Climbing frame or trampoline?

[ComfortComes82]

Our garden isn't massive - about 12m x 10m. We want to get an outside toy for our son. He's 4 and very active. We were thinking either a climbing frame with slide or a trampoline. If you have a smallish garden what did you get and has it been worth it?

Trampoline was by far the best value for money

Definitely trampoline. Our one is used every day from March to October (as long as it's not raining). Best value for money by miles.

Climbing frame

Trampoline needs more supervision if other kids there, personally I think they're dangerous for more than 1 child it's difficult to get them to keep to 'turns', but if you're confident you'll only have 1 child may be fine (our house was always full of other people's kids). We had a swing /climbing frame with monkey bars, climbing net and slides - secondhand TP stuff. Plenty of it about cheaply, and about to offload ours to a neighbour. Was most used as a water slide every summer with the plastic sheet it came with, great fun even for us adults.
The other downside of a trampoline is nothing grows beneath it.

I would go climbing frame, I am sure trampolines aren't recommend for under 6's due to the disproportionate number of injuries.

Trampoline will probably get more use than a climbing frame. U can join in more on a trampoline too and when there's no kids about and its Summer they are lovely to sunbathe on!

We got a climbing frame, because we have a radiologist friend who feels really strongly about trampolines, backed up anecdotally with children we know (not scientific, I know) who've had really nasty broken bones on trampolines. It's not that the bones got broken, it's that they were such bad breaks and needed operations, got infected etc etc.

Our metal climbing frame gave more variety including lots of gymnastics and imaginative play. I do think a trampoline would probably have got more use, and been more popular with visiting children.

A family friend is a pediatric surgeon. His children have a climbing frame and wendy house. They don't have a trampoline. Apparently the climbing frame break is likely to be a clean break and simpler to operate than a trampoline break (something about trampolines causing compound breaks).

Climbing frame. Our row of 4 houses all bought trampolines after the first one appeared and all the children nagged for one too.

The next year we were all trying to give them away after everyone's grass died we gave ours away and the very next day two doors down was trying to give us theirs also they are a nightmare with multiple children on, even if they are very large. Too many bumps

Climbing frame and slide. We turn ours into a water slide in the summer with a watering can and a paddling pool at the bottom.

I think a boy will find a wider range of imaginative play with a frame. It can become a castle, house, spaceship, prison....

PigletJohn
Yes because girls aren’t allowed to play spacemen or prison

Question 2 then, wooden frame or metal one like the TP Explorer? The wooden frame looks a lot nicer but the metal one is more mobile.

Think some climbing frame need planning permission from memory - don't think that applies to trampolines - although can annoy the crap out of the neighbours 😂

Wooden ones are posher and look like you've spent more money on your children

The metal ones can be changed around every year. Platforms and hideouts go in and out, add a slide/monkey bars/ scramble net, change the arrangement of crossbars around. This isn't necessarily a quick operation but it's not difficult either. However they tend to be a bit smaller and ours got outgrown around age 10.

Basically, look for "play value" - something that can be used in lots of different ways. For me, the metal ones generally won hands down in our budget on that, but there might be some fab wooden ones out there that I haven't seen / were too pricey for us.

The wooden one we were looking at was this one but it's a lot of money! junglegym-ni.co.uk/product/villa

And you can get giant but very pricey ones with nets etc which he'd love. If we got a metal one we'd have change for a trampoline too!

Have a look at dunster house for wooden climbing frames - we've got one from there and it was easy to build and very good quality. For example, for a similar price to the one you linked to you could have this:

dunsterhouse.co.uk/balconyfort-searcher-w4-7m-x-d3-8m?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtvPjBRDPARIsAJfZz0qlfFwEXYX_N2jEqbCGafko0OpilqKLFt7Ej4Q5yRJ4Lubw5_8JS6UaAlroEALw_wcB

We live in NI, they don't deliver here, barely anyone does!

plenty of 12 year olds will jump on a trampoline our DD has had a large 12' trampoline since she was 4 she is now 9 it is played on every week at least; any climbing frame for a 4 year old would have long since been outgrown
what is safe for a 4 year old will be dead boring before he is 7

Climbing frames use more imagination. They develop a wider range of muscles and skills. You might need to upgrade or add on as he gets bigger. Or buy something else to keep him active. Parks have play equipment such as climbing frames but they never includes a trampoline. Make sure you get shock absorbent material underneath it.

Climbing frame - purely for the sake of you neighbours.

Your neighbours.

We have both due to luck on freecycle and the asda 10 foot trampoline for £100! Had for two years and from kids 2 and 4. The climbing thing is more like a little house with slide and the 6 year old its getting a bit big for it. riding a scooter down the slide is a thing!
The climbing frames in local parks are much better. It is the house / den they like.

The trampoline is more popular now and burns off energy. Definitely has a longer life. Ugly though.

A standard shed / Wendy house might be an alternate option. give them their own playroom and you could use it as a shed when they grow out of it.

Our neighbours have kids, don't think they'd care!