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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Who has a trampoline?
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05/11/2009 05:48:10 PM · #1
Well, the family is begging for a trampoline. Even though we had one at the house when I was a teen, the pediatrician in me absolutely shudders at the thought of owning one. That being said, it's probably like trying to hold back the tide, no?

So I'm looking for namebrands of sturdy, well-constructed trampolines. I may as well get one that's solid and well built. Most have the safety net feature now and I'd appreciate input on that since those came around after my trampoline days.
05/11/2009 05:59:42 PM · #2
This has been in the news a lot, many doctors recommending against getting a trampoline. I'm surprised you'd want one, actually. Then again, there are doctors that smoke, too.
05/11/2009 06:00:08 PM · #3
Not sure of the make of ours now, but we have a 10' one with safety net - absolutely 100% recommend the net it has saved our kids from accidents several times.
05/11/2009 06:03:08 PM · #4
We do have one - don't know the namebrand but we bought it at GI Joes several years ago. My kids were 10 and 14 when we got it and we did not get the safety net. I only got really nervous when they had friends over - afraid someone would get hurt. They used it when we first got it but now it is just a place where they go to lay outside and not get bothered by the dog - also it is a pain to drag around to mow the lawn and you can't keep it any one place very long because the grass dies under it.

You may also want to check with your homeowners insurance because sometimes they will have a trampoline exclusion on liability.
05/11/2009 06:03:13 PM · #5
Originally posted by KarenNfld:

This has been in the news a lot, many doctors recommending against getting a trampoline. I'm surprised you'd want one, actually. Then again, there are doctors that smoke, too.


You didn't catch from my post I DON'T want one? :P I just may have little choice in the matter...
05/11/2009 06:24:47 PM · #6
I LOVED my trampoline and only gave it up and let my parents to sell it when my knees got too bad to bounce on it regularly. I had it for almost 7 years. I even rigged a swing set in front of it so I could jump off the swing and fly through the air onto it. SUPER FUN!! I NEVER got injured beyond a bruise or two and neither did any of the 5 neighborhood kids who came over to play regularly. It may be luck, but I did 9 years of gymnastics and never got injured doing that either. You can always get one of those little net things that keep the children from flying head first into the ground, I have accidentally done this on several occasions and never actually broke my neck.

Conclusion: trampolines ROCK! Get one and teach them fun games: If you tie a sprinkler to the side of the trampoline you can jump while getting covered in water, awesome. A good method of therapy is filling water balloons and writing things on them that bother you and then bounce them on the trampoline until they burst and get water everywhere!

-Claire

Message edited by author 2009-05-11 18:25:04.
05/11/2009 06:43:16 PM · #7
I think you should pull rank in this matter. My friends kid broke her teeth on theirs twice and her other kid had to get knee surgery after being on it only twice. A girl at the high school broke her neck on the one they had there. They got rid of it after that. Just a few thoughts.
05/11/2009 06:47:15 PM · #8
After about 3 or 4 years the stitches on the jumping pad seem to weaken from the weather and sun. A friend had one when I was growing up and we where jumping on it one day and the stitches ripped out and we found ourselves on butt first on the ground, no injuries.. but just watch for it. Same thing happened to my sister who recently bought a trampoline for her kids.. the stitching came out after about 3 years and it was done for.

I can say it is dangerous... more so to kids who don't have alot of strength. If a larger person..or adult is jumping the kids can get whiplash and injure their neck and/or back. Don't try and launch your kids into the sky if your jumping with them:P
05/11/2009 06:47:51 PM · #9
they scare teh crap out of me. Even with a net, i think they are dangerous. And adding water seems so dangerous, now you have slippery rubber to break something on even quicker.

Shuddering even thinking of it,

I know that my Homeowners wont cover it if any other child got hurt on it.

Mind you in saying all that: my next door neighbours twins have only broken one arm between them and they have had it over a year.
05/11/2009 07:25:42 PM · #10
Originally posted by JulietNN:

And adding water seems so dangerous, now you have slippery rubber to break something on even quicker.


It is really dangerous, but so fun. I had my 13th birthday party with about 10 girls and we managed a whole party on it with sprinklers and no one got hurt. The main thing is that kids need to be taught some limits to it so they can be crazy and have fun but not break something. Part of why no one really got hurt was continual nagging from parents to be careful.
05/11/2009 07:35:39 PM · #11
Trampoline's have surpassed diving boards as the number one source of law suits against home owners. And your homeowners insurance is unlikely to cover you.

Trampolines are what insurance companies considered an "attractive nuisance," something that invites trespassers. No matter what precautions are taken, there is an unnerving possibility that a court case will find the owner of the trampoline guilty of negligence, no matter what signs are posted or what preventative measures are taken. In this case, the insurance company can end up paying out thousands of dollars. When the situation is seen like that, an insurance company seems to be taking a reckless risk when choosing to insure something like a trampoline.from insurance sales site

They are a lot of fun but leaving loaded guns around the house is less likely to end up getting you sued than letting the neighbourhood kids play on your trampoline.

Talk to your homeowner's insurance representative before you set it up, some insurance companies consider trampolines a violation of your contract and will cancel your policy.

Message edited by author 2009-05-11 19:47:25.
05/11/2009 07:37:22 PM · #12
I find it odd that you don't want one but you're going to buy one anyway!
05/11/2009 07:48:31 PM · #13
Originally posted by KarenNfld:

I find it odd that you don't want one but you're going to buy one anyway!


