Parents Trampoline

[gym mom]

I Was Thinking About Getting My Dd A Trampoline For Her B-day ,but Was A Little Concerned About Safety ,of Course I Would Get A Net.anyone Else Have Tramps. At Home ?

 

[DEMom]

There are 2 kinds I know of. One with springs and one with bands. The springs are supposed to be better. (I have heard the bands wear out) Definitely get the net. And if you have lots of big kids jumping on it at once it will ruin the springs/bands. (This happened to my neighbor) So we always tried to limit it to 1 kid at a time. My daughter still says its not as bouncy as it was when we got it but sometimes its hard to keep her brother and his friends off it. Also, we are in the Northeast so we take it down every winter. This has prolonged its life.

 

[gym law mom]

We have a tramp with netting and my gymie does like to go out and play on it during nice weather. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security with the netting though. I've known kids that crashed through it and were injured.

If you get her a tramp, lay down some rules from day one. Only 1 kid at a time, adult must be watching when they're out there, no acro skills training---only skills she can already do. Tramps can be fun and provide a little outlet for the usually hyper gymnast, but you really have to enforce the safety rules.

As for care of the tramp, if you live in an area that does get cold temps/snow, make sure to take the netting down and also either store the tramp in the garage(or somewhere) or cover it with a tarp.

 

[mariposa]

my DD would love to have one and begs for it, but i researched it and they sound too dangerous for my taste. plus, some homeowners insurance policies won't insure you if you have a tramp.

here are some of the articles that swayed me to not get her one after i had kind of already told her we would get her one. she wasn't happy, but i am holding my ground (and trying to keep DH convinced as well as he is more likely to give in). they also talk about safety measures to implement if you do decide to get one. and some on homeowners insurance.

Link Removed
Link Removed
http://www6.aaos.org/news/Pemr/press_release.cfm?PRNumber=478
http://www.insurance4usa.com/resourcecenter/trampoline-home-insurance.cfm
Link Removed

 

[Monkeygirlsmom]

we have one! its taken down right now due to it being snowy winter!!
we have rules and if they are not followed it gets sold!! soo they do follow them!!

I def say no more than 1 kid at a time and also not flips etc!! we do have a net!! but I am a freak about safetly! it is a really good workout I gotta say!!

 

[Aussie_coach]

I read a really interesting coaches article once designed for parents asking if it is safe to do gymnastics at home. I expected the article to say the usual, no it's not safe, only undertake gymnastics with an experienced coach but it did not. It said we as coaches must face the reality that no matter what we try to do to stop it gymnastics will be practised outside of the gym. It is who our kids are and what they do. They will be doing backhandsprings in the playground to show off to their friends, they will turn their swing set into a practise bar, they will try to do cartwheels, handstands and walkovers on that bench pretending it's a beam and what is more the more we try to ban it the more likely they will do it when no adult is looking which means they are at an even greater risk of injury.

The key to safety at home with gymnastics is not to ban it altogether but to ensure safety rules are applied. If you do buy a trampoline make a list of rules, I would reccomend

1. Only 1 child on the trampoline at a time
2. Bouncing occurs in the centre of the trampoline not around the edges near the springs
3. There are no mounts or dismounts on a trampoline. The child must climb on, walk to the centre and then begin bouncing and climb off not bounce or flip off.

These are basic rules for any child of course but you need some special ones for a gymmie.

First of all make sure you child knows how to safely stop the trampoline quickly without injuring herself. If she needs to stop she should land in the 'motorbike' position with both her needs bend and stop jumping. This should immediatly stop the trampoline. If she can't do it have her practise until she can.

Secondly decide what is ok to do on the tramp and what is banned. I wouldn't try to ban all skills altogether. A tramp is great for practising all her different gymnastics jumps because it gives her more air time to get her legs in the right position. So she may be devastated that she can't do layouts but if you let her practise her jumps she has a little something.

As far as acrobatics skills they don't always need to be banned. It depends on your daughters experience. Little things like bouncing on hands in handstands are not too dangerous for a lower level gymnast. But if your child is level 4 or below I would not allow anything else.

Some kids can do for example back handsprings and standing back tucks on any surface and are going to find it very difficult not to do them on a tramp. Some kids will be able to safely do many of these things at home but take into account the size of the trampoline. A very large trampoline is needed to have enough space to practise these things safely. I always had a very large trampoline and the coaches actually encouraged practising things like back handsprings and tucks and layouts on it at home once they knew the skills were solid.

