What Do We Think of Trampolines?

I would strongly recommend only one child at a time. My niece got a concussion after knocking heads with another child. My nephew's leg was broken when another child fell on him.

I have had one since I was a teenager (no net then). Now my kids jump on it (net for 3 years). The worst I've seen is someone reopening a scab after falling off the trampoline to the ground (pre-net) My daughter broke her arm falling off the sofa.

A friend of mine has some sort of double-bed trampoline to prevent large bounces. You could look into that as well.

Good luck!

Any toy, when unsupervised can be dangerous. However, with proper precautions a trampoline can be a lot of fun. First, get the safety netting to surround it-this eliminates the possibility of bouncing off and hurting yourself (as seen in every youtube video). Then set up your trampoline rules based on the skill level of your children and ages. If your kids are very athletic and confident then don't worry about flips or high bouncing, if they aren't enforce a NO FLIPPING rule. Also watch them closely and if they are too crazy penalize them by closing the trampoline for the day.
We don't have one but a good friend of our does and has kids as little as a year using it with no major incidents so far. In fact the kids LOVE it and it is great exercise for them.
My personal feeling is that it doesn't matter what toy/climber/swing set/pool etc you have there is always danger, but it is also dangerous just to step outside, or step out of the shower-the best you can do for kids is teach them to make wise choices and help them be confident with their own bodies.

So I'm for it as long as you're ready to be diligent in supervising for a while, and it already seems like you've thought about it for a while so go for it, trust your instincts.

Hi M.,

We love trampolines! Just make sure they all understand the rules: only a few kids at a time, depending on their age/size, all playing safe, and nobody you haven't invited. Kinda like a swimming pool, but with spinal cord injury instead of drowning. (oh cheerful!) We had an indoor trampy (as my kids called it) and even that was a good steam-blowing-off toy, even for teenagers. Friends with a big backyard one love theirs, too.

Enjoy!
Mama S.
with two big boys!

I have heard a recommendation to check your home owners insurance policy about your coverage regarding the trampoline.

My children are now grown. We had a trampoline for many years, before nets. The children and their friends loved it. We lived through those years without anyone getting hurt. That said, I was very glad the day came that we no longer had the trampoline because, as others have said, people do get injured. But they also have a lot of fun. Had something like that occurred, I would likely have another response. Yes, do check your homeowners policy. Yes, do post an "At Your Own Risk" sign in the area of the trampoline. One came with ours. Do have parental monitoring. Life is full of risks even, perhaps especially, for children. Clearly, more children are being harmed by and are taking big risks with obesity than by engaging in active play that has the potential to be injurious.

J.

Although we have 4 kids and generally do not "over protect," my husband and I are both attorneys. As a result, we have seen first hand the kids that have been permanently and severely injured from using trampolines even with all of the protective equipment that goes around the perimeter. Although the percentage rate for severe injuries is not overly high, the extent of the injuries are so severe we are not willing to put our kids at risk so we do not allow them to get on anyone's trampoline let alone own one ourselves. Just our own opinion.

One other thing is to make sure that if you get the net that goes around the trampoline, you make sure the zipper is locked when not in use, or especially if you are not home. My niece has had kids she does not know come to her door to ask if they can use the trampoline. These are not friends of her kids.

We have a trampoline WITH the net that goes around it for my 7 and 4 year olds. They love it. They have had no accidents on so far...knock on wood. The zipper around the netting must be zippered at all times, they know this rule. The only time someone gets hurt, like knocking heads, etc., is if there are too many kids on it. And if we have my nieces and nephews over, we let the bigger kids go on when the smaller kids aren't on. I can understand the dangers, but with the rules in place and some supervision, we have had no problems.

My daughter broke her leg on a trampoline. She was staying with my husband's sister's family and just fell on it funny. There was a net all around, so that doesn't seem to matter. When we took her to a care center the dr. there told us that trampoline's were the number one cause of breaks in children under the age of 10. Even in gymnastics they use trampoline's and that is how many gymnists get injured. Trampolines are so tight (to help you bounce) that if you fall the wrong way an injury can happen easily. The dr. said that only one child should be on the trampoline at a time to reduce the likelyhood of an injury. That doesn't seem like much fun. He also was very worried about the break being near her growth plate. If a young child (still growing) has a fracture or a break on their growth plate it can effect the growth of that one bone. (I never knew that) Kind of scary. Several of my neighbors have trampoline's and my daughter is not allowed on them. She never seems to mind since her leg was broken in the summer and she missed out on a lot with a broken leg and doesn't want that to happen again. One neighbor purchased one for her 8 and 6 year olds and her son broke his arm in the first week. Other neighbors have them but have older kids and nothing has happened. Lots of people have trampolines and nothing bad happens but like a swimming pool it's an even bigger responsiblity when other kids are over.

It is hard to decide on this one since there are strong pros and cons. One thing not already mentioned is having the edge covering. My husband's friend has a trampoline. We went over there for a party and the cover (covers the springs)prevented the kids from getting caught around the edge. One thing that did happen though is that the cover somehow got loose and came off. Luckily another parent noticed it and took it off before the kids got caught up in it and possibly hurt. My kids had a really good time just jumping on the trampoline and playing a game of freeze tag-really hard when everyone is jumping.

One more thought: knee injuries!

When a heavier child and a lighter child jump together at the same time, the lighter child can actually dislocate their kneecap (patella) because of the force of the heavy child coming down just as they land- like they "buckle" and the force travels up the shin into the knee, pop!

Just a thought. Personally, trampolines make me nervous. They are fun and we use one at the gymnastics center, but I am adamant only ONE child at a time and I closely supervise.

I will not allow my kids on trampolines for the following reasons. My closest friend is a physician's assisant and worked in urgent care for a while. Their rule was, if an injury happened on a trampoline you always x-ray it because it will be broken. You don't even have to fall off to injure yourself. This same friend worked at Craig rehabilitation hospital for spinal injuries in Denver, CO and cared for a grown man who became a paraplegic after getting injured on a trampoline. I just don't think it's worth it. If my kids want to play on a trampoline, I would enroll them in gymnastics where they can be monitored and taught the correct way to use one.

M.,

After my 4 yr old fell off her bike and broke her wrist we needed to see a pediatric orthopedic dr. He told us, his view was no trampolines, ever, for his kids. He said the top two reasons he sees kids are for trampoline and monkey bar accidents. His logic is that there are too many other toys and games for kids that don't potentially fling children through the air only to land in an awkward position.

Take it for what it's worth. I too understand that people to have them, love them. Personally, I've seen too many "accidents", even with rules and strict parental supervision (including knocked heads, twisted ankles, etc.). So, the only time I've let my kids on them is when they are at gymnastics, with limits of no more than two kids on a HUGE trampoline, and surrounded by full padding.

Good luck on this decision.

Did you check into your homeowners policy? It will go up if they know you have a trampoline. If you don't tell them and then someone gets hurt you won't be covered. That is the main reason we never got one.

I'm a recovery room RN and have seen many kiddos go through our department after an accident on a trampoline. On a personal level my son went to a friend's house with a trampoline and while they were playing unsupervised in the trampoline he bumped heads with another child and then was pushed out (there was a net). The mother called me and told me what had happened and I came and picked him up. I brought him to the ER after he started acting "funny" two days later and turns out he had a concussion. I have always been against them and had I known they had a trampoline I would have prohibited him from it. I just don't think it's worth the risk...