Trampoline Questions

[Sunkirst]

My children would love a trampoline. My DH has said in the past that they're too dangerous, but I'm starting to see a change in his thinking. Before I mention this to him for this summer, I'd like to hear from the Hive:

 

Are they too dangerous?

 

If you have one, what sort of rules have you instituted regarding its use?

 

Is there any sort of specific model/type that is regarded as safer than others?

 

Thanks!

[Running the race]

Check with your homeowner's insurance. It could be a problem.

[Tap]

I do feel they are dangerous. DD13 has a permanent shoulder issue do to a fall on one at neighbors home. Her feet slipped out from under her, and her arms slipped backwards. It shouldn't have been a big deal, but it over extended her shoulder and she still gets reoccuring pain years later if she uses that shoulder much. She did PT weekly for many, many months at one point, but it only helps when she does the PT daily. The damage is done.

[Carrie12345]

We had a 1 kid at a time rule. No flips. No using the trampoline without an adult outside.

 

We had the full enclosure.

 

Our only accident did result in a nose x-ray (no break).

We hadn't quite finished putting the trampoline back together after that winter, and my brilliant daughter decided to break the rules, jump without permission, and banged into one of the poles that didn't have its padding on yet. :glare:

 

Otherwise, it was a ton of fun and great exercise.

[Denisemomof4]

Dd broke her wrist on one. She never fell off the trampoline but she landed wrong. When we saw the ER doc and nurses, they said they see trampoline injuries all the time. They definitely recommended not using them.

 

We were at our friend's house. We have never owned one and we never will.

[Alte Veste Academy]

My MIL has been an ER doctor for 30 years. In my 20 years with DH and nine years of parenting, she has given me unsolicited advice only once. She told me never to buy a trampoline. That spoke volumes to me.

[Remudamom]

My dad is a doctor and had a fit when we got the kids a tramp. No enclosure, lots of kids jumping, never an accident. We don't have it anymore, a high wind blew it up into a tree.

[LadyMSews]

While we have good friends who've had one for 20 years without major incident, we do think they are too risky for the reward. There are other ways to get exercise and have fun with lower risk levels. My MIL was the claims supervisor for a big insurance company and we've heard several horror stories of families sued over trampoline accidents. And I know that our renter's insurance would cost more...even if our landlord would let us have one, which she won't, since if someone got hurt, she could be named in a lawsuit and who would want trouble like that?

[Unicorn.]

We've had 2. A tree fell on the 1st one. Make sure you have a net, and make sure you have parent's permission to let friends on it. Otherwise, enjoy!

[Mergath]

I wouldn't get one without the enclosure, but if you have that, I don't think the risk-to-fun ration is too bad. :001_smile: And they're great exercise.

[4littleones]

My dd 8 fell off, had a concussion and broke her arm.

 

Another friend broke one of his fingers. It didn't set properly and they had to operate to set it straight.

 

Another friend broke his arm.

[melissad2]

We have one...the kids burn a lot of energy on it. Accidents can and will happen anywhere trampoline or not. Just set rules and teach kids to be safe! I had one as a kid and no one ever got hurt :) Although I know kids get hurt on them all the time but they also do on bicycles, swimming pools and monkey bars and we let them have those.

[AStableBeginning]

We have had on for several years. Instruct your children on how to land or fall. You should never put your hands down behind you to break your fall. My girls are competitive gymnasts and we do not allow them to do any type of flipping/twisting that they do in the gym. Home trampolines are not really designed for that and do not have the give when you fall. My girls enjoy jumping on it. It definitely get an enclosure.

[AngieC]

We have one. It was not a problem with our homeowners insurance. Ours has the enclosure and we would not have gotten one without it. We allow two kids to jump at a time because although one person jumping is safer, we felt like that wouldn't be enough fun to warrant getting and that two was an okay compromise from one or not having limits. The other big rule is no touching the other jumper (on purpose). We do not allow any flipping, except for gymnasts (my dd and some of her friends are) and then they are only allowed to do skills that they do unspotted at the gym.

 

All in all, it has worked out fabulously. We have had no injuries on our tramp so far (1 year) and it's great exercise. We do firmly enforce the rules (and all of the neighborhood kids know them) and almost always have a parent hanging out with the kids or at least frequently checking on them.

[NanceXToo]

My daughter jumped on one at a cousin's house, bounced, her knees somehow came up and slammed into her own chest, knocking the breath out of her and leaving her chest bruised, and the cousin was like "Oh, that happened to a friend of ours, too, you'll be okay in a little while..."

 

She wasn't even doing anything crazy on it. There seem to be an awful lot of ways in which kids can get hurt on those things!

[lynn]

We have had one for 13 years. We are on our third one. We've had a few minor injuries, like any other children activities. When my boys were little they were pretty much the same weight which makes it safer to jump. No one was allowed to jump with my youngest son because he was smaller and he loved jumping on his own. I was always outside watching the kids when they jumped. As far as rules.....no flips, no roughplay, no balls on it. I only let friends jump whose parents I knew well and that the parents said it was okay before letting the kids jump. The kids were always respectful of our rules and waited until I was able to be outside to watch them.

