a simple yes or no....

[kfeusse]

do you allow your kids to do flips on a trampoline? (Not including kids who are trained to do so...like gymnasts etc)....just your ordinary kid....

[momofjep]

yes

[hjffkj]

yes

[prairiewindmomma]

No

[GinaPagnato]

yes

[scholastica]

No

[Heatherwith4]

Yes 

ETA: Maybe I shouldn’t answer though, because they’ve all taken several years of gymnastics. 

[Jen500]

no

[Katy]

no

[catz]

Yes

[mellifera33]

No. 

[lulalu]

At 6 years old now yes. But not at a trampoline park. 

[SanDiegoMom]

No

[almondbutterandjelly]

No.  But my dd has a surgically fused spine.  :)

[kfeusse]

Let me explain a bit further.  We have a trampoline and it's my 16 year old son who does everything with gusto.....so when he jumps, he jumps hard and high...and when he comes down he comes down hard....and he likes to do flips, but I am so fearful of because of the force he comes down with...that if he were to come down and land funny on his back or neck, it could be really bad.  Sure, a leg or arm wouldn't be much better, but it wouldn't paralyze him for life.  I do tend to be over protective, but when it comes to purposefully making risky choices, I want him to error on the side of caution.  He likes to ride his bike, play soccer, play basketball, march in the band and all of those things could come to a final screeching halt because of a choice.  (not the same as a car accident...or something like that).  So this is where I am coming from.  So I am still just curious where the rest of you stand on this. thanks.

[LarlaB]

Yes

[PinkTulip]

Nope, not a fan of trampolines for the very concerns you have expressed. 

[Ailaena]

No. And dd was a gymnast. 

If you’re that worried and can’t stop him, get him a few private lessons at a gymnastics facility.   

[Mimm]

Yes.

[kitten18]

Yes

[wintermom]

51 minutes ago, kfeusse said:

Let me explain a bit further.  We have a trampoline and it's my 16 year old son who does everything with gusto.....so when he jumps, he jumps hard and high...and when he comes down he comes down hard....and he likes to do flips, but I am so fearful of because of the force he comes down with...that if he were to come down and land funny on his back or neck, it could be really bad.  Sure, a leg or arm wouldn't be much better, but it wouldn't paralyze him for life.  I do tend to be over protective, but when it comes to purposefully making risky choices, I want him to error on the side of caution.  He likes to ride his bike, play soccer, play basketball, march in the band and all of those things could come to a final screeching halt because of a choice.  (not the same as a car accident...or something like that).  So this is where I am coming from.  So I am still just curious where the rest of you stand on this. thanks.

I wouldn't allow flips in your situation, either. Most privately owned tramps aren't big enough or reliable enough to safely handle the size of a 16 year-old boy. 

I would direct him to a diving board at a swimming pool to try some flips if he's really keen to flip. There is still a chance of injury, but there is a lot more "forgiveness" if he makes some errors in timing.  Or do as a PP suggested and send him to a gymnastics facility to learn how to do a flip correctly and safely.  It's really appealing to teen boys to flip. So instead of banning it altogether, try to find a safe or at least a safer option. 

[Acorn]

No for us, but we would never own a backyard trampoline either

[rose]

Yes, and my 14yo sounds about intense as your 16yo.

[Bambam]

No, But we don't have a trampoline either. Because of safety concerns brought to our attention by a friend who was an ER doctor. 

[Garga]

No.  And I never wanted to own one. And we turned down invites to trampoline parks. I read too many bad stories of terrible injuries from trampolines and I didn’t want to risk it.

[AFwife Claire]

Yes. 

Our now-16 DS did trampoline for about a year at a local gymnastics place a few years ago (2 maybe?), and he had a ball.  So maybe look into that?  He learned a lot.

[sassenach]

Yes

[Tap]

DD19 was prone to injury, so no home tramps were allowed for her growing up (aside from the random b-day party etc).  She broke the rule at her friends house and.....got a permanent shoulder injury from it.  We that she is hypermobile and that is why she was prone to joint injuries, so I am glad we never got one for her.

 

DD11 loves tramps but is 5'6" and over 200lbs.  I will let her do them at a trampoline place, but not at her friends.  Most home trampolines aren't designed for use of people her size. Some home trampolines are rated high enough, but are still small in size. I don't want it to be an issue where I have to ask the neighbors for the rating on their trampoline for her size.  :0(   She once fell into a side support at a neighbors and bent it.  I offered to replace it, but the family refused.  She got teased for a while on that one by the kids, so we stopped allowing jumping after that.   I figure the trampoline parks are larger and rated for her size, so there I am not as concerned.  

 

 

[Junie]

No.

A friend of mine from high school is paralyzed from the neck down because he landed wrong.  :(

[Ravin]

It would not occur to me to outright ban it, but in the describe situation I might point out to the teen that he could break his neck if he isn't careful, or possibly ban riskier moves on the ground that the little kids might imitate and hurt themselves.

[Liz CA]

Yes...after several days doing flips, we considered him trained. :) Fortunately, no injuries.

