Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to worry about trampoline with nets being safe ?

170 replies

Babieseverywhere · 06/04/2010 08:31

My parents have very kindly offered to buy our children a garden trampoline with a safety net as a joint birthday gift.

But I am worried that these trampoline look very dangerous, no facts or horrible RL stories to base my opinion on, I just think they must be dangerous...AIBU

My DH thinks I am silly for worrying and points out the children love their indoor small, low trampoline and bounce on it for hours (when it is not in the utility room as it takes up so much space in the house when it is being used.)

Our garden is totally paved if that makes a difference to the safety factor.

So what is the Mumsnet verdict on trampolines ?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 06/04/2010 10:44

In answer to the OP, I would not have a trampoline on a paved garden. No way.

We have one (on grass) and of course it's dangerous if not used properly - most things are. This will be its third summer and as yet we've had no injuries, even though DS2 managed to bounce off it (forgot to zipper up the net, will not forget it again!)

You can't stop children doing everything that is risky.

cocolepew · 06/04/2010 10:44

We've had one for a few years without incident, it's on paving stones and we weigh it down with sandbags.The DDs love it and have had hours of fun on it. I'm with cyb and Overmydeadbody on this one. OPs DCs sound a little young though, maybe a small one with a bar might be better for them.

jellybeans · 06/04/2010 10:51

Don't have one and would not on paved garden.

Romanarama · 06/04/2010 11:19

We have one, with a net, and the ds's play on it every single day after school. They go on together - if I enforced one at a time they wouldn't go on much. Sometimes they take the dog. Sometimes I go too! The fun thing is the game together. They sometimes fall and whack their heads together or cut their lips by head-butting each other by accident, but this happens only as often as when they're wrestling inside. My children always play dangerous games like leaping off the top of bunkbeds or whatever. Leaping on a trampoline with a safety net doesn't seem too dangerous by comparison. I don't let them do somersaults and the like though - at 10' it's a bit small anyway for wild tricks.

Whoamireally · 06/04/2010 11:25

We have an 8 ft trampoline on the lawn (with a net) and quite happily let dd (almost 4) and her friends out there to play. I even go out there myself with them

In contrast, we've had injuries with the bar one - for example dd put her foot through the springs at the side, slipped down and split her lip open on the bar...

I honestly think there are so many other ways that your kids can hurt themselves...scooters for example. How many kids do you see scooting along at quite a high speed without a helmet on? Loads.

Feel a bit sorry for the kids denied the joy of bouncing around just in case they 'might' hurt themselves. What a sad world we live in.

tinierclanger · 06/04/2010 11:33

Agree that kids can be over protected but think you can get carried away on this angle. Trampolines at home are a recent privilege for relatively well-off kids. It's not a massive deprivation to go without. We managed ok in the 70s before they were widely available.

providentielle · 06/04/2010 11:42

I work for two hospital doctors who have not bought a trampoline for the kids because of the injuries they have seen caused by them.

As with so many things there is always a risk but it does happen and can happen to you and yours. I think everyone should make their own choices but they should be informed ones.

Would also like to point out that this is not normal behaviour for them, they are normally very free with the kids and let them do lots of things that I get nervous about! Have spoken to the mum about it before and she said you can't stop them from everything you see/hear through work because they'd never get to do anything. Also possibly because she can give high quality first aid if need arises though!

oldraver · 06/04/2010 11:52

OP.. get the gp's to buy a little play house (if you dont have one). They can happily play with it safely and will probably love pottering around in it

campocaro · 06/04/2010 12:03

I saw a gardening programme ages ago where Daimud (sp?) Gavin designed a child-friendly garden with a sunken trampoline -ie it was level with the ground. I always thought it was a good idea but haven't been able to find instructions. Anyone have this? If so what about drainage?

SugarTits · 06/04/2010 12:07

We have a 12ft one and don't enforce the one at a time rule. The dc's do know what the weight limit and ask anyone intending to go on it what they weigh and then work out how many of them can go on. It's a bit when it's an adult.

Fliight · 06/04/2010 12:10

I heard last year (on here) that most accidents are aused by two or more children being ON the trampoline at once rather than by not having a net and falling off.

this was backed up by my Mum's colleague whose grandchild had her jaw broken by her brother, accidentally, when they were both on the trampoline.

I have to say on a paved garden I'd not want to have anything they might fall off, OP...playhouse is a wonderful idea though.

We do have a 12 footer on grass and we have a net for it - which I will put up this week, have only just reassembled actual trampoline which was in th shed all winter.

Ds's are 2 and 6, and 2yo walks/runs round it rather than jumping, so he needs the net - ds1 jumps very high without it, and managed to injure his neck the other day when he landed funny.
I'm not letting them go on together any more - one at a time, or one has to sit at the edge while the other jumps.

But they LOVE it so it's staying for now!

coffeeaddict · 06/04/2010 12:16

Don't have a trampoline, but if you do get one, we saw a good one at a hotel recently. Called Springfree or something. No springs at the sides, which seems like a good idea and might improve safety...

