for several years under the trees so presumably a lot of the caterpillars had fallen on it. A neighbour’s child jumped on the trampoline, had a huge reaction and had to go to the ER.

Well caterpillars was not a trampoline hazard I was worried about!

A friend of mine who is a doctor told me that the reason there are so many trampoline related injuries is that kids spend so long on them - bouncing for literally hours at a time. Whereas most activities they do for shorter periods of time. She reckons that per hour spent they have a similar rate of injury to other activities. And obviously it's good for kids to be healthy and active, so you have to weigh up the risks.

If you enforce that rule then I agree it's not worth getting. Mine went on together plus half the neighbourhood kids and thankfully all was fine. We had a few bumps over the years but no breaks. Even so, I would take the risk of a break and a trip to A&E any day. The trampoline was the best thing we ever got, kids are older now but spent hours there. From jumping as little ones to practising gymnastics flips as bigger kids. The people who don't let kids go on together are also the ones who don't allow kids climb trees or get dirty in mud or whatever. Kids should be kids if that involves some risk so be it, the benefits to their well being far outweighs the risks.