to put a big trampoline in the front garden?

[Horshamchildminder]

MIL has a 10ft trampoline she says we can have but I don't want it taking over our back garden. I had the idea of putting it in the front garden - which would take over it completly but currently we don't use it for anything. THe children would obviously only be able to go on it when I am with them all the time but I am happy with that as I worry about them on the trampoline anyway and it would keep it more interesting for them if they can't go on it all the time.

But I am worried I will annoy the neighbours or something. And I would have to look at it out the front room window of course, but I think I can live with that.

What do you think? Its just an idea, haven't even suggested it to DH yet or even measured to see if it will fit!

Like LaBella's idea! Cost though?

If you can secure your front garden, neighbours are ok with it, have high hedges etc. yes go ahead. May be vandalised if you are not careful.

This is all more complicated than I imagined!

I don't think being near fences makes a difference? It has an enclosure and really you would have to have a very big garden for it not to be near any fences.

Its such a shame to have to think about other people using it and then suing. But its also very true . BUT surely, they would be trespassing, so surely they couldn't sue? For an injury occured, by their own fault, while trespassing on somebody elses property?

How near to the neighbous window would it be? If you have a detached house with a large leafy frontgarden separated from next door by an 8ft hedge I'd say it was OK ,but a 20x20 ft garden of a terraced house-then No
You couldn't be sued if someone uses it and hurts themselves unless you have been negligent

Its a semi detached but the woman that is attached to me is in a metal heath unit, and will be for the time being. And is the most inconsiderate person I have ever met so TBH I don't care what she thinks. We can't actually see each other's front doors anyway because of bushes/trees. Its more the ones across the road etc and next door the other side who we get on with really well. I can ask them obviously, but I think they would say yes even if they did mind so that doesn't really help!

Personally I wouldn't,not as a childminder but I hate trampolines.

It's not a risk I'd want to take with my hypothetical charges.

There's some trampoline related advice here for child minders.

There's a lot to consider before going ahead with it.

Judging by this...

Where to place your trampoline
It must be away from other features, such as swings, slides, Wendy-houses, trees and shrubs, walls and fences, the house, shed etc. (When considering trees etc also ensure that no one can bounce up into an overhanging branch).
It must be placed on a level surface.
A 'safe fall zone' of at least 2.5 metres should be around the outside of the trampoline, so keep this area clear.
Ideally, it is best to create a pit for the trampoline to sit in, so the canvas is at ground level, but ? generally ? this isn?t always possible.
The next safest way of using a trampoline for children is to fit it with a safety net ?cage?, which is designed to prevent a child from bouncing off. When you buy a trampoline, ensure you get the appropriate safety cage.
If you cannot build a pit, you should place the trampoline on a soft ?energy absorbing? ground ? in other words, a lawn that is nice and soft and springy, or sand, bark or other materials that produce a cushioning effect.
Never place a trampoline on any hard surface without having safety netting or crash mats in place. (This applies also indoors, if you are fortunate enough to have somewhere large enough for indoor trampolining).
The trampoline should always ONLY be used with adult supervision and you need to ensure that no one can use it unsupervised. (Some safety net ?cages? also act as a means of preventing unauthorised access to the trampoline).

It doesn't sound like your front garden is an appropriate place for it.

why do you need a safe fall zone if its enclosed
why do you need to keep ot away from other features ?

The nets aren't 100% effective. They offer some protection but not complete protection.

Presumably so that the child doesn't hit their head/become impaled on/collide with...

You'd think I was talking about a condom not a net.

They might bounce over the net or the net could tear.It does help to have one but there are still risks.

I wouldn't do it, if you currently get on well with your neighbours. If they have children, they may get a summer full of being pestered to go call on you for a bounce.

If your neighbour has mental health issues and you feel no compassion for her; a summer of rhythmic bouncing might not be what she wants on return from hospital . . . she could interfere with the integrity of the bed/springs.

Maybe I'm weird, but I wouldn't be chuffed to have to watch/hear other folks' kids bouncing from my living room.

74claire - she has children from the whole street round on her big trampoline from 7am till about 9.30pm. They climb on my fence and tell her whats in my garden - since I put a lock on the gate because she was letting herself into my back garden to nose round. That one is almost outside my kitchen and bedroom.