Edited March 11, 2012 by lynn

[Kari C in SC]

My dd crushed her ankle on one. There were just 2 people on it, she came down and her cousin went up. Her foot hit just right where he impact was something like 100mph said the doctor. She had to have surgery on it to put screws in and then a second surgery to remove pins. This was at her cousin's house, but we now OWN a trampoline. Her ortho doctor OWNS a trampoline. He says they have dangers, but so does gymnastics, playground equipment, running, etc. My dh is nervous somebody will sue us if their kids break an arm, but I guess we will deal with that as it comes.

[Excelsior! Academy]

We've had 2. A tree fell on the 1st one. Make sure you have a net, and make sure you have parent's permission to let friends on it. Otherwise, enjoy!

 

:iagree:

[Shellers]

We had a big trampoline with an enclosure for a few years. I didn't have any rules. My four kids all used it and so did their friends. We never had any accidents or injuries. The sun ended up ruining ours.

[bzymom]

We don't have one, and my kids are not allowed on them elsewhere. I consider trampolines a piece of gymnastic training equipment, not a backyard toy. I know there are plenty of ways for kids to hurt themselves, and mine have had their share of childhood bruises & breaks, but the risk involved with a trampoline really outweighs any "fun" to me.

[Jennifer in MI]

We have one. We debated LONG and hard. Our insurance agent told us there was no problem, liability wise, in terms of our rates. He said to make sure that all the parents who have kids who will be jumping know and have given their permission.

 

We have strict rules - two at a time. They must be the same sizes. (My 6 yo cannot jump with her 15 yo brother.) The enclosure must be zipped. No jumping over the top of the enclosure, height wise. (Although, I have to admit, I did that when the kids weren't looking! It's fun!!)

 

No injuries here!

[Ferdie]

We bought ours 5 years ago at Sam's club, (15 ft.). My children were older when we got it - 7 and up. We held off a few years due to concerns about it being too dangerous.

 

Our main rule is 2 at a time, max and the children need to be around the same weight. We put a sign on the trampoline during parties and most of our guests follow the rules.

 

We have fire ants in TX so we use our trampoline for outside read alouds in hs, and campouts in the summer. Also our entire family climbs on it to start gaze. We do let multiple children on if they are just going to sit and chat. It is one of their favorite hang outs and they spend hours talking during pool parties or get togethers.

 

My kids use it several times a week, and we love it so far.

[Jennifer3141]

The trampoline is the one piece of outdoor equipment DH will never let in his backyard. He has seen too many injuries from them come into the ER.

[Brenda in FL]

Do not allow any games that involve children under the trampoline. (Kids think up stupid games all the time!)

[Coffeetime]

We had one growing up and had no injuries- we have one now and the kids love it. My advice is to have rules and to make sure you buy a high quality trampoline with a strong enclosure. The brand we have is Parkside. It was twice as much as the cheap ones you can get at a big box store, but the enclosure is so strong my husband can bounce right into it and it stops him (he tried it to test the strength). Some of those enclosures I see are so flimsy I don't know how they even work.

[LostSurprise]

I have a friend who was an EMT and won't let her children do lots of things (piggyback rides, etc) but she did allow them a trampoline.

 

One at a time.

Only with adults present.

Enclosure closed completely.

No stunts.

 

She adopted kids with special needs and the trampoline worked as part of their therapy.

[laughing lioness]

We had our first one for 8 years. It had no enclosure. The mat melted in the fire. I'm thinking about making the metal ring into a chicken tractor.

 

We bought a 2nd one last year. This one has an enclosure. We take it down every winter and just put ours back up today.

My kids love the tramp. We get plenty of exercise but they all LOVE the tramp. We have strict rules with zero tolerance for breaking them. Our property is also bordered by a fast flowing river. Zero tolerance for going to the river alone.

We've spent hours on the tramp as a family star gazing, have had picnics on the tramp, had the hose under it, the girls have spent hours playing Barbies on it, etc. etc.

[Desert Rat]

We have one...the kids burn a lot of energy on it. Accidents can and will happen anywhere trampoline or not. Just set rules and teach kids to be safe! I had one as a kid and no one ever got hurt :) Although I know kids get hurt on them all the time but they also do on bicycles, swimming pools and monkey bars and we let them have those.

 

:iagree: Dh was against a tramp. I had to agree to do all ER visits. He relented. We've have one for 6 years now. We do have an enclosure. We do have rules (no flips due to neck injury risk). We divide large groups of kids up by wait (littles and bigs alternating turns). No bouncing into the enclosure. No moshing.

I have to say that our experience has been a good one. We've gone through 2 pads and 2 enclosures. Replacements are inexpensive. It's been a great school aid, too. Little boys who can't sit still go out and bounce for 10 minutes and try again. Works every time.

People are right. They are dangerous. Just like swimming pools, jungle gyms, teeter totters, and bikes are dangerous. Teach rules. Enforce those rules. We have not had any serious accidents (knock on wood).

