Parents An Article About Trampolines

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How do you feel about backyard trampolines?


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raenndrops

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A little "light" reading for anyone considering buying a backyard trampoline. This article is timely for me because the girls' g-parents got them one and it is in their backyard. I went to pick up YG the other day, and both girls were in it. After YG got out, OG HAD to show me her new tricks: a bounce on the knees to a front tuck to stand and a standing (no bounce) back tuck. I shuddered as I realized that the tramp isn't even on level ground!!! But "It's safe because it has a net around it."

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We have one. Once or twice there was an incident where one girl was doing a knee drop handstand and the other one started bouncing, causing hyperextension of the handstand child's back. It was minor and transient both times, but I can see the danger. This is totally against our rules by the way. I do allow them to jump together, but if one wants to do a trick she must loudly announce it and the other must sit by the edge completely still. In the cases above, the child at fault was the one doing the trick - who started doing it unannounced while the other was already bouncing, so it was over in a blink before I could even say anything (I was right there). They were punished, hopefully they will remember. We have had it for 3 years and this is all that ever happened.

One other thing to note: I think the safety thing is also largely affected by how well-made the trampoline is/how much you pay for it, and how you install it, i.e., on level ground, anchored, etc. Ours also has a mesh overlap of 2 feet as a "door" rather than a zipper flap that can be left open. I have definitely seen some very rickety, unsafe-looking trampolines at friends' houses. Ours is designed very safely and is sturdy, never moved even through hurricaine Sandy, but all trampolines of course carry the risk of user stupidity, as my story above illustrates.
 
MY girls were not being actively supervised on the trampoline... G-ma was in the house and G-pa was in the garage. I do not know what kind of rules they have set up for it.

But, I do know they are the same ppl that (back when OG was going into L5) set up a 4 foot high wooden beam OUTSIDE for her to practice her cartwheels on.
The only "matting" she had was the grass. Supervision involved G-ma watching from the window or somebody sitting on the back deck. The beam was exposed to the elements and less than 3 months later, it was completely warped. They left it out there for about a year before taking it down to put up a swimming pool.
 
No trampoline for us, ever. I won't let my kids go to the trampoline park either. They can (and do) use tramps at the gym under supervision, and yes I realize accidents can still happen... But I like to think I'm at least minimizing the risk. :)
 
A high school friend of mine just shattered his ankle at a trampoline park. He will be off of it entirely for 12 weeks and has had the first of his multiple surgeries.

I also overheard a conversation a few weeks ago between our boys' program director and a mom who is getting a trampoline. He rolled his eyes and told her to dig a pit and install it at ground level and absolutely forbid double bouncing (with a few lurid stories to illustrate the point). He then went on a very short "I hate home trampolines" rant.

What are you going to do, Raenndrops? It sounds like your parents/in-laws have very little discretion when it comes to gymnastics outside the gym, and it's only a matter of time before one of your girls gets badly injured.
 
Stories like those are why the only birthday parties my DD has ever missed were ones that were at trampoline parks. I felt bad that she was upset, but they just make me uneasy.
 
They just opened a new trampoline park about 2 blocks from the gym. Since the opening 2 optional boys have broken bones there. HC pretty much told the boys last night to stay away!!
 
They just opened a new trampoline park about 2 blocks from the gym. Since the opening 2 optional boys have broken bones there. HC pretty much told the boys last night to stay away!!
 
I'm a hypocrite. We have a trampoline in our backyard that she is free to use whenever but I do not allow her to go to trampoline parks. I trust her on her tramp alone. But she is still pretty small and I don't like the idea of having high school sized boys flying all over the place and slamming into her.
 
He rolled his eyes and told her to dig a pit and install it at ground level and absolutely forbid double bouncing. He then went on a very short "I hate home trampolines" rant.

What are you going to do, Raenndrops? It sounds like your parents/in-laws have very little discretion when it comes to gymnastics outside the gym, and it's only a matter of time before one of your girls gets badly injured.

The girls aren't mine... the g-parents involved are their mother's parents. They are more supportive of gymnastics in their back yard than they are of gymnastics IN the gym - I don't get it, but that's them.
I PRAY they are safe... I have talked to them about safety rules - but can't enforce them since it isn't "my house, my rules."

If I were ever to get a trampoline, I would have it in a pit... and still have a net... and have matting around it... and cover it with a tarp when not in use and have about 100 rules... and make anyone who gets on it sign a contract (as well as their parents) saying they will follow the rules or be subject to fines, penalties, and banning!
 
Nope.

There was a super-talented boy at one club I know. After a few weeks the coach asked his parents if they had a backyard tramp, and if so, could they please get rid of it. It was absolutely wrecking his technique and undoing everything they taught him.

Mine wanted a trampoline in the backyard. DD2 got weekly trampoline lessons instead :) Far, far safer, she is learning to do things correctly, and the extra hour of nagging about her pointed toes and bent legs is improving her form no end :)
 
Didn't read the article. I already made up my mind many years ago. Absolutely no tramps, and no tramp parks. We leaving trampolining for the coach.
The article talks about how Doctors want back yard trampolines BANNED! I am for that :)
 
Oh, my girl loves bouncing. She would love a trampoline like someone called Everybody Else who I hear a lot about. She would also love to stay up til midnight and have ice cream for breakfast but she doesn't get those either.

There was a trampoline park, if that's what we are calling them, near where I grew up. Though it would be more aptly be called a trampoline patch. It was small and cruddy. The first and only time my mother ever gave in to my whining and allowed me on it, I knocked myself unconscious on my knee.

Somersaults are not for playtime. The end.
 
I have not read the article, but have a strong opinion already. Home trampolines are so dangerous. The safety net is not enough to avoid injuries. Most adults don't know how to safely supervise use. Kids will take risks they should not, or use improper technique.

I often see multiple kids on them at once, which is one of the biggest causes of injury. As well, flying into the net and getting thrown back onto the trampoline can cause injury.
 
On top of everything else. I ruined a pair of pants on someone's (I am guessing old) trampoline ( they turned black) and tramps give me a headache every single time I bounce.
 
I've allowed my kids on them, but now that they are getting older and can do some advanced tricks its way too dangerous. Our new neighbors have a trampoline with no safety net, no rules and usually no supervision. Its a recipe for disaster since often there will be 4-5 kids on it at one time!

We know a dad who is often in the operating room assisting doctors during spinal surgeries. He absolutely forbids his kids to go on backyard trampolines or trampoline parks, he has seen too many tragic results.
 

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