That family in general make a LOT of noise all the time. Litterally I can hear her when I am trying to get to sleep at midnight ish and then again when my DD wakes up for the day at 5am . I am sure she doesn't sleep!

OK, my own post has convinced me that we couldn't have it there once she is back. We don't know how long she will be - probably wont beback till winter.

I will stop complaining about my neighbours then . . . I would have put the trampoline out of action already I think.

I must lead a sheltered life

As long as it is safe, then I guess it is okay.

We had a swing in our front garden (back was concreted, my mother's brilliant idea was to use the only lawn we had out the front).

We were forever finding every passing child or oik from five streets away had come along for a go - and they'd give a barrage of abuse when challenged about what the heck they were doing in our front garden.

Personally I've seen so many kids rolling into school with broken bits in plaster from those trampolines I'm wary of them anyway!

We've buried our 8ft one in the ground (in the back garden), so it's a lot less noticeable, it doesn't need the ugly net & DD1 (aged 3) can use it unsupervised as she can't fall off, though I do watch if there's more than one child on it. That way your neighbours would only see the bouncing & not the trampoline and hopefully it would go unnoticed by passing drunks.

It took DH & DD about 6 hours to dig the hole & shore up the sides. If you're interested then remember that you don't have to dig down the entire width of the trampoline to the full 'height' - we have taken the extenders out of the legs & only dug down to the full height in the middle (where the bouncing actually occurs) - so it's about 1.5ft down at the sides & about 4ft in the middle (the full height with the legs on). We also used the earth dug up from the middle to build up the sides so you don't need to dig so deep. A 15 stone (very enthusiastic) godfather has tested it fully & didn't hit the bottom.

We are renting so I don't think we could dig it into the ground. Don't think my landlady would be too pleased when we moved out and left a big hole in the ground .
I don't think they would grant permission if I asked? If it was dug into the ground, I would be happy for it to be in the back garden.

You need to be very careful about this. All big trampolines are restricted to 6yrs+ and as a CM you should NOT allow mindees on it if they are younger than 6yrs old.
You will still NOT be covered if the parents signed a disclaimer.
If another child that you did not mind, hurt themselves then again you would be liable.
If you have to put it in the front garden, you should have a way of 'lockin' it up, for example putting a wire tie on the zip so that little kids can't get on it and hopefully drunk adults won't be able to either.
It is risky having it out on the front as anyone could come along and use it or even vandalise it

"And if a stray unsupervised child had a mishap...?".

That would be the responsibility of the stray unsupervised child's parents, not the OP. Equally, if I'd been burgled last night and had woken to find that the intruder was at the bottom of my stairs with a broken femur having slipped on a dog toy left on the stair, that would be his damn problem, not mine.

I won't have a trampoline at all as I don't want my garden turned into a playground, my neighbours disturbed, my dogs hurt or the arguments that will ensue over the enormous great eyesore, but each to their own. If HorshamChildminder is happy with it, surely it makes no difference whether the trampoline is in the back or the front garden? The noise level will be the same, the level of use the same, the only problem might be some neighbour's view that it "doesn't look right and isn't acceptable" - but as it won't be in their garden, it's nothing to do with them.

It's mad but if a burglar hurt themselves in your house they can try and SUE you for their injuries.
Trespass is a civil matter so a stray kid's parents can sue for injuries.

And believe it or not, if someone decides to take over your house when you are on holiday and they break your lock and replace it, the police have no powers to get them out as it will be a civil case.

If a postman slipped over on your drive then he could claim against your home insurance.

That's the main reason I'd be very wary of putting it in the front garden (which generally is less secure than the back). Like I say - when we had our swing out there, we regularly had random kids show up and decide to use it, but that was back in the days before Grabbit, Sue and Run Inc. had taken over the UK so effectively.

I could see accidents (I think the flipping things are ridiculously dangerous in many situations they're put in - but that's just my personal thing) happening, and I could see someone trying it on, claiming it was a lack of security, lack of supervision, lack of safety or whatever and trying to lay it on the owner of a garden they weren't ruddy well meant to be in in in the first case.

Plus it's more likely to get nicked out the front - never ceases to amaze me the rubbish people will try to half-inch out of front gardens - I'd reckon a trampoline would be fairly rich pickings.