Bounce House or Trampoline

A trampoline is more versatile.As the kids get older they will love the trampoline the same as when they are small, not so much for a bounce house and its more of a hassle to have to get it out and put it away. Trampoline just stays out all the time. My sister bought my children(at the time a yr ago 8&5) a trampoline for christmas. It was the best thing ever!!! The kids and all the neighborhood kids love to play on it! My 9 yr old is already getting too old for a bounce house. He doesn't find it as much fun.

Buy a Springfree Trampoline available thru Costco on line. Expensive but worth every penny. My 11 month old Grandson crawls around in ours while his 3 year old sister runs around. I can get my yard work done and everybody has a great safe time. The other boys in the house enjoy it too, ages 10,12 and 19. I have had mine for two years and it has held up great. Still looks new after rainy winters and long hot summers. Bouncehouse would be fun but the hassel of dragging it out and putting it up sounds like a drag. Kids would be pestering you all the time it is not out. The Springfree is the safest you can buy! Made in Austraila!

I absolutely LOVE bounce houses, and I'm 32! I suggest them for smaller children up to age 12 or 13, as they are safer - no springs or bars to worry about and are enclosed so there isn't the risk of them flipping off of the side. And depending on the style, you can shut off the fan that is used to inflate the bounce house and take it inside when you're not home or not using it, and the bounce house will deflate within a minute.
Trampolines are good, too, but like you said - they are out all of the time, and you run the risk of the neighborhood children playing on it when you're not home. The problem with that is if one of the children gets hurt, even when playing without your permission, you are the one that pays if the parents decide to sue. My sister recently dealt with this situation - they were gone for the day and the neighbor girl went over and played on the trampoline, fell off the side and broke her collar bone. Even though the child did not have permission to play, and had been told on several occassions that she was not to be there when no one was home, my sister was sued and ended up having to pay her medical bills, and was dropped by her homeowner's insurance.

Bounce house. Not a fan of trampolines. Insurance doesn't like them either. I've never seen a video gone wrong on America's Funniest Videos with a bounce house. Just buy a sturdy one and don't get a cheapy one. Have fun!

We have a bounce house and our kids and friend's kids love it. We use it inside during winter time and on the rainy days. It's my sanity saver:)

We absolutely love our trampoline! Our boys are 6 and 12, and they go out to the trampoline every single day after school unless it's raining. They jump on it, of course, but they also lay out there and talk all the time. I love watching them bond. I have no regrets. Neither of them are fond of bounce houses. My oldest broke his leg in a bounce house when he was 3, and he wasn't doing anything wrong at the time. He wasn't playing rough or being too rowdy or anything. It was just a freak accident.

One thing though, we do live on a small farm, not in a neighborhood. We don't have to worry about anyone using the trampoline when we aren't home. If I lived in a neighborhood, that might be a concern as someone else mentioned.

Good luck with your decision, and have fun!

My neighbor has a bounce house and her daughters are 5 and 7 now.. They liked it for about a year but got bored with it... Trampoline's can be fun even if your and adult but they seem more dangerous for children.

Hello R.,
I am on our 3rd trampoline and can honestly say having 5 children and many others here I haven't had one be injured yet. We have a double saftey net useing that orange fenching for our grandchildren.
I have thought seriously about a jump house becasue when rented the kids/adults have so much fun-- so it will be interesting to read your responces.

only based on storage and cleanliness, I have heard owning a bounce house, especially in a climate with any moisture, is kind of a pain. It is easy to put up but takes time and energy to put away, where as if space allows those fenced trampolines are much cleaner

As a pediatric nurse, I have seen many injuries from trampolines. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a statement against home trampolines. http://www.aap.org/publiced/br_trampolines.htm

My sister got one for her kids, and swore that she would follow the rules of only one kid jumping at a time (the big reason for injuries is 2 or more at a time) - her kids break that rule every day. My kids called me mean for enforcing that rule on the one occasion I let them jump on it, but parents do lots of things for their kids' safety that kids don't like, like helmets.

I don't know much about bounce houses; maybe there haven't been as many reports of injuries because they weren't as common to own as trampolines. I'd definitely research it before you buy.

I grew up with a trampoline and my brother and I had our share of injuries from getting pinched to falling off, but it was a lot of fun! My children(ages just6 and 2) just got a bounce house and we love it. We love the fact that we can put it away when not in use. We don't have a very big backyard, so it is a nice choice for us.

I haven't seen anyone else post this issue, but after our daughter had broken her wrist bicycling she had to see a pediatric orthopedic. He said the two biggest reasons kids come to see him are falls from monkey bars and trampolines.

He decided that his kids will NEVER go on a trampoline, no matter how many safety procedures are put in place. He said the risk of bad injuries is just too high, especially for small, growing bodies. He said the worst case scenarios are being bounced off onto their heads or knocking heads with another kid.

I take this to heart. I think we all want to balance the risks of anything with the benefits. Based on his advice, we do not allow our kids on backyard trampolines. I will allow our kids on the ones in gymnastics centers because I feel they are more strict than some parents...surrounded by foam, one - max two kids at a time on a large trampoline, etc.

I think either trampolines or bounce houses can cause serious injuries. I'd use bounce houses for younger kids and trampolines for older kids who can control their bodies better and hopefully be more safety conscious.

I don't know if that helps you, I just thought I'd add a different opinion.

Hi R., we only have experience with both products when at other people's homes, but I'll share a friend's experience. They got a trampoline for their 3 young ones, 6 and younger. The 6 year old was bouncing with a teenage cousin. Just after the much heavier cousin bounced down, the trampoline was doing its thing pushing him up when the 6 year old bounced down. The 6 year old's leg broke because the trampoline had no "give" for her. No collision, no falling off, just different sized kids bouncing at different times and she broke her leg. I'm sure you can get injured in a bouncy house, too, but there seems to be more flexibility in those. So, if you go with a trampoline, make sure the kids in there are around the same size at one time. That might be hard if you have older and younger kids. Not sure if that helps, but wanted to share b/c I never would have thought the different weights of the kids would be a problem.