I think even if we had forbidden flips at home, he would have tried them at friends' houses because all had tramps as well. I thought it would be better if I coached him a little at home so when he did it elsewhere, he at least had done them before. Some people will think this is crazy but we also allowed him to climb trees...he is alive and well today, turning 27 this month. :)

[Baile]

Yes, but we don't use backyard trampolines (not that I would ban my kids outright from ever using them, it just hasn't come up). My kids do flips at the gymnastics center or indoor trampoline park. 

[ThisIsTheDay]

yes

[Tammi K]

Simple answer: Yes.   

 

Expanded answer based on you additional info-  In your case, I would only say 'yes' if I was sure son had his wits about him and understood the implications of hard jumps.  Safe jumping must be observed.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Yes

Lol, this may be the first time I'm not the overprotective parent.  We grew up with a trampoline and both my sister spent YEARS in gymnastics, so I'm very comfortable with them.  My kids have been bouncing on a trampoline since before they could walk.  BUT, they listen and are really cautious by nature so going overboard has never been a big issue.

[Amber in SJ]

Short answer:  Yes

Long answer:  We have had a trampoline (not the same one) since before 13 yo ds was born.  We have never had an accident unless you count the time oldest dd smacked her chin on her knee and slammed her mouth shut so hard that her top teeth sheared the braces brackets off her bottom teeth.  

He jumps daily and if the weather makes this impossible, he drives me bonkers in the house.

He has a black belt in TKD and knows how to fall so as to minimize injury.

His scout troop was working to clear the trails at a park and one of the obstacles was a large tree that had come down during a winter storm.  The scoutmaster recorded the boys climbing over the fallen tree one at a time on their way down the trail.  Ds ran full tilt at the tree planted his hands and vaulted into a double flip over the tree and landed on his feet on the other side, then jogged down the trail.  Parkour might be his sport :)   

He does have a signature move that he used to wow his friends who also have backyard trampolines (they are huge around here) He calls it "Feet-Head-Feet." He jumps up, flips, lands on his head, completely straight up and down, and the on the up bounce he flips back to his feel.  The first time I saw it I made him stop.  

Amber in SJ

[Targhee]

Yes

[blondeviolin]

Short answer: no

long answer: if they've been trained to flip properly at gymnastics or whatever, fine. 

[Tsuga]

8 hours ago, kfeusse said:

do you allow your kids to do flips on a trampoline? (Not including kids who are trained to do so...like gymnasts etc)....just your ordinary kid....

Simple yes or no: Yes.

With context: They also cycle to school, swim and dive, kayak, and do other dangerous things.

I looked it up and basically... we do reduce risk with a net, and basic rules like no jumping with littles, no kids under 6. 

My eight year old has a skateboard. 

For us, the risk of depression and anxiety that comes with lack of movement, outdoor time, and rhythmic motion and intensive exercise is higher than the risk of physical injury. So I know the risk but I let them take it. 

[Sneezyone]

Nope. Only my gym-trained kid. They are welcome to jump, do cartwheels and somersaults, etc. but no flipping. I don’t want to deal with neck injuries from under or over rotation.

[mom@shiloh]

Yes.

[Seeking Squirrels]

Simple answer: Yes

However, it hasn't come up yet. They are 9 & 5 and we just got the trampoline earlier this year. They have not even come close to attempting a flip, yet. When they are ready I will let them. 

[katilac]

yes

[chocolate-chip chooky]

Nope. 

No flips on the trampoline were allowed and no flips into the pool either.

This was never an issue for my own kids, who never showed any interest in flipping anyway, but it would occasionally be an issue for visiting friends, who are allowed to flip at home. No, sorry, not here.

I know people who've had horrible injuries on trampolines, and my sister has a friend who lost a child after flipping into a pool. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

[Guest]

Yes. DS13 has been jumping on the trampoline since a few months after he could walk. He is a legend now. 

But I also have a husband who races motocross and flies airplanes...

[Spryte]

No.

 

Unless at a facility that allows it and teaches. Not at home, and our trampoline came with a laminated card that says no flips.  I enforce this. No more than two kids at a time, similar in size, and no flips.  Zip the door.  Break my rules and you leave for the day.

 

I know a girl who broke her back on a trampoline.  I was adamantly opposed to home trampolines till I had the kind of boy that seeks sensory input.  

 

One of the neighbor kids here broke her arm when she fell out of the unzipped door on her own trampoline, thus my “zip the door!” rule.

[nixpix5]

Yes

[rebbyribs]

No. My kids haven't learned to do flips, and I don't know how to properly spot and teach them.

[AmandaVT]

Former gymnastics coach and no. Also no backyard tramps. I've, unfortunately, seen too many scary accidents even with well-trained gymnasts. 

[poppy]

Trampoline park, OK. Private trampoline, heck no.    

My mom had a job working with SSI disability claims, and she told me using a backyard trampolines are is like riding a car without a seatbelt. Most people who do it are OK, but if you aren't, you have decades to regret the risk you took.