HTH

[SweetPea]

Our trampoline is built over a very large hole with railroad ties around base covered with bumper pads. This makes the trampoline ground level. We never have more than 2 kids on it at a time (of equal size), no shoes, no flips, and we've had no accidents.

[3peasinWa]

my dh absolutely refuses to get one. I'm not that big on the idea either, so it's not a biggie. I think , if you use it properly with all the rules, then it takes the fun out of it - so why get one at all yk?

 

We invested in a wooden swing & playset instead.

[HeidiKC]

One at a time!

[Jennifer in MI]

:iagree: Dh was against a tramp. I had to agree to do all ER visits. He relented. We've have one for 6 years now. We do have an enclosure. We do have rules (no flips due to neck injury risk). We divide large groups of kids up by wait (littles and bigs alternating turns). No bouncing into the enclosure. No moshing.

I have to say that our experience has been a good one. We've gone through 2 pads and 2 enclosures. Replacements are inexpensive. It's been a great school aid, too. Little boys who can't sit still go out and bounce for 10 minutes and try again. Works every time.

People are right. They are dangerous. Just like swimming pools, jungle gyms, teeter totters, and bikes are dangerous. Teach rules. Enforce those rules. We have not had any serious accidents (knock on wood).

HTH

 

I wish I could "like" this post! :001_smile: Consider it "liked!"

[Desert Rat]

I wish I could "like" this post! :001_smile: Consider it "liked!"

 

Thanks! :001_smile: I also wanted to add that we don't allow neighborhood kids on it because we don't know the families well enough. We do allow our personal, close friends to play though. They aren't the type to sue.

 

Oh, and my original post should have read "weight" not "wait". It was buggin' me :lol:

[Jennifer in MI]

Thanks! :001_smile: I also wanted to add that we don't allow neighborhood kids on it because we don't know the families well enough. We do allow our personal, close friends to play though. They aren't the type to sue.

 

Oh, and my original post should have read "weight" not "wait". It was buggin' me :lol:

 

LOL!!! I agree! If we don't know the kids, they can't go on it. I need to talk with their parents first.

 

Honestly? I didn't see the weight/wait thing! Shhhhhhh . . . . . My brain knew what you meant!

[mom4him]

We have one. Risky? OH YES! My kids go out there in the middle of the winter when they can't ride bikes or skate boards and jump. They love it. We have the encloser, I have to talk to the parents in person for permission to be on it, 4 kids at a time. No really littles with bunch of bigger ones.

 

I really struggled over having one but my middle son lived in our house for about 3 months and had his set up here. The kids had so much fun on it that we bought it from him. I don't know if we would replace it if it died but for the time being it is being enjoyed.

 

I know kids get hurt on them all the time but kids get hurt riding bikes, skateboards, roller blades, etc. too. Goodness my youngest got hurt sledding this last winter.

[zimom]

The biggest thing my daughter's orthopaedic surgeon stressed to us was one child at a time.

[Jennifer in MI]

Goodness my youngest got hurt sledding this last winter.

 

My now-14 yo broke his arm sledding a couple years ago! Poor kid!!!

[Momma H]

I am not usually against them. This past summer though my son slipped off the edge of one (not jumping just walking around the perimeter--now granted it was in the garage on the cement floor). We get a call (it was at a friend's house who was trying to help us by taking the kids for the day so we could work on our house) from our older son telling us our little son broke his arm. Not only did he break his arm, it was a really bad break. It was above his elbow and was sticking out against the skin. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and them taken by ambulance to a Children's Hospital because the break was so severe. The accident happened about 3 and he got out of surgery at midnight or so. They wound up having to cut into him because the blood supply to his arm was cut off. Three days later he was finally home. It was a really hard situation because he had some irrational fears about moving his arm and would FREAK out when the nurses tried to x ray him but that is another post.

We heard over, and over and over again about the dangers of tramps to which I would proudly say, "Well ours has a net, the one he was on didn't" to which the surgeon who operated on him finally said, "Nets are actually worse because lots worse because the kids get a false sense of security and take more risks." This I believe because of my kids on our tramp. They take (ahem, used to) lots of risks and I am just glad we didn't have neck or head injuries. I sound like the moms that drive me crazy thinking everything is dangerous, but I think they are.

[MeaganS]

We have one with an enclosure for our little girls. So far it has been great, and my girls are both so young that they can't do much more than bounce a little. I'm not sure if we'll have one when they're older, but I love it for now. We do have a one kid at a time rule, but that's also because our trampoline is small (8 ft) and our kids are so small that they don't have tons of control over where they are jumping.

[MHowell]

We had one with an enclosure, and ds fell funny and had to see a chiropractor 2x a week for months. We had several X-rays and follow ups with his pediatrician also, and he said he gets these injuries in office all the time. It was very similar to a whiplash injury. We took it down immediately.

[LucyStoner]

He said to make sure that all the parents who have kids who will be jumping know and have given their permission.

 

This protects you in NO way if something happens to another person's child on your property. I know a family whose homeowners rates were unchanged until after they paid a claim for a neighbor boy who was injured seriously. The fact that the parents verbally ok-ed him using it did not matter once their son was injured- the insurance company settled. The rates went up and did not go back down for several years.