It's a tough call. In parenting there's a line between protection and overprotection. Being a pediatrician and having spent months doing ER rotations I am very much more paranoid about physical trauma than my wife. OTOH, my wife is much more paranoid about the random child snatching event that I have very little worry about. So sometimes one has to struggle between being protective and allowing children to experience some risk. I haven't said yes yet. :) I feel moderately heartened by looking through the medical trauma literature. A large chunk of injuries are from falling off which are likely to be prevented by the netting. The largest chunk of injuries are ankle inversions leading to sprains. While those can be serious, the majority are no big deal and lots of activity can lead to that. Basically I'm mainly worried about neck injuries, dental injuries, or broken arms/legs. Those all seem to be less common, especially if you don't fall off the tramp. It's also noted that the rate of injury directly went up with how many people are on the trampoline. With that thinking, I'd say bigger is better (more area to keep away) and a strict limit to two kids at a time (really it should be one, but how are you going to have bum wars?)

Brennan's point about lawsuits is also a good one. My parents made every child who jumped on our trampoline have their parents sign a waiver which I think is a reasonable idea. I'm going to be calling my insurance company here to see what they have to say on the whole matter.
05/11/2009 07:54:56 PM · #14
My daughter loves the trampoline at my parents house. She'd love it if we had one, but we don't have room. All the years I played on one I never got hurt. I did have a 58 year old woman come into the ER with a broken finger from getting it caught in the PROTECTIVE netting. LOL.

I think we try to be too safe sometimes. Let people have some fun. Heck, I remember playing with lawn darts and nobody died (at least none that I admit too). *grin*
05/11/2009 07:55:21 PM · #15
I've had one for almost 4 years. It has the elastic (not metal) springs. We don't take particularly good care of it and it endures heat of summer, LOTS of rain and snow. I check the threads and give it a general inspection once in awhile and it's been fine. I like to sleep on it on a sunny afternoon. I've had kids, family and neighbors jump on it with no injuries. I am aware of the lawsuits. If you are worried about it, take BrennanOB's suggestion and keep a loaded gun around. If you're not worried, get both - now THAT could be fun.



Trampoline's are great for shooting kids and pets on also...
05/11/2009 07:58:29 PM · #16
Originally posted by avalanche1030:

- also it is a pain to drag around to mow the lawn and you can't keep it any one place very long because the grass dies under it.



It will destroy your grass unless you can move it at all. We were lucky we could move it around, but that just meant as soon as grass came alive again it would have a trampoline on it killing it all over again. I was going through old photos today and found this picture of me mowing the lawn, you can see the yellow grass under the trampoline.


We put a piece of tarp over it when we weren't using it to help with the wear and tear in wind and rain problem.

For nostalgia's sake:

I can't be more than 11 in this picture
And some static:



Message edited by author 2009-05-11 20:08:20.
05/11/2009 08:01:02 PM · #17
oh yeah, I forgot to mention the muddy swamp that lurks beneath our trampoline.
05/11/2009 08:35:13 PM · #18
After seeing some of the injuries that came about from the neighbors and the ones I saw happen to a friend of mine. There is no way in hell I'd ever put my kid on one(although he can't anyway). I actually saw a kid blow his knee out next door and the other kid get propelled off of it and landed on the fence to our yard. The neighbor found out about the "trampoline clause" when she was held responsible for the medical bills she was sued for.

Matt
05/11/2009 08:36:40 PM · #19
It's all fun and games till the ambulance arrives!!
05/11/2009 08:40:53 PM · #20
Originally posted by JulietNN:

It's all fun and games till the ambulance arrives!!


And then its just a photo op for the newspaper photog! LOL

Matt
05/11/2009 08:42:21 PM · #21
I loved the trampoline in PE at school. Loved it at summer camp when I was 16. Didn't, however, love so much the night spent in hospital in a strange town after spraining my back on said camp trampoline when a front drop went wrong :( It still bothers me sometimes, 35 years later.
05/11/2009 09:13:31 PM · #22
My family has owned a trampoline since I was about 5 and its still going well like 13years later but needs to get the original mat replaced.
Apart from my younger brother getting a green fracture because he jumped off the tramp while being stupid into a garden ornament no injuries at all. And it is an old style one, rectangle shaped, no safety nets & no foam over the springs.
We have done everything with it, from putting soap and water onto it, to doing frontflips off it onto a mattress. The boys tip it to the side and climb up it until they can overbalence it and enjoy the ride to the ground.
At times there's been 5+ kids jumping on it as well, and no injuries.
Its been very well used over the time and growing up we've spent many happy hours on it.
Personally I would say they are a heck of a lot safer than most things kids do these days, and alot better for the kids to get physical activity than sitting around on a computer or Xbox.

But thats my two bobs worth ;)
As for brands I wouldn't have a clue sorry.
05/11/2009 09:16:46 PM · #23
If you do get one, check your homeowners policy. Some insurance companies are specifically excluding them, and most will charge you more if they know you have one.

05/11/2009 09:17:52 PM · #24
They're great fun, but after my daughter fell off and broke her wrist, I have to admit I wouldn't have one now unless it had the safety nets. Give a child something that hurls them high in the air, surround them with garden beds and fences etc, then expect them to land in exactly the same spot as they started? Not really sure about that. I have seen some that are dug into the ground, seems much more sensible, but you'd have to make sure the drainage underneath was exceptionally well designed. But they are fun :-)
05/11/2009 09:25:24 PM · #25
We got one last year for our boys:



Here's the link to the US site - invented in NZ ;)

Our oldest boy is 3 and loves it!
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