What Do You All Think of Backyard Trampolines?

I think they are super dangerous. My sister-in-law is an emergency physician and she has seen terrible trampoline accidents.

I have a pool, an outdoor rink and we got a trampoline when our kids were tweens. (it was really for one of our kids who was into it)

We have rules. One kid at a time. No risky jumps (like somersaults). Jump in center of mat. Must be supervised.

I think it's 2/3 of all injuries are from multiple people in trampoline at same time, and a lot of those are with an adult. The difference in weight sends kids flying. Similarly, kids bouncing off mat, springs, holes .. awful.

The other type of kids not landing risky jumps. Terrible.

I was a gymnast and two of my kids have been. We are experienced.

I didn't want one. The thing is, my kids love it. With the right precautions, I still feel I have to be there watching, no different than I do a pool. I take it just as seriously.

I feel as strongly as I do with kids over here using our pool or rink. I make parents stay. When we really know kids, their abilities and how well they listen, and parents ... then they decide what they are comfortable with and we are too.

There's always the potential for a kid to land badly. I still don't like them because they are not the quality of the ones I used in the gym. However, we maintain ours (pack it away well and my husband is neurotic about keeping it up).

It would really depend on if it's level, if people supervise, and I definitely wouldn't if kids were leaping all over the place and no one was watching at all.

I personally don't like them.

however, they are your grandkids and while you can state you don't like them - they aren't your kids. Your kids are now adults and they have their own rules.

you can state your opinion - but otherwise? It's their parents call.

There are plenty of "jump houses" around. They have a HUGE non-liability clause in their forms before kids can jump....

I think they are an attractive nuisance.
I also think their homeowners insurance rates are going to go up.
If the kids are wild on it - they'll be finding out what sort of injuries are possible in a fairly short amount of time.
Unfortunately, sometimes you can see the train wreck coming from a long way off and there's no avoiding it no matter how much you try to warm them about it.
They are just going to have to learn about it the hard way.

i have a kneejerk reaction to them that doesn't actually make sense, since i didn't wrap my kids in bubble wrap and they did all sorts of things that were dangerous. they had a go-kart, rode horses, skateboarded, snowboarded, climbed trees and set of fireworks and roughoused endlessly.

we had a neighbor with a trampoline. sure enough, my older kid (the accident-prone one) injured himself. not as badly as he did on the go-kart or sliding into home plate in little league, but there ya go.

my kids begged for a trampoline when we moved to our little farm. in an ongoing effort to get 'em outside (we were in the early years of video games) i reluctantly looked into getting one. but when we heard how much our homeowners' insurance would skyrocket, way more than horses or the pool, we happily had our out.

but since it's your grandkids, i doubt you'll have much of a say. did the parents ask your advice?

khairete
S.

We couldn't have one in California as our homeowner's insurance would have doubled. My boys are older now and have outgrown the desire for one. When they do have the desire to "jump" we go to "Launch", a trampoline place where they can jump to their hearts content.

Are they dangerous? Yep. Life is dangerous. You can't live in a bubble and your adult children have made a decision they feel is right for their family. You may not like it, but you're not paying the bills and they aren't living under your roof, right? So just make sure that you are paying attention when they are out there jumping and they follow the rules.

I was never big on expensive recreational equipment, when a bike, a frisbee and some wiffle ball bats gave kids plenty to do.

Beyond the expense (and there are more injuries on the low-cost trampolines than the high-end ones, because the supports give way and the springs come loose), there is the problem of liability insurance. A lot of kids won't be allowed to come over to play, so it causes divisions among families/friends. And the injuries multiply when several kids are on there together (head injuries, chipped teeth, etc.) - and taking turns is zero fun. The kid bouncing has the fun (and gets all the exercise), and those watching are bored. Same reason kids are so unhappy playing musical chairs - it's just awful for the first 2 kids eliminated because all they do is watch watch watch!

Supervision only goes so far. Parents can make sure only one kid goes at a time or try to limit things like flips, but being the trampoline police is also boring and most parents don't put a trampoline in the yard so they themselves can stand there and watch.That also means that the kid out there alone could get hurt and no one would know.

