Advice needed for buying a trampoline

[CalJo]

My 18 month old son has taken a real shine to trampolines and I am looking to get him one but being he is so young I'm really unsure whether to do it.

I see there are junior ones of about 4.5 ft but these will be low enough to the ground for him to get on and off which I'm not sure I want.

The other possibility is an adult sized one which is what he likes to play with at my friends house. This will be to tall for him to get in by himself but their not really meant for young children and I'm a bit worried about his safety in one.

He likes to jump up and bounce on his bum so the toddler trampoline isn't suitable for this.

I've looked at bouncy castles instead but it's always the trampoline that gets his vote. Should I buy the adult one or would he be safer in the smaller junior one?

As long as you are supervising he should be fine in the adult one. Dd2 has been using adult ones since she was about that age as we had one for dd1. If you get a small one he will outgrow it in a few years.

Trampolines are not recommended for children under 6.

You can get ones that you dig in a bit and so are level with the ground?

Don't buy one. They are dangerous. If you talk to anyone who works in A&E, they'll tell you that garden trampolines are one of the most common causes of accidents in children. I'm sure you have realised that falling off would be dangerous but due to the forces involved, you can get some very serious injuries by landing badly. Eg landing on your head when attempting a summersault. You can break your neck.

The daughter of a friend of mine got impaled on one of the posts that holds up the net! She was in hospital for weeks as in-patient and months as an out patient. She also missed lots of school.

Where I live, the leisure centre has toddler trampolining classes which are run by experienced instructors who know how to keep it safe and fun. You can sign up for the class at 2.5 years although they let my daughter start at 2 years. Good luck!