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 06/04/2010 12:29

campocaro a swift google found this on sinking trampolines...

nappyaddict · 06/04/2010 12:35

maduggar The same thing happened to a friend of mine's DD. Was the zipper done completely up when your DD did it?

deaddei · 06/04/2010 12:49

Just don't let them out on at midnight like our considerate neighbours last night

ChippingIn · 06/04/2010 13:01

campocaro - if you have a very DIY savvy DH or a healthy bank account the sunken tramps are great! We got quoted £3000 (yes £3000) by 2 different companies for the sinking of a tramp...

... we went for a 14ft, round one, with safety nets (the ones that are completely attached & don't have gaps underneath).

Small children can play on them together as they don't have much body weight to make the mat move a lot.

The girls LOVE theirs and spend as much time on there playing with a ball, teddies picnics etc as they do bouncing!! It's brilliant (we also chose one that is safe up to something like 180kg so all the adults can play too (one at a time though) or at least be on it with the kids without any bums hitting the ground!!).

We had one as a kid (no nets of course!!) and the 4 of us played on it right through our teenage years and the only accident ever had on it was one of my parents friends who went on it , drunk, at a party!!

I would get it, they will love it all summer and get many years use out of it. (I suspect all the ones not used are located in akward places or where there are too many 'rules' about playing on it). We only have a couple - nothing sharp & no pets!!!!

accessorizequeen · 06/04/2010 13:01

We decided against it last year (got climbing frame instead) after I read up on the risks. I am not one to wrap in cotton wool at all, but injuries from trampolines are some of the worst you can get. Parents had also offered money towards one, but not remotely bothered when we spent it on climbing frame instead. Which is getting good use btw (from 6yo and 3yo, we got plastic one as well for 18mo dts).

PanicMode · 06/04/2010 13:05

My next door neighbour is a triage nurse at A&E and she says that the number of admissions of children with broken arms/wrists/ankles/concussions due to trampolines has increased exponentially since trampolines became popular and she has refused to let her children have one.

I absolutely don't believe in wrapping children in cotton wool, and do think that used properly they are brilliant - but I do think that you need to supervise young children and not use them as a garden babysitter.

My parents offered too, but we have put them off until our DCs (all under 6) are older and can be a bit more responsible/share better.

mitochondria · 06/04/2010 13:07

We bought one when smaller boy was 2, larger boy 3.5.

10ft, with net.

Have had no accidents so far, and it is a great way of burning off excess energy.

Ours is used for lots of other games - filling it with ball-pit balls went down well.

Boys did bounce on there together initially, but now they are bigger we do one at a time.

Gumps · 06/04/2010 13:11

I am a PE teacher and to supervise even the most basic of trampolining skills you need to do a 3 day training course. I have seen/heard of some horrific accidents and most occur when kids are just bouncing around and not doing anything complictaed. I managed to slip a disc in my back aged 21 by just bouncing on a trampline at the same time as someone else and I have also had an a level student who got drunk and tore her achillies on a trampoline, ruining her chance of going to Loughborough uni.
I don't want to be a scare monger as I think trampolines are brilliant fun and excellent exercise for kids. What I don't agree with is there use as a mainly unsupervised toy in the back garden.

BlackYellowRed · 06/04/2010 13:29

I wouldn't get one. Ever watched You've Been Framed?

strandedatsea · 06/04/2010 13:32

Oh my god how did I survive my childhood? I remember very clearly bouncing away on trampolines with a whole load of other kids and no safety net in sight. This was after playing on the swings and climbing frame with nothing but a solid concrete floor to catch me should I fall....

I'm as bad as most people when it comes to worrying about the safety of my children but a trampoline with a net round it, come on, how dangerous can this be?

Or maybe my sense of what constitutes "danger" has been adjusted slightly by living in a country where small children wander along the side of busy roads without an supervision, non-swimmers happily jump around in the sea and no-one uses even seat belts for their kids, let along car seats.....(not that I do any of the above!)

fallon8 · 06/04/2010 13:34

Didnt you ever, jump, somersault,cartwheel etc etc ,and probably stuff your mum didnt know about when a kid? let them have fun ! Time for H&S and supervision when they grow up. So what if they if they hurt themselves? Will you still be supervising when they are over 18? One of mine,messing about in new school shoes to see how slippery they were,slipped and fell on the sitting room carpet and broke a wrist. A few days later I saw him hanging by plastered wrist from the climbing frame.No, I didnt rush out and stop him,left him to get on with it, healed beautifully.

lucysmum · 06/04/2010 13:41

my dd broke her leg on our trampoline when she was just under 2. We still have it, she loves it - accidents happen ! After this and a spate of other tramploine injuries at school, a friend bought her children a climing frame with monkey bars. Her son fell off and broke his wrist on the first day... We bought our trampoine the summer I had my third child and it kept the other two entertained for hours - great purhcase in my opinion.

ilovesprouts · 06/04/2010 13:46

my dd had a 15f one had no net on it but we had to get rid of it as it got vandelized when we went to bed ,but getting ds one 8f whith safety net hes 3.4 but only him will go on it

Swipe left for the next trending thread