Also ensure your child knows not to practise ANYTHING that they are just learning in the gym even if they don't need a spot. The whole environment of the gym is different and there is always a coach there to catch if needed. Only skills they can do in their sleep.

Be careful of having friends over, many gymmies are natuarl show offs and while they may be able to control their urges when they are on their own it is hard not to show off in front of friends so make sure you supervise.

Also be careful when your DD has come home from the gym after learning something new, she is likely to be very excited and possibly even a little over confident and keen to try them again at home.

Dealing with breaking the rules is easy. A violation of the rules can mean use of the trampoline is banned for a week. A second breach can mean a longer ban. If the breaches continue the trampoline can be disposed of.

 

[gym mom]

thanks everyone for the replies.my dd generally will not try somthing at home that she doesn't feel comfortable doing without a spot,the stuff that she can do I believe would be safer on the tramp versus the hard floor or outside where the ground is uneven or possible holes.

 

[Mom to two gymnast]

We purchased a trampoline this past summer. We got a 13 ft. square with an enclosure attached. I wouldn't have one without an enclosure. We have the rules that they 1)Have to have an adult present 2) that adult must give permission 3)only one kid it at a time 4)enclosure has to be zipped before any jumping and 5) no flips. They were told if they don't follow the rules, they get grounded off of it for a week. We did not have a single problem out of our kids (ages were almost 4, almost 6, almost 7 and almost 10). At the end of summer once my oldest mastered backhandsprings by herself we allowed her to do a standing banckhandspring as long as a parent was watching and she asked first.

 

[bogwoppit]

We have had a tramp for 6 years with no accidents. We got a new one last year, gave the old one away. New one is a springfree one.

We have rules too, and they work because we are always there to enforce them.

1. Only one at a time
2. Net to be closed
3. No hanging on the outside of the nets
4. No going under tramp
5. Only allowed to do skills that you have done alone in the gym with a coach present ( only applies to my kids. When we have friends over all kids have to stick to bouncing, never flipping).
6. Only allowed on tramp when I am watching.
7. No coaching friends on the tramp.
8. no bouncing on the tramp when it or you are wet.

Tramps are dangerous, but many things are, we enforce the rules 100% of the time, no negotiations. The kids have a blast on it even with all the rules. It is like a pool, a good set of rules and a fence will keep your child safe if you stick to them. If you are a jellyfish parent and cannot follow through with the rules, DON'T BUY A TRAMPOLINE OR POOL.

 

[gym mom]

We have had a tramp for 6 years with no accidents. We got a new one last year, gave the old one away. New one is a springfree one.

We have rules too, and they work because we are always there to enforce them.

1. Only one at a time
2. Net to be closed
3. No hanging on the outside of the nets
4. No going under tramp
5. Only allowed to do skills that you have done alone in the gym with a coach present ( only applies to my kids. When we have friends over all kids have to stick to bouncing, never flipping).
6. Only allowed on tramp when I am watching.
7. No coaching friends on the tramp.
8. no bouncing on the tramp when it or you are wet.

Tramps are dangerous, but many things are, we enforce the rules 100% of the time, no negotiations. The kids have a blast on it even with all the rules. It is like a pool, a good set of rules and a fence will keep your child safe if you stick to them. If you are a jellyfish parent and cannot follow through with the rules, DON'T BUY A TRAMPOLINE OR POOL.

I have never seen a spring free one,who makes them and what size is it?Has anyone own a rectangle tramp I have been looking at those also?

 

[bogwoppit]

Costco sells them, there is also a website. just google springfree+trampoline. They use fibre glass rods underneath vertically, so the kids cannot land on the springs. We bought an oval one, big dd can do a lot on it. It bounces differently to a regular tramp, we have been very happy with the purchase. That and you do not have to take it down in the winter, even in Quebec. We just lifted the net off, so we can clear the never ending snow off. Kids never go near it in the winter, they know how much trouble they'd be in if they did.

We looked at rectangular ones too, but with the nets they added up to a crazy amount of money. We felt the oval springform was a good compromise. The company also claims that they are safer than a regular tramp, used properly under supervision of course.

 

[Gymnasticsgirl521]

We too had talked about getting DD a tramp for her birthday. We said we would NEVER do it but now she is bouncing around the house non stop so we are beginning to re-think our choice. I just don't know if she and our son will follow our rules and will it be a waste of money.