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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To cancel the new trampoline?

368 replies

ChampagneWorries · 01/03/2021 09:49

Dd 8 has been asking for a trampoline for around 2 years. I’ve always said no due to the injury aspect of them but then i came across springfree trampolines. They claim to have eliminated 90% of the injuries children have on trampolines so i decided that maybe i was being over cautious and i should let her have one.

I also have a ds who is nearly 4 but his head is larger than the proportion of his body and he is 30cm smaller than dd.

I know they will be arguing about the one person at a time thing and i am worried about one of them landing funny and causing a significant injury to themselves (more so ds due to the proportion of his head and body)

I know plenty of children have them with no injuries etc.

I ordered a springfree trampoline last night and then after a few hours i decided it wasn't a good idea and have rang to cancel it this morning.

The lady on the phone wanted to know why i wanted to cancel so i explained about ds and the worry about one of them landing funny and causing a significant injury to themselves.

She said there was alot of misinformation online about trampolines and really did the hard sell!

Am i a kill joy?
Am i being over cautious?

OP posts:
flakymate · 03/03/2021 10:45

I did trampolining at school; no one got injured. It’s more difficult than you think to cause yourself injury. Falling off would probably hurt more than “falling funny”

sadblackcat · 03/03/2021 12:02

My friend works as a carer for a young man in his twenties who is now a paraplegic after landing badly on a trampoline. They are so dangerous, he was just doing a normal flip and landed on his neck. Life ruined.

Nanny0gg · 03/03/2021 12:05

@flakymate

I did trampolining at school; no one got injured. It’s more difficult than you think to cause yourself injury. Falling off would probably hurt more than “falling funny”
Were you supervised by a teacher/coach?
Cacacoisfarraige · 03/03/2021 12:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pollymere · 03/03/2021 13:15

I'm from the generation where playground equipment was made of concrete and scaffolding poles seemingly! Kids fell off roundabouts, the top of the slide, mid swing, climbing frame etc and broke bones but it didn't stop us playing again. Try and keep them safe on it and remind them to be sensible but do get one. It's a great form of fun exercise too. They can learn negotiation and sharing too.

ItsIgginningtolooklikelockdown · 03/03/2021 13:25

Oh I forgot about that, giant slides with concrete all round, no sand/wood chip/whatever you call that softer playground surface.

Toomuchtrouble4me · 03/03/2021 18:01

They are incredibly dangerous without a net but a trampoline in good condition, with adequate side pads and a net, so long as used by one child at a time, is safe, good exercise and great fun.
I used to fill mine with play balls and zip the baby in it once he was crawling and then have a long peaceful coffee in the garden - heavenly!

Toomuchtrouble4me · 03/03/2021 18:03

@sadblackcat

My friend works as a carer for a young man in his twenties who is now a paraplegic after landing badly on a trampoline. They are so dangerous, he was just doing a normal flip and landed on his neck. Life ruined.
Did he fall badly or fall off? I too know of an adult who this happened to but he fell off - no net.
Toomuchtrouble4me · 03/03/2021 18:05

@cyclingmad

If my kids want to jump up and down they get a skipping rope
yes but they'd have more fun on a trampoline
Cacacoisfarraige · 03/03/2021 19:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

stayathomer · 03/03/2021 20:02

I'm from the generation where playground equipment was made of concrete and scaffolding poles seemingly!
We had the craziest monkey bars in our school, it was mad they were allowed as long as they did (I knew one girl who broke her arm, another who broke her leg). Amazing fun though!!!

eatsleepread · 03/03/2021 20:14

Overcautious, definitely.

amispeakingenglish · 04/03/2021 00:37

Friend of mines Australian relative was paralysed by coming off one so risk is real, you just have to enforce saftey rules and have a net.

amispeakingenglish · 04/03/2021 00:43

@stayathomer
and very high slides, steep steps, hardly any sides. Roudabouts that you scooted and you could get foot stuck underneath. Swings made of very hard wood, no saftey fence so you could and did hit people! We had metal climbing bars in our junior school playground, I fell off on my head! We also went out to play all day without our parents hovering over us, we climbed trees and paddled in brooks etc. Ice slides in our school playground on a hill, my friend came down too close behind me, went over me & broke her arm. Go Karts with no brakes...... & so on. We loved climbing 6' wooden ladders & jumping off. But what FUN we had......