I was always a big believer in kids having to create their own fun with basic equipment. I still am. But as their grandparent, I don't think you're going to have much say. The best you could do would be to provide articles about insurance and liability - but I'm guessing the parents have already heard about that and discounted it.

I love them. My brother bought the kids one when they were younger and when it broke we bought another one. We inspected it all the time to make sure everything was safe and the kids had a blast.

My older grandkids currently have one in their yard and its a hit with them. I'm thinking of getting one for my other grandkids because I know they'll love it.

We had one in my old house and my kids loved it and got a lot of use out of it. It had sides and we frequently inspected it to make sure the padding and netting were intact, repaired/replaced those when they wore out, etc. That said, we also had an inground pool with a diving board and a slide, various motorized vehicles (ATV, scooters), my kids have a mini-bike that they ride at their dad's house, we had a small ice rink in the yard, stunt ramps for bikes, and there were always pucks and balls flying around, etc. My poor mom used to be on edge every time she came over as it all made her nervous. My house was a fun place for my four wild kids and their friends but not so great a place for my mom so we tried to keep things lower key when she was over.

I'm a grandma. We really don't have a say in what our kids. We can say why we're worried but the parents have the last say.

I suggest you find the rules for using a trampoline. I think you can find them on the trampoline web site.

The rules I remember is only one kid jumping at a time and have several spotters. Depending on ages an adult to supervise.

My daughter when she was 8 seriously turned her ankle while several kids were jumping. She still has pain if she twists it a bit. She's 36. And the ankle is still weaker than it should be.

Once she was in high school it was OK to have 2-3 kids if they were synchronizrng their jumps.

I think they can be dangerous so the parents should make sure to take precautions like having a safety net around it and not letting too many kids jump at once. We don't have one but my kids play on them at friends houses all the time. Many activities kids engage in are "dangerous" is some way the same as a trampoline, for example sledding, skiing, sports of really any kind but especially ones like football or rugby, riding a bike, etc....

In the end it sounds like the parents are fine with the level of risk and it is their choice to make.

Absolutley love ours! But we also paid a bit more and it has a net around it and it’s actually quite hard to just fall out of it.
My kids love it and responsible enough for me to leave them in the back yard. My kids were 8 and 9 when we got it, since we had to replace it due to huge tree falling on it! Lol

I think the parents need to parent. If they ask you for your opinion you should give it.
Anything can be dangerous, from slides to swings kids need to learn safety and it’s okay if they get a little boo boo. They will be more careful next time. My kids have been playing hockey for 8 years ( oldest is 13 now and is on triple A team, yeh you get hurt but you get up
And tough it out)

We had one for many years and the kids used it a lot when they were younger. We had some strict rules they had to follow. No jumping with more than one other person. No jumping AT someone sending them flying upward. If one person is doing a flip the other person stands to the side and waits their turn. No back flips. No landing on your head or neck. If a tiny kid is on with you you stay on your knees and make small bounces so they don't get hurt. We also had a big safety net around it. No trying to jump and touch or hang on the net was another rule. No going under the trampoline if someone is on it. It is dangerous, but so are many things. It was very beneficial to our SUPER active son who had this NEED to jump all the time when he was young. We like to be active...we also go rock climbing, skiing, kayaking, roller blading, etc. We have rules the kids follow for every activity so that they are as safe as they can be. We did have one injury where our son hyper extended his knee and it took about 3 weeks for him to heal before he was allowed to do active things again.

What do i think?
I think it's none of your business. I also think you've probably already stated your opinion, were not happy with the response, and are here looking for ammunition to use against your grandkids' parents. Not your house, not your business.

My husband thinks the same and wouldnt put our's up again when we moved, much to our children's dismsy. To be honest, Im not sure if that was just an excuse not to have to put it back together, but he's frequently said they're dangerous. And I can testify to this somewhat. My older child (12 at the time) and a larger, slightly older friend were on it, and the friend fell into the net, split the net, and fell onto the ground. She was unhurt. But i think they were being to rough on it.
I think a lot of people share your concern, but just as msny people have them.