Trampoline Suggestions??

From personal experience - just beware of the dangers. When my daughter was 6 we were at a friend's house and I let her bounce on theirs. Long story short she ended up knocking her front teeth loose and terribly bruising her gums because she knocked her teeth on the head of her friend. Never again.

Trampolines are one of the most dangerous items you can buy your children to play with. They are so many other things you can buyt that are safer. Buy a inflatable water play dangerous injury.

I would be very cautious about buying a trampoline. We had one. We had the net around it so that the kids could not fall off and thought that would keep them safe from injuries. Well...my then three year old was jumping and fell the "wrong way" ON the trampoline and broke his leg. A three year old in a cast is far from fun to deal with and it broke my heart to see him in pain. I have since heard of many similar accidents.

I am not the type that tries to keep her children from having fun or anything like that, but if you get it, I would definitely establish some rules regarding trampoline usage, such as only one child on at a time.

My dad bought one for his house from Sams Club I was with him at the time, I think it was around 400. It was square and blue. It is by far the sturdiest trampoline I've ever seen. If you were to get this one make sure its in a place you don't have to move it...its that heavy. It took four of us to reposition it this year. I love it.

Now he bought it for my almost 3 year old. And she's been using it since last fall. But it does say not for children under 6 and it also says 1 person at a time. We still let my daughter jump on it, but watch her carefully. She loves it!

I have heard on the news and other specialty programs that the safest way to have a trampoline is to NOT have one.

You think that a net around can keep you kids safe, however, if they fall wrong in the center, you can just stand there and watch them get injured.

I wish you the best in whatever decision you make.

Whatever you decide about a trampoline I would recommend putting it away for the winter or at least covering it. Our neighbors bought one several years ago and it is disintegrating and the wind is blowing bits of it all over our yard. I would imagine that could lead to some safety issues as well.

We got a Jumpking one from Dick's. My husband is a Consumers report freak and this was ranked one of the best ones for safety and quality. They are a little pricey though -15footer for $600 BUT of you wait till the end of the season they have them half off. We got ours for $300 and we opened a charge to get an additional amount off.
Tami

Hi S.!

We bought a 15 ft. (round) Jump King at Walmart about 3 years ago for under $200. It does not have the net, but we figured with my husband and kids it wasn't a good idea. Accidents can always happen, but we have been very fortunate. We have 4 kids 12,8,5 1/2 and 3 and they all play just fine and often at the same time ... it really depends on your kids. As far as the insurance company, mine is really cool about it, they are aware I have it and don't have a problem with it and my insurance has NOT gone up because of it.

Best of Luck to you in your decision!

In my opinion all those trampolines are not good for children period!
We have a trampoline that has the safety net SEWN onto the jump pad. VERY SAFE no falling out no failure of the safety net. I also put ours away every winter too. The web site is http://www.magiccircleusa.com/ IMHO the best safest investment I purchased for my kids......
and to me another plus about them is that they are MADE IN THE USA!!!!

I got a round one off Craig's list for $30.00. It's basically the same one we had growing up. We never got hurt. The only time anyone got hurt was when we were teens, jumping at night, under the influence. Some let their kids jump when they are very young, like 2 or 3, which I don't think is good. They aren't familiar enough with their bodies and the laws of gravity. Their bones are softer too. They can hyperextend their legs. Wait until about 5 years of age. I'm not a big fan of the nets because I'm afraid fingers will get caught, but I think we will get one anyway and teach our kids the rules. I think it did me very good having one - I'm pushing 40 and still can do a full twisting back flip. It's good for kids to learn how to control their bodies and jumping is the best exercise a person can do (NASA did a study). It is scary though. I get nervous watching them as I'm sure my mom was nervous too.
This didn't answer your question at all. I kind of went off on a tangent. But quality tramps will be much bouncier so you need to be more careful with them.

Hi S.,

Before buying your trampoline check with your homeowner policy to see if they will cover you with the trampoline. My neighbor had one (with the safety net) and thier homeowner insurance agent came to the house for something, saw the trampoline and told them they had to sell it or lose their insurance. He gave them a week to get rid of it. Just an FYI. They are very high risk investments and could raise your insurance rate.

In the good old days you could do anything. My grandparents had a pool and a trampoline (the steel framed square kind) and the kids were always at thier house. Aside from a few broken bones (an arm and a leg from what I can recall from years of play) from falling into the springs or off it was a blast and my grandmother always knew where we were - you could hear us laughing and screaming. :)

We looked at a house one time that the owner had a hole dug into the ground to make the trampoline at ground level. I would guess this is better than falling 4 ft. to the ground. My daughter got her earring caught in the safety netting and ripped it out on her cousin's tramp. I personally think they are one of the un-safest things you can buy for your kids and be sure to consult your homeowner's insurance. You may have to increase your liability coverage if they will even cover it at all.

I have to agree with most people on here that they are just too much of a risk to take. I have seen many injuries over the years especially when you have more than one person jumping on them at a time. I have also known of toddlers breaking their legs on them.

From a former insurance agent standpoint, you don't want it. Most insurance companies will drop your coverage if you have one on your property. Some also make you sign a statement when you take out the policy stating that you don't have one. By stating that you don't have one, the insurance company has grounds to not pay a claim if someone is injured on it at your house and they S. you. Be sure to check with your agent before purchasing just to protect yourself financially. I also saw many, many closed head injury claims over the years due to trampolines.

I would save your money for a few summers and invest to a top of the line one with no springs and a net around it. We purchased one from Rainbow Recreation in New Hudson on Grand River a few weeks ago and it is awesome. Very safe and sturdy. We have 5 children so it will get years of good use, so it was defintely worth the investment. I think it was around $1400 with tax and installation.

Personally, I would consult a chiropractor. These are not anything they would recommend and I'm sure they'd be happey to explain why.
If it just isn't possible to do without, make sure there's the netting to keep the jumper flying off and injuring themselves.