Nat6999 · 04/03/2021 01:32

If it isn't trampolines it will be something else, I can remember my brother arriving home after falling off his BMX after riding the bumps in the woods saying he had grazed his elbow, the skin on his elbow was hanging off & you could see the joint. Then there was the time he jumped off a wall at his friend's house, got tangled up in the washing line & landed on his head, split his head open & had concussion & the time he went to a rollerdisco, fell & broke his arm. My ds managed to slip on the ice in the playground & broke his wrist. We had to take my brother to A & E so many times they should have named the building after him, nowadays SS would have been asking questions but he was just a kid who saw something he wanted to do & did it without thinking. We spent so many Saturday afternoons getting him stitched up or put in plaster. You may decide to not buy a trampoline but your dc may decide to climb a tree & fall or try to do a stunt on their bike & fail in mid air like my brother did. Get a trampoline but make sure it has a good net & set some rules, chances are they will be perfectly safe, you only hear of the children who have accidents, not the thousands who don't.

JustLyra · 04/03/2021 02:47

I wasn’t keen on one, but in the end caved. Ours in sunk into the ground and has a high net. I was/am super strict though. No more than one child at a time (we have a noisy timer that was used when multiple kids want to play), no flipping, no toys on it other than a soft ball and the net had to be properly secured. Any breach of rules had that child banned from it for a month. I told them that if any of them needed banned a third time then they’d be banned until they were 16 - thankfully never needed to test my resolve on that one so far!

I’ve never known a kid injured from playing normally on it. Any story I’ve ever hear about a broken bone or injury has always been no net, damaged/weak net or multiple kids on it at the same time.

Familyshopper · 04/03/2021 07:46

Can you even get a helmet for him with such an abnormally large head

Familyshopper · 04/03/2021 07:49

It’s a freak accident ! As a kid I was a gymnast did flips everywhere we constantly flipped on the sofa my parents didn’t take that away in case we broke our necks & just for the record our necks are still perfectly fine 😬😬

Dontforgetyourbrolly · 04/03/2021 07:55

Yabu for dithering. If u didnt want to get one you shouldn't have ordered it . Now the kids are excited after having such a shit year ( kids in general!) Then yabvu

isthismylifenow · 04/03/2021 08:15

I had a trampoline as a kid, broke my arm falling off my bike.

My dc had one too and my dd brokr her arm jumping off a swing.

In fact, I recently gave it away. (My Labrador loved it, and it was great for defrosting meat on if it was last minute and it was a great storage area for pool noodles and lilos) and we were having a discussion about when we were kids, everyone had a bit of story of landing on or doing through a trampoline spring. Accidents happen.

Nanny0gg · 04/03/2021 12:56

@pollymere

I'm from the generation where playground equipment was made of concrete and scaffolding poles seemingly! Kids fell off roundabouts, the top of the slide, mid swing, climbing frame etc and broke bones but it didn't stop us playing again. Try and keep them safe on it and remind them to be sensible but do get one. It's a great form of fun exercise too. They can learn negotiation and sharing too.
So am I. We were lucky to escape unscathed. Should we go back to those days?
Nanny0gg · 04/03/2021 12:58

[quote amispeakingenglish]@stayathomer
and very high slides, steep steps, hardly any sides. Roudabouts that you scooted and you could get foot stuck underneath. Swings made of very hard wood, no saftey fence so you could and did hit people! We had metal climbing bars in our junior school playground, I fell off on my head! We also went out to play all day without our parents hovering over us, we climbed trees and paddled in brooks etc. Ice slides in our school playground on a hill, my friend came down too close behind me, went over me & broke her arm. Go Karts with no brakes...... & so on. We loved climbing 6' wooden ladders & jumping off. But what FUN we had......[/quote]
I had fun rattling around the back of my uncle's van with my cousins. Standing in the footwell of my dad's car.

Should we go back to those times too?

ChiefBabySniffer · 04/03/2021 13:31

I have raised 4 kids. They had a 14ft trampoline with net etc and we never had a single injury desire my two teenage boys being pretty silly at times. Then my youngest daughter stopped at a keen on her scooter, looked both ways and somehow slipped and fell sideways. From standing! Broke both of the bones in her arm and needed several surgical interventions to correct it.

Get the spring free trampoline for god's sake.

My nan raised us and worried terribly about risk regarding everything . My life is so stressful as an adult. I can't use public toilets because of gems, I can't go into the sea more than an inch or two. I even struggled to eat at independent restaurants that aren't 5 hygiene rated so eating in other countries is a constant nightmare. The thought of eating a burger on the sea front makes me want to vomit. I've had years of therapy because she was such a worrier that anything remotely fun was all hands wringing and "but you COULD get hurt"

GreatTeaMonkey · 04/03/2021 13:41

I’m a children’s nurse. My kids have a trampoline.

weightedblanketlove · 04/03/2021 13:42

I work with children in the nhs. Yes there are some trampoline injuries. There are also life changing biking injuries, kid's falling out of Windows, car crashes, tv's falling on kids, buggies falling off steps. I am also seeing a huge amount of unfit kids post lockdown that may have life long consequences from not getting out to playgrounds etc.

Tbh I have come to the conclusion life is for living. Reduce the risk by using nets and having one child on a time on.

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